For decades, here at Christie & Co we have shared our mantra ‘Never Assume.’ This applies to every aspect of successful business, as well as life. Assume, from the Latin derivation ‘to take,’ in general means to take for granted without actual proof, and it can alter perception, filter reality and increase the cost of success.
History is filled with expensive “unevaluated bright ideas” that someone thought was brilliant and with eyes wide closed, pushed the project to market only to be blinded by the glare of bankruptcy or failure. Ford built an Edsel. Volvo tried to market its safe cars as “sexy.” When Electrolux launched their vacuums in the US, their tagline and brand positioning stirred up dust, “Nothing sucks like an Electrolux.” Coca Cola launched the ’New Coke’ but got resounding kick back from their loyalists; hence the mantra – ‘If it aint’ broke don’t fizz it.’ You get the picture.
There is a tried and true solution to avoid a bad case of ‘assumption.’ Christie & Co’s Conversion Market Research and the precise analysis of target audiences’ Mental Matrix and rollout into the precise, research-based Brand Architecture & Strategy. Conversion Market Research is qualitative research conducted one-on-one in private and personal interviews to delve deeply into uncovering their exact buying motivators – and the key Conversion Factor™ that will convert them from what they are buying now to what you are offering, stepping beyond the veneer of assumptions to understand and acknowledge existing behavior, true life patterns and decision motivators. Quantitative research can often be saturated with assumptions. The respondent checks self- descriptive boxed:
▢ Environmentally-conscious
▢ Flexitarian
▢ College Educated
▢ Lives a natural, healthy life
By quantitative assumption, if these points were true, this individual would prefer an organic product over junk food. This however is not always true. And their buying habits often demonstrate the disconnect between their values structure and aspirations and their consistent behavior and actions.
Our Conversion Market Research starts with identifying the core qualifications relevant to the Study as, and through precise questions that stir emotional and perceptional response, unearthing in the example listed above that rather than buying products that logically align with those values, that in actuality the individual is truly confused about what is healthy, grabs junk food regularly for convenience and price savings, and knows that its plastic container is bad, but buys it anyway.
A recently presented Conversion Market Research that was conducted nationwide for the launch of an organic product line evoked these comments from the founders:
“We learned so much. I am surprised to see how much information was hiding in areas I never assumed that would be there. The fact that they don’t know anything about nutrition. Seeing is believing and so surprising. More surprising is that the people we thought were so educated, actually don’t know anything.”
“This shows completely the opposite (from what other ’experts ‘said’) TO put more power behind the facts and less behind what people think is correct.”
“(This research and Mental Matrix) really help us uncover a lot of the latent desires and anxieties. A Lot that surprised us.”
As Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, “Assumptions are made and most assumptions are wrong.”
Your best route to market, and possibly in life, is to be free of assumptions and truly listen to your target audiences. Get to know them. Understand what motivates them. Base your decision, and branding, on personal response and intelligent analysis of the results.
Our Conversion Market research, Mental Matrix and Brand Strategy will test assumptions, and provide an accurate road map to success.
– Gillian Christie