Fear is a negative emotional response to the presence of danger or threat. Speculative fear is a negative emotional response to the anticipation of danger or threat, which may or may not occur. Humans are hardwired to look for things to fear, forming a necessary part of our survival instinct from birth.
The human response to danger or threat is flight, fight, or in extreme cases, immobility. However, people respond in several ways when trouble or threat is perceived only as a looming risk. Avoidance, hunkering down, freezing in place, and acting impulsively are responses to prolonged anxiousness caused by pending fearful situations.
While fear is ingrained in our nervous system, it can also be taught. Technology has dramatically changed the way people get information. Social media has become the primary source of news online, with more than 64 percent of internet users receiving breaking news from social media instead of traditional media.
These statistics may be a sign of modern times. Still, the challenge with most people getting their news on social media sites is concerning when coupled with the fact most people do not read past the headline, and the vast majority of headlines are negative.
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Negative media coverage reports show that negative words such as “bad,” “worst,” and “never” are 30 percent more effective at catching people’s attention than positive words. Research studies also revealed that negative words improved the average click-through rate. Headlines with negative bias showed a 63 percent higher result when compared to positive ones. Most (59 percent) of all news article links shared on social networks aren’t clicked on, implying that most article shares are not read in their entirety.
So, you’d be right if you think we live in an increasingly hostile world, and most news is bad news. We are increasingly exposed to negativity and fearful news, affecting our collective anxieties and behaviours.
Panic buying
When the Spanish flu arrived in Britain immediately after the First World War, people panicked and rushed to purchase quinine and other medications, leading to national shortages.
Since then, panic buying and hoarding have been observed during many crises. Panic buying is much more common in developed or industrialised countries where people expect they will always be able to access food and other essential items easily.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, psychologists observed that panic buying was associated with individuals with higher incomes, the presence of children in households, depression and death anxiety, and mistrust of others or paranoia.
Panic buying results from the perceived threat of the event and the perceived scarcity, fear of the unknown, and as a coping mechanism.
Retail therapy
Retail therapy is shopping primarily to improve the buyer’s mood or disposition. It is often a short-lived habit in people with depression or stress.
Research has shown that shopping can help reinforce a sense of personal control and ease feelings of sadness.
In 2014 the Journal of Consumer Psychology found that retail therapy makes people happier immediately and can also fight lingering sadness. According to the study, the choices and outcomes inherent in the act of shopping can restore a feeling of personal control and autonomy.
Another study by the University of Michigan showed that purchasing things you enjoy can be up to 40 times more effective at giving you a sense of control than not shopping. In this study, those who actually purchased items were also three times less sad compared to those who only browsed.
How brands can respond to environments of high fear and low trust
Listen to your customers.
During times of financial stress, such as high inflation or recession, seek as much information as possible about your audience.
Take a deep dive with multiple data streams to build a clear picture of behaviour and sentiment. It will likely be vastly different than it was a few months ago and will continue to change. Don’t leave questions out of your research about fear and perceived risk with your customers.
Words matter.
The world is changing faster than ever, with your buyers’ attention and priorities shifting quickly in response to stressful events.
For brand marketers and product managers, understand that language that sounded good last month can mean something entirely different today.
Take action.
With insights from your research, determine what your brand should do to address your customers’ wants, needs, and fears. Your target audience has expectations from brands during uncertain times. Discover what they are, and see if you can deliver while remaining authentic to your brand promise.
Communicate authentically.
Be bold and authentic when storytelling and communicate practical information to help reassure and educate your customers. Give your customers an added feeling of security and stability by providing in-depth information. Choose to be a voice of comfort, instilling confidence in your consumers and alleviating fears with the right message.
Fear and anxiety aren’t going away anytime soon. Financial fear and stress can adversely affect buying behaviours, so it is essential to acknowledge these emotions and develop strategies to address them head-on. What was true of your target audience a few short months ago may not be true today. It all starts with an in-depth understanding of the perceived risks and barriers to purchase when it comes to your product or service. Great research is the first step for brands to develop compelling and compassionate messaging that helps customers feel empowered, confident, and comfortable with their purchase decisions during times of financial stress.
Kadence International helps leading brands make game-changing decisions. If you are looking for a research partner to help better understand your customers, we would love to help. Simply fill out our Request for a Proposal here.
