Purpose of Article
Traditional approaches for customer
involvement in new product development such as surveys, focus groups and interviews
have proved they offer limited information at identifying the customer’s needs.
With interviews, the customer may feel uncomfortable in this style of
questioning causing them to not understand what their needs really are. Focus
groups may offer improvements to existing ideas, but because of the seclusion
of the group, breakthroughs are unlikely to happen. The article states that one
of the most promising approaching to resolving the disadvantages of traditional
approaches is the use of ethnographic market research, which uses the ideas of
ethnography. This article reviews four
cases from the sectors of manufacturing and services, the key elements of
ethnographic research, and the implications for managers.
Key Findings
By conducting ethnographic research,
reveals the consumers rational and emotional attitudes towards the existing
products that the company currently offers. Problems were identified with production
line employees and found that there needs to be a more custom-made product to
fit unmet needs. Using systematic observation by observing families with
allergy problems, the researchers for the company were able to develop a new
product line. The two companies conducting the research study focused on
service products and planned to improve their existing products. Interviews
were conducted which gave a better understanding of how the consumer felt about
the service and the strength of their intent to purchase was. By visiting
potential consumers at their home, provides a clearer understanding of the
individual characteristics of the people who use the products and services which
will help generate new market segments. The survey interviews mainly led to the
way the products and services were marketed, but also led to product redesign.
The interviews were proven to pay off because both companies had generated more
profits by repositioning and redesigning the services that were struggling. The
article also stated that further ethnographic research, such as systematic
observation, can be conducted to better understand the new products that can be
developed.
Implications
for Managers
Although the study
conducted claimed that there are financial benefits for a company to use
ethnographic research for new product development, I believe that the costs
associated with this type of research would outweigh the benefits. Firstly, I
agree that personal interviews can reveal the most information about the
consumers’ view of the product or service, but I believe it is too time
consuming. Time consumption has a value, and I think if it takes too much time
then therefore it will be too expensive. A consumer can only give you so much
information in a short period of time, so there really is a ceiling of ideas
that a company can generate from these types of interviews. The article also
mentioned how the company that would conduct the interviews could potentially
be outsourced which creates another problem when connecting the actual brand to
the consumer. I think that most breakthrough product ideas come from employees
on the inside of a company. I think that if a company seeks new product ideas,
it is best they seek information from individuals from the inside rather than
the outside.
Reference : Beyond the Voice of the Customer :Ethnographic Market Research
by: Keith Goffin, Claus J. Varnes, Chris van der Hoven, and Ursula Koners
Reference : Beyond the Voice of the Customer :Ethnographic Market Research
by: Keith Goffin, Claus J. Varnes, Chris van der Hoven, and Ursula Koners
I think that if the company is willing to go through so much to provide better quality to their customers and profit off of their findings, they need to continue doing what they are doing. They are providing better services to their customers and in turn will continue to benefit.
ReplyDeleteI respect your opinion that if a company seeks new product ideas, it is best that they seek it from individuals from inside rather than the outside. However, if you're seeking to meet the needs of your consumers I think that you need to do all that you can to identify with them.
Thanks Michelle for your opinion. That is an interesting viewpoint, because it is true the customer is very important. But I feel that a company sometimes forgets there there are also great ideas generating at lower levels of the company that they fail to acknowledge. If they could find a cheap way to have a representative of the company interview several people in a public place, such as a mall, I think it would be more effective as they would not feel put on the spot. It also would be cheaper, because they would be able to interview several people at once.
ReplyDeleteIt is very interesting how far can a company go to satisfy the needs of their consumers. Based on the article and what Michelle P. suggested that it would be expensive for a company to seek interview of each individual. However, consumers tends to be more honest about their opinions then an employee who have to watch his or her environment before really giving an honest opinion.
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