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How organisations are considering their audiencein business decisions

Prepared for all participants | 25 August 2009

Objective:

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To explore how NZ organisations are learning about their audience, and how they’re using the resulting information to make business decisions.

But really, it’s about NZ organisations coming together:

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to learn

to share

to enable

to inspire

to collaborate

to grow stronger together.

More than 50 organisations shared our vision

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Acland Holdings Limited (CITTA Design), ARANZ Medical Limited, Balle Bros Group, Bendon, Biggie, Cadbury New Zealand, Christchurch City Council, City Market, Criterion Group Limited, DDB New Zealand, Direct Broking Limited, Ecostore, Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, Foodstuffs New Zealand Limited, Foot Science International Limited (Formthotics), Formway, Glidepath Group, Good Health Products Limited, Health Sponsorship Council, Holmes Solutions, Hospitality Standards Institute, Humanware Group, Industry Training Federation, Jenkin Timber Limited, Kiwibank, Les Mills International, Lion Nathan International, Loyalty New Zealand Limited, Macpac, Markhams, Meridian Energy, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Youth Development, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Natcoll Design Technology, National Institute of Management, New Zealand Defence Force (Army), New Zealand Post, PGG Wrightson Limited, Positively Wellington Tourism, Rembrandt Suits Limited, SALCOM Technologies, Southern Spars Sport & Recreation New Zealand (SPARC), Statistics New Zealand, Television New Zealand Limited (TVNZ), Tourism New Zealand, TOWER Limited, Unitec New Zealand, University of Canterbury, Wild at Heart - Wellington International Airport Limited, Wellnomics Limited

Every organisation that we spoke with contributed something new and valuable

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The starting 10

The number engaged in Insight R&D

The most common methods

Quant vs Qual

How you are generating ideas

Insight R&D in the design process

The use of tools for referencing your audience

Managing the value of research

Touching base vs engaging & collaborating

The value of front-line interactions

How audience understanding influences business decisions

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#1

The number engagedin Insight R&D

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Insight R&D

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Quantitativeresearch

Generate insights

Build in-house capability

Improve organisationalperformance

Drive community changeInspire & inform design

Secondaryresearch Media

Symposia Qualitativeresearch

UnderstandingPeople & Practice

in ContextMotivations, Mindsets & Behaviours

CulturalEmotionalSocialPhysicalCognitive

Nearly all of you are engaged in Insight R&D to some degree

A mix of formal and informal

Some invested heavily (and some are not)

Some value it highly (and some do not)

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#2

The most common methods

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The four most common methods of gaining audience understanding

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Surveys

Focus groups

Having sales and support interactions

Analysing transactional data

Although lots of examplesof other kinds of research

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#3

Quant vs Qual

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Quant vs Qual

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A lot of organisations use quant to answer most research questions

A few supplement quant with some qual

A few see clear differences in the benefits of quant and qual, and use them in different situations

“We can see trends through [quantitative]

data, but it won’t tell us why.”

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Sharon Daly, TVNZ

“Qual is about finding the insights and

why. Quant is about finding the scale of

the issue.”

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Thinza Mon, DDB

“We only do quant if we need to validate

what we’re doing... if we need to

eliminate or reduce risk.”

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Jandi Shennan, Lion Nathan

It’s harder to get to theheart of the matter with quant

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“It is always tempting to cast your net as

widely as possible, thinking you can get

the biggest return. But it doesn’t usually

work. You end up making compromises

that don’t really suit anyone.”

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Stewart Pegg, Humanware

#4

How people are generating ideas

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For most, research is predominantly used...

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For the evaluation of ideas not the generation of ideas

Ideas are often reactions to opportunities

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to new technology

to new materials

to new legislative requirements

to new partnerships

Or reactions to issues...

to customer complaints

to cost cutting

to competitor movements

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A few of you...

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generated new ideas by using audience understanding to predict latent or future needs, or to make incremental product improvements.

“The companies that don’t [find out what

the customer needs], well, I think they’re

risking their own future.”

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Mitch Cuevas, ecostore

#5

Insight R&D in the design process

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About half of you...

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test concepts & prototypes when designing and developing a product/service/campaign.

“How much we do and what we do,

depends on our brand proposition for that

product. It depends on the consequences

of failure.”

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Campbell Junior, Macpac

#6

The use of tools for referencing your audience

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About one third of you use tools to help youreference your audience

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Personas, mindsets, audience models, segmentation models, design guidelines.

For some, personas are created to support specific product & service

development projects

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CITTA Design: Winter 09, The Coopers

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A few of you want tools that help the whole organisation to work together to

better serve your customer. Those organisations recognise that they need a holistic understanding of their audience.

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An audience model for usethroughout the organisation

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#7

Managing the value of research

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Many of you...

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are not happy with the way you manage your research.

Why?

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Most of you said you have a lot of under-utilised research reports sitting on your shelves

Many find it hard to get sufficient funding for research, due to previous projects

Many feel you don’t get value for money

Many feel the findings are not translated into useful outcomes.

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Cross-functionalcommittee of 12

Stage-gate process

Rigorous debate

Monthly meetings

Wiki of findings

research committee

Maximise value of research

Maximise valueof research

“It isn’t the department’s money. It is

EECA’s money. So we can all have a say

to ensure we get the most value out of

the spend.”

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Dr Sea Rotmann, EECA

#8

Touching base vsengaging & collaborating

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Most organisations are...

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touching base with their audience

Some are...

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truly engaging with their audience, and involving them.

Consulting, engaging and including young people

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“Engaging with any audience requires

that you know the language they speak.”

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Lorraine Gittings, Ministry of Youth Development

#9

The value of front-line interactions

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The value of front-line interactions

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“We hold it up top, not laptop.”Permission pending

You might want to ask yourself

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Do you value your front-line interactions?

Are you collecting anecdotes and data?

Are you sharing information you collect?

Are you using the information to uncover insights?

#10

How audience understanding influences business decisions

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audience understandingand insight

technical possibilities

timeframes

organisation values

organisation goalsorganisation capability

competitor activities

other stuff

last year’s best sellers

legislative requirements

costs

Audience understanding is valued highly by many

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“If you know a little more about

‘people’, the tills will ring out more...

day and night.”

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Andy Millard, SPARC

But several note that research isn’t always the answer

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“A focus group can dilute the end result,

especially if the brand is pushing the

boundaries or embarking on new

territory. The Elle Macpherson intimates

brand is about Elle and her tastes and

desires. There really is no point in getting

a focus group involved!”

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Elizabeth Thomas, Bendon

“You need to research a certain amount,

but sometimes overruling the research has

been the best decision we’ve ever made.”

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Chris Lamers, Loyalty New Zealand

About half feel that you have to be particularly focused on your audience during the recession

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“Now is when you absolutely have to

listen to your customers.”

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Mitch Cuevas, ecostore

Research papers‘How to’ guides

Magazine articleshttp://blog.empathy.net.nz

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thank you for listening& most importantly for sharing.

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