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Too much information?

Online researching has changed the way we shop

By Anna Clark

Be it organising my friend’s hen (bachelorette) weekend, or choosing a new mobile phone, I always seem to have something I’m researching.

These days, with so much information at our fingertips I usually spend lots of time researching to find ‘the best deal’ or ‘the best product’, but I sometimes find myself getting so involved with the minutiae that I get to the point of just wanting whichever one ‘will do’.

The issue for me nowadays is that there is almost too much information available, and it can be contradictory. When attempting to choose a new phone recently, I read official reviews, looked at websites that compare the network coverage, and asked my friends who I deemed experts…and came up with conflicting opinions. Perhaps the learning here is that what is good for one person, isn’t right for another. This presents a challenge for online review sites: wouldn’t it be better if you knew that the person writing the review was ‘like you’, or if you knew they didn’t have an ulterior motive?

Inevitably, if you look for long enough, there’s always a horror story. And somehow even if there is only one negative review among a whole host of positive ones, that has a stronger impact than the multiple good reviews. Just one negative review can cause anxieties to creep in, and can take the edge off the excitement about your new purchase, or your next dinner venue.

At risk of sounding like a luddite, in choosing a restaurant for the hen do, I ended up going out and looking at the restaurants in the area, chose the one I liked the look of, and then went out of my way to avoid reading reviews because I didn’t want to be put off!

We know from our Roper Reports Worldwide 2010 data that 55% of consumers globally spend quite a lot of time researching brands before making a major purchase, and while at times I feel all this information makes the decision process harder, it’s clear that in general, the availability of information nowadays has changed the way consumers buy.

So what about the future of reviews and researching purchases? Often reviews can seem out of date by the time you read them, so are real-time reviews the way we’re heading? And will tools become more sophisticated, pre-empting your search and sending you the latest reviews direct when you start looking at a product, or only giving you reviews from people who are similar to you?

Either way, this availability of information and reviews is set to continue growing, making it an issue companies must take into account. With tools enabling consumers to make their views heard, keeping them happy is more important than ever, and companies need to ensure they deal with any complaints swiftly, and effectively, to prevent that one bad experience being the one people hear about.

Authentic Commercial Conversations

Clarks Sunbeat Sandal (tan)

By Diane Crispell

Were you ever talking to someone when all of a sudden you thought – maybe even said out loud – “Gee, I sound like a commercial”? It happens to me reasonably frequently, most recently when I was extolling the virtues of my favorite sandals.

I’m probably more aware than the average consumer of these conversations because I’m involved with market research. But even when people don’t think about it, they’re having lots of commercial-like conversations every day.

When I have my “sound like a commercial” moments, it’s usually followed by the thought, “If only a brand marketer could hear me now…,” partly because it’s always nice to overhear people saying good things about you but mostly because it can be terrifically useful. The odds of that happening in real life are pretty minimal, however.

The Internet provides a way to “overhear” brand conversations, by reading online reviews of products and services and getting involved with social media networks, among other tactics. These are useful sources, but they don’t capture the random and unplanned one-on-one personal conversations that are critical to word of mouth.

How critical are they? According to the recently released Roper Reports^® Worldwide 2010 survey of more than 32,000 people age 15-plus in 25 countries, 43% of global consumers say that the last recommendation they made “just came up naturally in the course of conversation,” as opposed to being a proactive recommendation or the result of a specific request for advice.

Many commercials aim to replicate these happenstance real-life conversations. The venture is fraught with peril, and some succeed better than others. Good acting and well-written scripts are critical, not because consumers will believe these are authentic conversations, but because the more natural the execution, the more likely it is that consumers will think, “Gee, that sounds like something I would say.”

P.S. In case you’re wondering, I love my Clarks sandals, not because of any advertising I’ve ever seen, but because the first pair I bought turned out to be the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever put on my hard-to-please feet. The lesson being that good products naturally generate word of mouth. Where marketers take things from there is up to them.