India is a diverse country having 29 States and seven Union Territories covering more than 600 districts, roughly 8,000 towns, and more than 0.6 million villages. The villages are spread over 3.2 million square kilometres supporting 65% of India’s total population. There is vast heterogeneity in population characteristics due to socio-cultural factors, caste-based divisions, and religious and linguistic diversity.
Specifically, in the Indian context, ensuring data capturing, and research methodologies are amenable to different languages, literacy levels, and differentiated access/familiarity with the internet is critical.
For the above reasons, research and data collection become a challenging task and calls for a robust and representative methodology to mirror India’s diversity.
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Key Challenges in Research & Data Collection
Given India’s cultural and geographical diversity, some of the critical challenges for marketers and researchers in designing a survey for rural India are listed below:
1. Reach: As per Census 2011, nearly 58 percent of India’s rural population resides in 115,080 villages having a population of 2000+. This effectively means that roughly 80% of the total villages in India are small or very small in size, inhabiting less than 2000 people. Looking at tapping rural markets, last mile connectivity with end consumers is a big challenge for FMCG players. Similarly, reaching the vast network of 33 million retail outlets in rural India is a challenge for companies, given the high distribution cost. Therefore, focused, and targeted reach is a priority in accessing rural markets. The survey design needs to factor in this critical consideration when designing the scope of research and sampling methodology.
2. Commercial Viability: It is estimated that 85,000 large villages in India account for 40% of the total population and 60 percent of the total consumption of FMCG categories. The skewness in demographic profile and purchasing power further limits the scope to cover the whole of Rural India for reasons of commercial viability.
3. High degree of heterogeneity: “A one size fits all approach” does not work well when designing a survey or methodology for rural India. For example, poor and backward States like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh have more than 75-80% of their total population living in rural areas, whereas urbanized States like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Telangana and more equitable in terms of distribution. Therefore, each State has its unique demographic and socio-cultural profile, which must be kept in mind while designing the sampling methodology in any primary research survey.
4. Gender Inclusivity: Females are vital consumers and influencers of product categories in Rural India, but men are likely to be key purchasers. Therefore, “whom to interview” becomes a pivotal question to answer while designing a survey.
5. Linguistic Diversity: India has 22 official languages besides numerous local languages, dialects, and colloquial words. Therefore, linguistic compatibility becomes essential for survey administration in Rural India.
Methodologies for Rural Research
Some factors merit consideration while designing a methodology representative of the diversity of Rural India and are listed below:
- Regional Representation
- Adequacy of Sample Size
- Defining “Rural” and therefore a selection of villages
- Other Imperatives
1. Regional Representation
In a vast and diverse country like India, robustly researching rural consumers requires reflecting heterogeneity and ensuring representativeness. For example, people in the North have attitudes and behaviours that are distinctly different from the population in the South. Similarly, other regions also have socio-cultural nuances that often colour their opinions and attitudes, especially on sensitive issues.
Therefore, selecting Socio-Cultural Regions or SCR-s is often the starting point to decoding rural consumer behaviour. The regions make it easier to contextualize people and their behaviour for prevalent agrarian practices, social and cultural nuances, and crop-season-driven income and consumption patterns.
2. Adequacy of Sample
The population spread for different States in India varies a lot. For example, the most populous State, Uttar Pradesh, accounts for almost 15% of India’s population. On the other hand, the tiny State of Goa accounts for less than 0.5% of India’s population. Therefore, in a pan-India or multi-State survey, stratification of a sample by State becomes essential. Generally, States are categorized into different population bands such as high population states, medium population states, and low population states. The sample is then fixed for each band in terms of their population size to ensure adequate representativeness.
The sample size would also depend on other factors such as the granularity of data required within a State, and heterogeneity of population characteristics within a State et al.
3. Defining Rural
The Census of India defines a rural village as a settlement that has the following three characteristics:
- A population of fewer than 5,000 people
- <75 percent of the male population employed in non-agricultural activities and
- Population density of fewer than 400 people per square kilometre
However, for commercial purposes, this vast and huge area coverage is logistically challenging to cover for any marketing company. Therefore, for practicality and feasibility, different definitions of rural are followed. For most companies, the “hub and spoke model” defines rural coverage as mapped to their distribution channels. They consider villages in the immediate vicinity or within a defined radius of the feeder towns. Last mile connectivity is a challenge for most companies in Rural India. Covering interior or remote parts of rural is not considered to be a viable option. Villages at the periphery of small towns/feeder towns that can be accessed easily become the “immediate” potential for targeting Rural India. This is also called the “Ringing Method” of village selection.
