Brands have their own way to define the ideal consumers and tend to think that consumers will like and buy their products and services. But too often, this could be just one side of the story.
Consumer habits and behavior have long since changed, and nowadays, they are actually more digitally savvy and increasingly impatient with traditional marketing techniques. Younger generations, including the much-loved Millennials, simply don’t behave like their parents did. This creates a problem for marketing and consumer research. Conducting occasional focus groups, polls and surveys is simply not enough to keep up with the ever-changing trends of consumers and markets.
Nowadays, brands need to implement digital strategies to find consumer data. Great companies and brands make it a priority to understand their customers deeply and use that information in every business decision. They do consumer insights through market research and also by listening to the voice of customers in their daily interactions with consumers, especially on social media.
What are Consumer Insights?
We are living in an age where information and data are paramount and the consumer landscape is very different from the last century. Consumers have so many choices and access to goods and services that companies and brands can no longer simply hope that consumers will come to them. As a result, companies and brands need to proactively adopt scientific tools to gain deeper insights into the thoughts, feelings and behaviors of their target audiences. Consumer insights are one of these important tools. Analyzing consumer behavior allows companies and brands to truly understand what consumers are asking for. Most importantly, understanding the process by which they generate these thoughts and behaviors.
Consumer insights include not only key demographics such as age, gender and geographic location but also topics and sentiments about certain products and experiences. The goal is then to manufacture better products, practice better marketing and build better brands based on this information and data. True insights need to meet several criteria:
1) It is new
2) it is unexpected
3) it is relevant
4) it is action-driven
If a consumer insight meets these criteria, it is likely to be a pretty good one. Without true consumer insights, companies and brands will miss out on many opportunities for success.
Social media is definitely a great source of data for gaining consumer insights. There are 4.5 billion social media users worldwide, sharing every aspect of their lives daily. Companies and brands alike need to start using social media to access all the data and information that is beneficial to create products and services that resonate with consumers. If you want to learn more about overseas consumer insights or are looking for a good VOC tool, follow Shulex VOC and learn more about our products and services, we’d love to help.