Market Research And The Real World

A menacing message I encountered over and over while developing my board game and business was: Market research or else. Well, looking back over 18 months, I have to agree. But then again, not so fast.

I’d say that market research deserves some of the worship it enjoys. Much like business plans. In theory they’re both ideal. It’s the “in practice” stuff that will trip you up.

The bottom line as I see it is: Market research can be very useful, if navigated carefully and assessed in the right context. But it’s not the be all and end all. It can give you false impressions that send you off in the wrong direction, and it also has the potential to kill an idea that might have succeeded in the real world.

At the heart of the problem lies the unpredictability of human behaviour. Not to mention its diversity. And speaking of diversity, when you start asking for people’s opinions (and even when you don’t), get ready for the onslaught.

During the initial trials/focus groups for my board game, and since entering the market just over three months ago, had I acted on everything that everyone suggested, I would have approximately 254,000 versions of my game. Or one big mangled mess. Okay, maybe that’s a teeny-weeny exaggeration. But the point is: Talk to 254,000 people and you’ll get 254,000 different perspectives. (By the way, I didn’t actually speak to anywhere near 254,000 people.)

There’s a saying that goes: A camel is a horse that was designed by a committee. In my experience, market research can sometimes feel very much like “design by Committee”, which can spell disaster with a capital D. Your product, or service, can’t be all things to all people, even those within your target market. So beware of embracing the committee mentality. Sir Barnett Cocks said it best: A committee is a cul-de-sac down which ideas are lured and then quietly strangled.

So while market research can provide valuable insights and indicators, it’s not without its “issues”.

For starters there’s the issue of interpreting the feedback and data collected – and quite simply, that’s a minefield. The other problem is the paradox of “giving ’em what they want”. Now, I’m all for making customers happy and delivering what they want. Hey, long live the customer! But there’s a problem with that: not all prospective customers know what they want. Many of them want you to tell them.

But let’s just back up here and get one thing clear. Market research is not the same thing as “listening to your customers”. It is a part of that once you’re up and running, but it’s not the same thing while you’re in the planning stages; for the simple reason that startups generally don’t have any customers. So in the initial stages, market research is just that, it’s research of a potential market. It’s not live, and it’s not real. It’s hypothetical. It can be a very good indicator, but it is not an exact science. Sometimes it doesn’t even come close.

The concept itself is sound. That is: test your product in the real world to see if people want it and will buy it. But it comes undone, to a certain extent, because hypothetical scenarios and simulated environments aren’t the “real world”.

There’s a heck of a lot of psychology in market research. Then throw in an assortment of varying factors, add human beings, and you have a concoction of mass confusion.

So how do you make sense of it all? How do you know what to believe? And how do you prevent yourself from throwing the baby out with the bath water? And this is a very real danger when differing opinions are coming at you from all directions.

I adopted the approach of “give ’em carte blanche”. Listen to and acknowledge everything. Especially when it hurts. BUT… learn to filter it. Here’s some of the challenges I encountered and my approach for dealing with them.

Booby trap: Very few people will see your vision
Lots of people, including potential customers, won’t get your vision. Even if you explain it to them in detail. This is really important to keep at top of mind. Many people will get some of it, and some will get most of it, but very few will be able to see the whole picture. And this has a lot to do with their level of interest, and the whole WIIFM phenomenon. Why would people spend time trying to get their head around your vision? They won’t and they don’t, simply because there’s no reason to.

Countermove: Evaluate your feedback in the context of how much of your vision the person giving the feedback really understands.

It is the new and different that is always most vulnerable to market research. – Malcolm Gladwell

Booby trap: Ask people to find a problem and they will
When you put someone in the role of “problem solver”, they’ll look for problems. Very often this is a really good thing because they will find things you never would have seen. But sometimes they find problems that don’t exist – they find a problem for the sake of finding a problem because they’re trying to do their “job”.

Countermove: Examine every “problem” that’s uncovered through your common sense lens. Factor in your vision. Then track how many other people complain of this problem.

Booby trap: Talk is cheap
What people say they will do, and what they actually do are often two very different things. Many will agree to all sorts of hypothetical purchasing decisions if they like the concept. But put them into an actual buying scenario and they often behave very differently. This happened to me with my launch. Quite a few people agreed eagerly that they’d love to come, but when the invitations went out, suddenly they had all sorts of reasons why they couldn’t make it. What filtered back to me, indirectly, was that when push came to shove, few people wanted to “go first”. A couple of people even told me they would wait to see what others had to say about it. Singles are self-conscious enough going to events, so add a new concept to the mix and the fear-factor goes through the roof. Walking to the edge and talking about jumping off is one thing. Jumping off is another thing entirely. This is the difference between a hypothetical scenario and the real thing.