The above has a profound implication for researchers in terms of designing a suitable methodology and, more importantly, for deciding on an appropriate sampling methodology for the research.
4. Other Imperatives: There are a few other imperatives that one must be cognizant of while designing rural research methodologies:
o Permissions: Before any fieldwork in villages starts, it is crucial to approach the village head called the “Sarpanch” to apprise them of the survey and its objectives and take approval to conduct fieldwork. This is a formal authorization from the village head that they have been informed about the study and grant their formal permission.
o Village Map: You are required to draw a rough map of the village before the start of fieldwork to understand the village’s layout and the critical physical structures —like the hospital, school, panchayat office, temple, or any other place of worship. The team supervisor generally does this exercise with the help of a local person from the village, such as the sarpanch/ schoolteacher or any other elderly person. As the rural dwellings/ households in a village are not structured or follow a pattern (unlike the urban dwellings), the maps also help sample and select clusters/households in that village.
o Use of colloquial terms: Given the linguistic diversity of Indian States, specific phrases or words have colloquial interpretations. Therefore, for ease of understanding and comprehension of questions by the respondents, it is generally recommended that local phraseology is inserted into the instrument basis inputs from an informed local person such as the schoolteacher.
With the focus of multinational companies and marketers now shifting to rural consumers, rural market research in India will likely increase spending in the near future. It augurs well for market research companies to actualize this opportunity to sharpen their research methodologies with rural consumers in mind. At the same time, researchers should be mindful of some of the challenges of rural research, such as low literacy levels, low tech savviness, poor connectivity, and a heterogeneous population, while designing research methodologies for this group.
Kadence International helps leading brands make game-changing decisions. If you are looking for a research partner to help better understand your customers, we would love to help. Simply fill out our Request for a Proposal here.
At Kadence International, market researchers are at the heart of our team. In this series, we honour some of our colleagues, asking them about their experience working within the market research industry and what the future holds for the industry.
Name: Arpan Jhingran
Position: Project Manager
Kadence Office: New Delhi, India
I joined the Kadence India office in February 2010.
What does a typical day or week look like for you in your current role? Or what are your primary responsibilities/duties?*
Client Servicing is a significant part of what I do for the project life cycle, starting from sharing the cost to the invoice raising and updating the client and senior management on a timely basis. Our responsibilities include solving the field operations query by speaking to the client and finding the best solution.
Tell us a little about your career so far. What was your first job or role? How did you get started with market research? What other roles (in market research) have you had?*
I had worked with ACC Concrete as a management trainee at their Mumbai location, then moved to Delhi. Kadence is my first company in the Market Research industry. I joined as Operations Executive and was promoted to Senior Field Executive. I have been a project manager for the past five years.
Did you always know that you were destined for a career in market research? Why? If not, what did you actually think your career would be, or what did you say you wanted to do “when you grew up” as a child?*
During my MBA, I was fascinated with the Market Research industry because of its involvement in every possible sector. I was also intrigued by the prospect of using different methodologies for deriving results and presenting those as findings and insights to brands.
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What is your favourite quote or the motto you live by?*
Live and let live
What is the best thing about the culture at Kadence?*
I love the open culture at Kadence, which allows you to work freely and use your experience to guide you in the right direction.
What essential skills are required to excel as a Market Researcher?*
Excellent and clear communication is paramount to building trust with the client.
What is unique about the market research field / and or consumers in your country/ region?*
There is much enthusiasm for trying new products or giving their opinions on topics we need data and insights on.
What is it about the field of market research you wish everyone knew?*
Much hard work goes behind every outcome to improve any product or idea.
What piece of advice would you give someone looking to start a career in market research?*
Clear communication is the key in any service industry to building confidence, and I would like to advise anyone inclined to join market research to hone their communication skills.
How have you seen consumer behaviour change in the past 2 – 3 years as a result of the pandemic? If so, what are your main observations?*
The expenditure pattern has changed drastically. People are ready to spend on what they want rather than save for the future.
For one of our projects in the healthcare field, we had to visit government hospitals and understand the conditions and processes by speaking to doctors, medical staff, and patients. Also, we had to talk to doctors without medical degrees and use medication based on their experience. That was great learning of my career.