Understanding the New Consumer – Unveiling Marketing Research’s Future Online

By Kathy Sheehan

In unveiling market research online, a critical component for businesses is to have an intimate knowledge of the consumer-both on- and offline. It is time to review, reassess and understand how consumers are going to re-ascend as we move forward in 2010 and the next decade. So what can we expect from consumers in the wake of the recession?

We start off by exploring the concept of “The New Normal”. Many marketers are using this term to describe the post-recession consumer mindset. However, we at GfK Roper Consulting don’t necessarily agree that we are operating in a “New Normal”, for a few reasons. Proponents of the New Normal speak to the idea of how everything has changed and consumers’ behaviors are forever altered. While, certainly, elements of this are true, it is an over-simplification of a much more complex and nuanced situation. Indeed, in some categories and with some consumer segments we see attitudinal or behavioral shifts that appear to be sustained, but in other areas, we see consumers reverting back to past habits. And, perhaps more importantly, the “new normal” is by no means a global construct. Yes, we have experienced a global economic crisis of unprecedented proportions, and it has been the first recession that has been truly global. Yet, when we drill down a bit deeper, we see that really the global economic crisis has been a series of local economic crises – each market being impacted and reacting in slightly different ways.

At GfK Roper Consulting, we developed the first Consumer Recession Index in 2009, which combined global consumers’ concerns, distresses and coping strategies into one metric that enabled us to take a global view of how consumers were responding across the globe. We have since updated the Consumer Recession Index with the release of GfK Roper Reports® Worldwide 2010, and, once again, this proves to be a very helpful, and actionable, tool for marketers to understand where their market sits on a spectrum across the globe, what the best ways to communicate with individuals in those markets are, and what themes will most resonate.

While there is a great deal of variation across the globe in terms of how consumers have reacted to the economic crisis, we do see some common trends in terms of market opportunities among global consumers. Four major themes have emerged from the GfK Roper Reports Worldwide data; the “Self Help Revolution”, “The Home Revolution”, “Security and Trust as Currency” and “Hidden Doors”.

The “Self Help Revolution”

This is all about people relying upon themselves and taking charge. We see this in the fact that Self-direction values are set to grow over the coming years, and there has been a rise in Personal Effort Values – Back to Working for What You Want. Market manifestation of this is seen related to the Rise in Entrepreneurial Spirit.

“The Home Revolution”

One reaction to the economy is the turning inward to the home. People spend less time outside of the home with 64% saying “staying in can be just as fun as going out”. What are the opportunities for your business to help bring out-of home activities in?

“Security and Trust as Currency”

Particularly in developed markets, security is increasingly valued, and this is within an environment where consumer skepticism is high. Increasing consumers have a lot of concerns, often inflamed by the media, such as health & safety, information security and erosion of trust. How do you react to this trust deficit?

“Hidden Doors”

There have been a lot of examples of success and bright spots in a challenging economic environment. These “hidden doors” may point to new opportunities for your business. One such hidden door is the fact that this recession has been a green stimulus. There will be 1,570 new green products launched this year, triple the number launched in 2008, which saw double the number launched in 2007. In terms of convergence, we are now seeing that global consumers are increasingly “platform agnostic”– Internet penetration exceeds PC usage with more people worldwide accessing the internet via mobile devices. It is not necessarily the media, but the message!

In thinking about the future of consumers and where they are going, it is important to keep in mind the trends that are localized, as well as those that are more universal. GfK Roper Reports Worldwide helps our clients identify these trends and develop actionable insights to move their businesses forward into the next decade.

Selling Innovation to Aging Boomers – Is it a good idea or not?

By Diane Crispell

Have you ever had the experience that you were thinking about some great new product that would make your life better, and then it suddenly appeared on store shelves? It’s happened to me a number of times. My reaction has typically been one of delight that someone figured it out, tempered by the (totally unrealistic) regret that I wasn’t the one to do it and ‘make millions’.

