Transcript What Makes Customers Tick by Lewis P. Carbone

What Makes Customers Tick
by Lewis P. Carbone
Torrey Jacobson
Back In the Day
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During the mid-20th century, the prevailing
business mindset was Sales-Oriented
The theory was that if existing products
were pushed hard enough, sales would
increase
The Birth of Marketing Research
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Later years brought a customer orientation
Products should be designed around
customers’ needs
Q: How do we know what customers
want?
A: Ask them—through marketing research
Traditional Marketing Research
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Customer Interviews
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Customers were directly asked about their
thoughts and preferences
Assumption: The consumer decision
making process takes place at a conscious
level of the mind
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This would imply an understanding and
awareness of one’s own psychological
processes
The Need For Change
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Problems with traditional methods:
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Most of a consumer’s decision making process
takes place at a subconscious level
Therefore, consumers may give researchers
inaccurate responses
Since subconscious activity is just that, it may
be impossible for consumers to explain the
actual reasons for their buying behavior
Unconscious Processes
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Much more significant than previously
thought
Up to 95% of the consumer decision
making process is unconscious
Carbone likens conscious processes to the
tip of an iceberg
Accessing the Subconscious
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Researchers must use an array of indirect
methods to draw conclusions about
underlying beliefs and attitudes
New Research Methods
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Metaphor Elicitation
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People tend to think primarily in images rather
than in words
Pay attention to the type of metaphors used
to draw inferences about thoughts and
feelings
New Research Methods
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Observation
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Not actually new
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Used in a slightly different way than before
Look beyond “hard” data—numbers and stats
Creative ways to implement
Watching people use the product at home
 Video observation
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Example of often-overlooked “soft data”—dog
treats
New Research Methods
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Word Choice
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Seemingly insignificant differences can
register subconsciously
Example: Car rental: a car vs. the car
Contextual linguistic software is being
developed to “analyze” conversations
What will we learn when it is perfected?
What’s Next?
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Time will tell
The implications of exploring the
subconscious of consumers have not been
fully revealed to us yet
If these new methods are properly
implemented, we could see a significant
change in marketing and marketing
research