If you could time travel into the future ten years, how would market research evolve?*
I see market research moving online compared to the current scenario of being an offline-dominated industry.
What do you like to do in your free time when you are not working? *
I enjoy spending time with my family or sometimes going out with my friends.
What is something you have accomplished in work or life that you are particularly proud of?*
A beautiful family.
What is your all-time favourite food or cuisine?
South Indian Food (particularly Dosas).
What is your all-time favourite travel or vacation spot, and why?
I love hill stations because of the drive up there and the weather.
How has Kadence’s remote work opportunity allowed you to achieve a work/life balance? We would love an example.
It gives me some more time to spend with my family.
At Kadence International, market researchers are at the heart of our team. In this series, we honour some of our colleagues, asking them about their experience working within the market research industry and what the future holds for the industry.
Name: Shiraz Haider
Position: Associate Project Director
Kadence Office: New Delhi, India
I joined the Kadence India office in April 2021.
What does a typical day or week look like for you in your current role? Or what are your primary responsibilities/duties?
A typical day consists of discussing aspects of briefs, research documents, and reports with clients, coordinating with our field teams, and Internal team discussions.
Critical duties involve:
- Being a key point of contact for all clients.
- Troubleshooting their problems.
- Ensuring quality output and insights are shared with them.
Tell us a little about your career so far. What was your first job or role? How did you get started with market research? What other roles (in market research) have you had?*
Market research was an elective in my MBA program, and Mr. Anirban Chaudhury, VP of FCB ULKA, took the course. The idea of understanding consumers and their issues being core to a brand’s success first registered with me there. Doing well in the class set up the foundation for my interest in Qualitative Research.
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Did you always know that you were destined for a career in market research? Why? If not, what did you actually think your career would be, or what did you say you wanted to do “when you grew up” as a child?*
Marketing and brands were the subjects that I was always excited about. Keeping a tab on recent launches in the field of technology and automobile was also a hobby for me, and after my graduation, I wanted to pursue a career in a marketing-related field, so I joined an MBA course. While market research came into my dictionary quite later, the broad idea of doing something related to brands was always evident.
What is your favourite quote or the motto you live by?*
Life consists of two types of days —one for you and one against you, so when things are going well for you, don’t be reckless, and when things are against you, be patient.
What is the best thing about the culture at Kadence?*
Openness to new ideas and genuine empathy for employees.
What essential skills are required to excel as a Market Researcher?*
Being a good observer and listener are the most important skills because only then can you notice even the most minor behavioural insights.
What is unique about the market research field / and or consumers in your country/ region?*
In a diverse country like India, purchase habits vary a lot, even within one geographical area, and to understand such minute nuances getting to the right target that fits the brand/product is crucial.
What is it about the field of market research you wish everyone knew?*
Multitasking is the keyword in market research. I didn’t know how important that was when I first started. ‘
What piece of advice would you give someone looking to start a career in market research?*
If you are open to new challenges, genuinely like to get in the thick of things while interacting with actual consumers, and enjoy travelling the world, this is the job for you.
How have you seen consumer behaviour change in the past 2 – 3 years due to the pandemic? If so, what are your main observations?*
Consumers are now far more digitally savvy; before every purchase, they want to see reviews and vlogs regarding products to check if they fit into their lifestyle, and therefore, organic marketing is doing wonders for brands as compared to conventional advertising.
Tell us about a project that you worked on (in market research) that you found particularly rewarding, interesting, or enlightening and why?*
The project was about a premier Motorcycle brand that wanted to change its brand perception from being ultra macho to a stylish yet VFM brand. However, after our Pan-India research with actual bikes, we realised its brand identity was non-negotiable with consumers, so the brand decided not to compromise its DNA and perception. I found it interesting that consumers don’t just buy a product; they want the brand to add to their projected selves, and that aspect is the critical factor where premium pricing can come in.
If you could time travel into the future ten years, how would market research evolve?*
In the next ten years, UI/UX research will be a crucial enabler for brands, AI-enabled data capturing will be the order of the day, and connecting with a diverse set of consumers will be far easier than today. Moreover, online research would be a preferred medium of research by clients.
What do you like to do in your free time when you are not working?
I like to travel, read books, and cook for my family and friends.