As a Baby Boomer, I’ve always enjoyed the benefits of being part of the mass market that all businesses wanted to reach. So it’s not really surprising that my wants and needs have been anticipated through different life stages, from teen skin-care products to family-size frozen-food entrées. But we Boomers are getting older, and older has never been a very popular market, so I wonder whether I will see as many new products directed at my generation in the future. Maybe not.

The fact is that Boomers are not as entranced by novelty as they used to be or as much as younger people are. For example, 33% of Boomers strongly agree they “actively seek new ways to do things in everyday life,” compared with 44% of Gen Yers, according to a recent GfK Roper Reports^® US survey. Similar patterns hold for everything from technology to food.

Does this mean that marketers should focus their energies on selling innovative and status-related products to younger generations and hope that they “trickle up” to Boomers? Maybe, but not necessarily.

Boomers are still a huge market, they are still receptive to innovation that’s relevant to their lives, and it is still worthwhile for marketers to meet their needs. Innovation that addresses the issues Boomers face as they enter new life stages such as empty nesting, grandparenting, and retirement (whatever that looks like for this generation) will be particularly opportune.

There are some areas that virtually beg for innovation on Boomers’ behalf – this is a very health-oriented generation, for example, and if there is one thing that is inevitable about Boomer’s aging, it’s the physical changes their bodies are experiencing.

Speaking of physical changes, the latest ‘product’ to delight me with its timeliness is my local phone book. The newest edition was much fatter than usual, so at first I assumed it included listings for additional neighboring towns. But no, the reason is that the type size is larger than it used to be, and my Boomer eyes are really appreciating that about now.

Growing Into Aging – What jazz musicians can teach us about the graying of the world

By Jon Berry

When I grow up, I want to be Cedar Walton, Jimmy Cobb, or Buster Williams. Not literally, of course. For one, I’m already a grown-up. Second, I don’t have their talent. And, if I did, it still would take six or seven decades to catch up with Walton, 76, Cobb, 81, and Williams, 67, three legends of American jazz.

I recently caught the first set of their five-night run in New York with saxophonist Javon Jackson (a mere stripling at age 44). Over 90 minutes, the group unspooled a vision of aging that was more real – and more appealing – than any that I see in contemporary media or marketing.

What could have been a nostalgic tour through time – Cobb and Walton played drums and piano, respectively, on two of the most influential jazz records of all time, Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue and John Coltrane’s Giant Steps – instead became a larger lesson.

Playing with force, wit, tenderness, and craft, ranging from hard bop to soft standards, all the while with the intuitive, group sixth-sense of great jazz musicians, they showed that it’s possible to grow into aging, and keep growing, no matter your age.

With the world aging, we need more such visions of authentic aging. According to the United Nations, the median age of the world’s population will rise from 27 years old in 2000 to 38 in 2050; in more developed countries, it will go from 37 to 46. By midcentury, 4 in 10 of the UK’s population will be over 60. In Spain, it will be close to half. The U.S. population over age 65 is expected to double to 87 million people (more than the combined population of the top 10 U.S. metro areas).

And yet, the language and imagery around aging is stuck in clichés of the past. We are to “age gracefully” ($5 to anyone who can convince me of what that really means) or “fight aging.” “Take a walk at the mall.” “Find a hobby.” “Get the early-bird specials.” “Update your estate plan.” Depressing.

There’s a richness out there that, with few exceptions (notably AARP and its publications), is not being captured. It’s not just that people are doing incredible things later in life – though there is that. Yohihisa Hosaka last year broke the 60-plus world marathon record, running the 26.2 mile course of the Beppu-Oit Mainichi Marathon in 2 hours 36 minutes. I don’t know what’s more eye-opening, his new record or the old one, which was only 2 minutes slower. Or Tao, my friend Alan’s yoga teacher, who is still teaching yoga in her mid-90s; she’s also a champion ballroom dancer.

More impressive than the feats, though, is their day-in, day-out immersion in life. Hosaka’s 18-mile training runs. Tao’s daily yoga practice. Cedar Walton sitting down to the piano, which “does everything but say, ‘please come and play me,’” he confided last year to the New York Times. Imagine all they’ve seen, stored, retained.

