how organisations are considering their audience in business decisions
DESCRIPTION
Empathy set out to explore how NZ organisations are learning about their audience, and how they’re using the resulting information to make business decisions.We talked to 55 of New Zealand's best organisations, both private and public sector. This is what we found...TRANSCRIPT
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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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