What is something you have accomplished in work or life that you are particularly proud of?*
I have become a more well-rounded person due to the nature of the job, as we interact with a diverse set of people every day, from common people to top industry experts/diplomats, and all of them help you to imbibe subtle changes in your life subconsciously.
What is your all-time favourite food or cuisine?
Mughlai and Chinese.
What is your all-time favourite travel or vacation spot, and why?
Turkey. I like the mix of Asia and Europe.
How has Kadence’s remote work opportunity allowed you to achieve a work/life balance? We would love an example.
Immensely: Being a father with a six-month-old, I appreciate that I’m not missing out on the joy of my child growing up while ensuring my work doesn’t suffer either.
At Kadence International, market researchers are at the heart of our team. In this series, we honour some of our colleagues, asking them about their experience working within the market research industry and what the future holds for the industry.
Name: Mary Ann Tarnate-Lamigo
Position: Senior Project Manager
Kadence Office: Philippines
When did you join Kadence?
I joined Kadence’s Indonesia office in February 2019.
What does a typical day or week look like for you in your current role?
My primary responsibilities include:
- Acquiring new business for the company.
- Establishing good client relationships.
- Building excellent partnerships with our clients.
Tell us a little about your career so far. What was your first job or role?
I started in Market Research as an Administrative Assistant and then joined Field Operations and eventually moved to the Client Service team.
Did you always know that you were destined for a career in market research? Why? If not, what did you actually think your career would be, or what did you say you wanted to do “when you grew up” as a child?
I dreamed of being a stewardess when I was a kid, as travelling to multiple countries fascinated me. But I don’t qualify because of my height.
What is your favourite quote or the motto you live by?
God always has a purpose and plan for you. He will not allow things to happen if they are not suitable for you and others.
What is the best thing about the culture at Kadence?
We work as a TEAM. We grow as a TEAM. No boundaries. No discrimination. Company opportunities are open to everyone.
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What are essential skills required to excel as a Market Researcher?
You need advanced analytical and presentation skills for a career in market research.
What is unique about the market research field / and or consumers in your country/ region?
You learn so much from market research. This knowledge allows room for innovation from time to time as the market grows and improves.
What is it about the field of market research you wish everyone knew?
I want people to know that being in Market Research is a massive advantage for anyone who wants to understand and know how things work.
What piece of advice would you give someone looking to start a career in market research?
Market research is not an easy journey. You will have to invest time and effort. You also need patience, which eventually will compensate you and help you to grow as a person.
How have you seen consumer behaviour change in the past 2 – 3 years due to the pandemic? If so, what are your main observations?
Yes, I have observed a significant shift in consumer behaviour over the past few years. Remote work is one such shift. Pre pandemic, companies were not entirely open to remote work; but now, an increasing number of organizations are embracing the new culture.
Tell us about a project you worked on (in market research) that you found particularly rewarding, exciting, or enlightening and why?
We did a study on launching a new product in the market, a Customer Satisfaction study, and a Consumer Tracking study; all were exciting and rewarding. However, I enjoyed the Consumer Tracking study the most because you continuously discover how and why consumer behaves.
How would market research evolve if you could time travel ten years?
Market research will probably provide a more stable or reliable profile of the consumers in the Philippines – aligned across all Market Research companies. It will utilise more innovative approaches to market research methodologies, and everything will likely be online.
What do you like to do in your free time when you are not working?
I enjoy pampering myself by going to a spa, grabbing a coffee, and connecting with friends. And, of course, bonding with my parents and family.
What is something you have accomplished in work or life that you are particularly proud of?
My daughter graduated from school. I consider this a significant accomplishment, and I am proud of it.
How has Kadence’s remote work opportunity allowed you to achieve a work/life balance? We would love an example.
Remote work has made me more productive. I do not have to spend time traveling to and from the office. Owing to the boost in productivity, I can now spend my weekends with the family.
From one of the world’s poorest and most isolated nations, Vietnam has emerged as a force to reckon with for international investors. Now a middle-income country with a young population, Vietnam provides a wealth of opportunities for brands entering the country.
Owing to a rising middle class and a boost in manufacturing and exports, an increasing number of brands are eager to make an entry into Vietnam.
It was announced yesterday that Apple is in the process of relocating Apple Watch and Mac production to Vietnam as part of a broader push to diversify its supply chain.