Countermove: Allow for a good proportion of all potential customers who have indicated they would like to purchase your product or service to suddenly change their mind when offered it for real. These people follow the herd and are potential future customers only after their daringly-adventurous-early-adopter friends have given them the nod. From what I can see, there’s very little you can do about this except ride it out.

Booby trap: Anticipating on behalf of others
Without realising that they’re doing it, people will often answer on behalf of other buyers. They will automatically try to anticipate what others will want and will buy. Although it can appear that they’re speaking about themselves, what they’re really doing is second guessing the market at large. It’s very easy not to pick up on this, and it can be very misleading.

Countermove: Be very specific with your questions, and frame them in a context that they are encouraged to imagine themselves using the product/service.

Booby trap: Consumer confusion
Sometimes people don’t know or can’t tell you what they want. When you conduct focus groups or trials for a product, if it doesn’t quite hit the mark, many people can’t articulate why it doesn’t quite work for them. In an attempt to explain it they will say all sorts of things which aren’t necessarily a true reflection of their emotional response to the product. It becomes complicated as soon as they attempt to intellectualise their emotions.

And to get even more complex, often they are not consciously aware that they think anything is wrong with it because they like the idea itself. But if you observe their behaviour while interacting with the product (a reflection of their emotional experience with it), then it becomes apparent that something is amiss. However, because they like the concept as a whole, all of what they say is positive. So in this scenario you’ll know you’re on the right track, but there’s something less than perfect about the experience. But what?

Countermove: Watch their behaviour, their emotional responses, and pay far more attention to what they do than to what they say. I don’t mean disregard what they say, but watch their emotions and analyse what triggered the reaction (whether positive or negative) and why.

Booby trap: Negative reactions
Sometimes a negative reaction is good. For instance, elements of my game have a “punishment” aspect, a bit like “Go to Jail” in Monopoly. These “setbacks” are a necessary part of making it interesting and challenging. In the trials however, a few people became quite upset by them, and some got very distressed.
(NB: It is said that how we behave and react while playing games is an exact reflection of how we react and respond to circumstances in real life. If you care to use them for personal development, games are an extremely valuable tool in this respect.)

Countermove: Eliciting strong emotions from your product is a good thing, so don’t immediately assume a negative reaction is a bad thing. If it happens with a number of people, consider re-working it to keep the “powerful” elements, while eliminating any detrimental ones. Ultimately I decided to re-design the punishment squares so that players can tell in advance if they are going to land on one. Preparing them for it made a visible difference to their emotional reaction and their overall experience.

Booby trap: The Loud Mouth
Usually a relative of The Know It All, this person just loves the sound of their own voice. And they often get carried away with the opportunity to “criticize”.

Countermove: Let them rant. Be humble. Thank them. Cross them off your list.

Booby trap: Geography & Timing
Sometimes I think it can all boil down to time and place. But then of course, don’t forget the M word: M-M-Marketing. (I still tremble when I say that word.)

Countermove: Just because an idea doesn’t work in one place or at a specific time doesn’t mean it won’t work elsewhere further down the track. This has happened countless times. In her article The Big Idea on mybusinessmag.com, Emily McMackin tells how entrepreneur and master marketer Joe Pedott, of Chia Pet fame, has made a career of taking wacky products from obsurity to pop culture status.

“Though Pedott didn’t invent the products, as many Internet sites claim, he took the obscure items, which were struggling on the shelves, and, through catchy commercials, transformed them into must-have merchandise for consumers in the ’70s and ’80s. Since then, he has pulled off similar feats with other off-the-wall products…”

So, if at first you don’t succeed, and you still love your idea, think carefully before abandoning it simply because one market didn’t want it. Or because your initial attempts at marketing kinda sucked. The world is a big marketplace, and with the right marketing your little pet might become a big hit.

For those who have a budget that’s bulging at the seams, then given the challenges of market research it’s likely you will want to hire someone who is trained and skilled in this area to guide you through the tricky terrain. For those of you with a big idea and a small budget, take a look at knowthis.com. They offer tutorials in the basics of market research and stacks of how-to info to help you get down and get dirty.

I find it a fascinating area, and I’d love to hear about your adventures on the research trail.

Danielle
Super Sleuth