We’re not, as a society, good at unlocking that treasure. We can’t even agree on definitions – a recent Roper Reports U.S. study shows there’s almost a 20-year gap between where 18-29 year olds (61) and people 60 and older (80) say old age begins. Demographics will change that. The oldsters will become elders – venerated for their experience and insights, and affirmed for their humanness, including quirks and imperfections. Some smart marketer or media person will figure that out and point the way. Until then, check out Cedar Walton, Jimmy Cobb, Buster Williams – or any of the other great jazz musicians who are still growing into their craft, and showing us all how to grow into aging.

The Pitfalls of Simplicity

By Diane Crispell

Have you ever noticed that when people use the word “simple,” they often mean the opposite? The phrase “simple assembly” on product instructions is practically a synonym for “complicated beyond belief.” A while back, I came across a purportedly simple recipe for tomato soup that was based largely on using a can of tomato sauce, to which one needed to add a bunch of other ingredients.

I felt that the whole concept was flawed. It’s not that I object to using prepared ingredients in a homemade dish – it was the use of the word “simple” that threw me. If I wanted simple, I’d open a can of tomato soup and be done with it. If I wanted homemade, I’d start with fresh tomatoes, and simplicity wouldn’t enter the picture.

I understand that the intent was to make the reader feel as if they were doing something loving and healthy for their family without scaring them off. It’s a nice idea. There is something very appealing about the notion of simplicity, especially when people aren’t too happy with the way things are. No wonder it keeps cropping up. “In place of materialism, many Americans are embracing simpler pleasures and homier values. They’ve been thinking hard about what really matters in their lives, and they’ve decided to make some changes…. The pursuit of a simpler life with deeper meaning is a major shift in America’s private agenda.” Sounds like a mantra for today, doesn’t it? It’s from a 1991 TIME article.

But frankly, to me, there is no “simple” about cooking from scratch or building a bookcase or sewing clothes, and it makes me feel inadequate when I don’t feel up to tackling these “simple” tasks.

I finally figured out what the disconnect is. “Simple” has two key meanings – “easy” and “plain.” These are not the same thing by a long shot. Any designer can tell you that “simple,” as in unadorned or clean, is not easy to achieve. Any number of books and web sites dedicated to the so-called “simple life” make it clear that living in a down-to-earth and unpretentious way is a lot of work.

It turns out that simplicity is not top of mind for consumers anyhow. It falls smack dab in the middle of Americans’ personal values spectrum, ranking 28out of 54 “guiding principles” in their lives, according to the 2009 GfK Roper Reports® Worldwide survey. (This is true globally, too.)

This suggests that “simple” does not need to be slathered all over everything but used judiciously and clearly. If you mean easy, say easy. But if you mean doing things the old-fashioned way, having less stuff, saving time, or being more organized, just say so. If you say simple, you run the risk of irritating people whose definition doesn’t match yours.

It’s also important to know your audience. A book titled Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple might sound like an oxymoron to most of us, but reader reviews on amazon.com suggest that for medical students, it lives up to its name.

I like the way Back to Basics Toys puts it: “Committed to being your best and most-trusted source for classic and quality playthings with excellent craftsmanship and value.” Nothing about simplicity. We bought a balance board from them a few years ago, which my son uses while juggling – no simple task. Of course, there was our neighbor who, when he saw it, thought we were silly for paying for something that would be “simple” to make. For him maybe, but for us, it was a whole lot easier to buy.

Empowering Your Inner First Responder

As Americans seek self-reliance, more is also required of them

By John Bishop

Perhaps this might sound a little like an insurance commercial, but so be it. When the unexpected happens, you never know who will be on hand to help. The odds are it will not be a trained professional, but maybe that is okay. The more willing we are to accept this notion, the more prepared we will be to react.

Inclement weather, medical emergencies, transportation accidents, natural disasters and even terrorist attacks all require the services and expertise of first responders to help those in need. Yet, in most cases those first responders are often everyday citizens. Certainly, the frequency of the public being thrust into these situations seems to be increasing.