In recent years, Vietnam has shown immense resilience. At the peak of the pandemic in 2020, when most other countries were derailed economically, Vietnam was one of the few countries to post GDP growth. In 2021, the country had a rough year, but the economy is expected to rebound to 5.5 percent in 2022.
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The government provides various incentives to attract international companies looking to establish local production and distribution of their products.
This rapid growth and a consumer-driven modern lifestyle have set the stage for foreign investment. There have been shifts in consumer spending and behaviours, and an understanding of these changes and the cultural nuances of the local population are critical to successful market entry in Vietnam.
So how can international investors and brands tap into this lucrative market?
Brands can conduct thorough market research to understand the market, culture, consumer behaviour, and economic and socio-political conditions to map out a successful market entry roadmap and strategy.
Setting up and registering a company in Vietnam.
Setting up a company in Vietnam is a straightforward process, but knowing the options available and the specific guidelines and rules for foreign organizations is critical to success. The two most common forms of foreign-owned companies or legal entities are a Limited Liability Company (LLC) and a Join-stock Company (JSC).
Vietnam is easy to enter and carry out business in as it also offers 100 percent ownership of a company in most industries. Industries that have restrictions on foreign ownership require companies to enter into a joint venture with a local Vietnamese company.
As long as the business covers the expenses and can sustain itself, there are no minimum capital requirements for investing in most businesses and industries. All companies in Vietnam need a physical office address and at least one resident director with a local residential address.
In some cases, you don’t need to set up a company in Vietnam as there are alternative ways, such as having a representative office or having an employer of record —a third-party service provider that recruits and manages employees on behalf of your company.
Vietnam’s stable political climate and socio-economic conditions
A country’s political climate is an important consideration when weighing the opportunities and challenges of entering an international market.
Vietnam is a unitary single-party state, which means there is only one political party; and the formation of other political parties is forbidden. This makes the political environment stable.
Political stability is one of the most critical considerations in entering a new market. Protests and civil unrest are rare, with occasional demonstrations.
On the 2022 economic freedom index, with a financial freedom score is 60, and out of 39 countries, Vietnam is ranked 18th in the Asia Pacific region.
Hiring in Vietnam
Another important aspect of setting up a company in an international market is understanding the labour market —its laws, guidelines, and policies.
Vietnam provides a labour force at a relatively lower cost. The Mekong Region, which includes Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, and some Chinese provinces provides, puts foreign brands in front of a vast, affluent population.
Organizations that ensure equity and fair compensation and benefits attract high-quality talent. Brands should understand legal compliance and H.R. policies and even partner with local H.R. consultants to handle hiring, payroll, and other such functions.
The role of Foreign Direct Investment in the growth of Vietnam
Foreign direct investment has played a pivotal role in transforming Vietnam from one of the poorest countries in East Asia to one of the fastest growing with a rising middle class. Vietnam’s massive untapped potential, a relatively cheap workforce, and abundant natural resources draw foreign investors to the country.
The government’s strategy is to attract high-tech companies to the country, with a focus on four primary sectors, namely, manufacturing, agriculture, travel, and services.
Furthermore, the government’s efforts to boost trade and investment through free-trade agreements make Vietnam an attractive market for foreign investors.
Challenges and competition from other ASEAN countries
Second, only to Singapore, Vietnam was the most attractive destination for foreign investors among ASEAN nations in 2016 —a significant uptick in its rankings in World Bank’s 2018 “Ease of Doing Business” report from 82 to 68 out of 190 from just one year ago.
Vietnam lags behind Singapore in most aspects, reflecting the need for more progress to become the region’s most attractive foreign investment destination.
Some other risks associated with doing business in Vietnam include a weak banking sector and the boom in private sector investments.
The economy is poised to grow at a faster pace next year. According to a World Bank economic update from August 2022, Vietnam’s economic recovery sped up over the last six months. The strong rebound in services and manufacturing is driving this growth. GDP growth is forecast to surge from an estimated 2.6 percent in 2021 to 7.5 percent in 2022, which is even better news for International brands that have an eye on the ASEAN market.
You’ve likely heard the term “agile decision making” in the business world, but what does it mean with reference to market research?
Agile market research is gathering consumer feedback quickly by utilizing technology at any point so you can discover, experiment, understand, and make decisions with more reliable and quick data.