No doubt, when such situations arise, the professionals who would respond first are not typically on the scene at the moment of impact to provide their services immediately. As the effects of budget cuts across the US in state and local government take hold, the scope of these services has been reduced in many cases.

The following is an excerpt from a New York Times article on January 8th:

“In Kansas, state workers are no longer plowing for a perfectly clear path on weekends or after business hours, except on Interstate highways. “Our budgets have been cut, and people will notice it on the highways this year,” said Steve Swartz, a spokesman for the state’s Transportation Department. “In years past, we’d continue to pay our operators until we got down to bare pavement everywhere, at all times.””

Such problems are compounded by the shrinkage of emergency personnel in some police, EMT, and fire departments as they are forced to make difficult choices as to where cutbacks should take place in the face of local budget crises. In states facing harsh winter weather, clearing snow from public roads may be relegated to those private citizens with their personal vehicles. An altruistic deed to be sure, as citizens take matters into their own hands for the greater good of their communities. Yet, with fewer regulations and less experience, room for accidents and errors only increases.

That said, often the good Samaritans in the crowd have skills and experience that can help them pitch in, and even save lives. An elementary school classmate of mine, Dr. Tolani, teamed up with a police officer on a subway last year to essentially bring a fellow passenger back to life.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/fashion/08GENB.html

Since 9/11, citizens have always wondered how they can pitch in, yet there has been no real call to action. Many have taken the onus upon themselves to put their skills and empathy to work both here and abroad. Consider the lack of government help that was available to the people in Haiti during the aftermath of the recent earthquake. In many cases, the first external responders were foreign news reporters. Who can forget the images of Sanjay Gupta and Anderson Cooper pitching in to help those injured.

Domestically, we see that a growing numbers of Americans, 48% (12 points higher than 2007), feel they “don’t have control over government or business making changes to your community”. For all that, the myriad of challenges Americans have faced in the past two years has increased resilience and self-reliance.

In April, AP-GfK poll respondent, Dwight Hageman, a retiree from Newberg Oregon stated “I think people are beginning to realize that there’s not always going to be someone to catch them when things fall down.”

It seems that this role of pitching-in to help one’s self and one’s fellow citizens has partially come out of a sense of responsibility, but also a growing sense of necessity. As I entered the security checkpoint at Midwestern airport just 3 days after the failed Christmas day bombing of the Delta flight over Detroit, the TSA agent reminded me and my fellow passengers: “If you see someone trying to light anything, beat them up – if you’ve got it in you. Protect yourself.”

Consider that terrorist attacks on at least 5 different commercial flights have been thwarted by airline passengers. Says Amanda Ripley in a recent Time article:

“And yet our collective response to this legacy of ass-kicking is puzzling. Each time, we build a slapdash pedestal for the heroes. And since regular people will always be first on the scene of terrorist attacks, we should perhaps prioritize the public’s antiterrorism capability.”

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1950576,00.html#ixzz0cL0lSwk0

Could it be that the government is not asking enough of its citizens? Certainly the economic collapse has been a wake-up call for all individuals in this country as we have seen with the recent shift towards personal responsibility and self-reliance. Yet, those concepts seem to be in direct conflict with the system that has been established in this country over the past several decades.

We have come a long way since the ride of Paul Revere and the rallying of colonial militia Minutemen, but the fundamental ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ mentality is still alive and well, now more than ever. We now know well that there are threats, natural and manmade which are bound to lead to things going wrong – often unexpectedly. While preparation and self-reliance are just good sound individual practices, state and local governments may be sitting on great untapped potential if organized in an effective manner.

GfK Roper Pulse

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Too much information?

Authentic Commercial Conversations

Understanding the New Consumer – Unveiling Marketing Research’s Future Online

Selling Innovation to Aging Boomers – Is it a good idea or not?

Growing Into Aging – What jazz musicians can teach us about the graying of the world

The Pitfalls of Simplicity

Empowering Your Inner First Responder

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