An agile market research methodology is a strategic approach that aims to address the continuous change in consumer behaviour and market trends as quickly as possible to deliver fast growth and improve Return On Investment (ROI).
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Agile research is an approach to market research where feedback is collected continuously and quickly. This allows brands to test, iterate, and adapt their concepts using data and facilitates innovation.
Brands leverage agile market research methodology to create products and messaging that resonate with consumers and have a customer-centric approach.
Traditional Market Research vs. Agile Market Research
Traditional market research includes stages such as project kickoff, design, review, analysis, and reporting. Every step in the process has a time limit before moving on to the next phase.
On the other hand, agile market research starts small and proceeds in steps that build on the previous one. With agile market research, researchers gain more insightful consumer experience (CX) feedback faster and at a lower cost.
Moreover, the research tasks are not time-bound, and consumers are free to respond as they like and on their own time. The seamless integration makes agile market research a shorter process, improving overall CX.
While traditional research methodology has its place in assessing customer feedback, agile market research helps move teams faster because they receive responses quickly across design stages. It also allows brands to pivot rapidly and will enable teams to act upon the data and insights quickly. That way, teams are not wasting time and effort on something that will fail when released.
How to get the best out of your agile market research
For brands to get the most out of your agile market research, they need to be mindful of a few points detailed below:
- It is critical to always begin with strategy and first understand the objectives of your agile market research methodology. This will help you utilise consumer feedback and insights more effectively.
- Ensure your team has the skill set for the agile research tasks that need to be done.
- Utilise an efficient, fast, and user-friendly software that empowers you to conduct, analyze, and report data that supports your agile market research methodology effortlessly.
Three Ways Agile Market Research is helping brands obtain the rich insights they need
Faster Insights
The number one advantage of using agile market research is speed. Agile market research removes the friction that can slow traditional research studies to provide quick, helpful feedback that allows iterative improvement.
With agile intelligence, brands can anticipate consumer behaviours faster and more accurately. This allows the data team to focus on more innovative efforts that help grow the organisation.
All the time spent creating a questionnaire is reduced, sampling is automated, and fieldwork is done quickly. The analysis is presented rapidly, and the process is efficient and seamless.
Smarter Insights
Artificial Intelligence helps provide smarter insights in a fraction of the time taken by traditional research.
Since it provides immediate data sets, agile intelligence offers brands powerful insights, answering critical questions like how to segment buyers, which products are likely to perform best, and which locations to open or close physical stores.
Greater accessibility
Another benefit of agile market research is how it makes insights more accessible. Agile market research allows results from a series of similar projects to be shared with your teams worldwide. Other team members can learn what was done and worked, which helps inform future brand decision-making.
It democratises data and helps create seamless connections to various organisational functions, allowing for collaboration so each department can achieve its individual and overall business goals.
For example, for physical stores, marketing teams can work with real estate teams to identify areas where they should decrease or increase their presence based on store performance and other factors.
With agile market research, brands can test concepts with a target audience, generate a prototype and get feedback, or gauge consumer response to an ad campaign much faster than if they followed the traditional research process.
Agile market research seamlessly integrates various data collection tools, offering a shorter response process and improving the overall experience.
Agile market research helps brands invest in the right tools for decision-making to adapt quickly to market changes. It allows brands to transform data into an actual business asset. When armed with the correct data faster, brands can keep up with the speed of change.
Why do people camp outside Apple stores to be the first to access newly launched iPhones? Why do consumers pay more for branded products than for non-branded ones?
It has everything to do with consumer perception or brand equity. When consumers favour your brand over a competitor’s brand and show loyalty to your brand over time, they are contributing to your brand equity. Brand equity is defined as the measure of the perceived value of a branded product over time. Brands need to measure brand equity because boosting it can help them improve their market share and profit margins.
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Brand equity is different from brand value
With an estimated brand value of about USD 355.1 billion, Apple has established itself as the world’s most valuable brand for 2022, followed by Amazon in second place with a brand value of approximately USD 254.2 billion.
So, what is brand value, and how is it different from brand equity?
Brand value is the price someone will pay for your brand if you were to sell it. There are many ways of measuring brand value and they include the costs associated with building the brand. The investment made in creating a brand, its identity, logo, graphics, brochures, and other assets is used in the brand valuation process.
Brand equity is not the same as brand value but can positively raise the worth of a brand because as you build your brand equity, you achieve greater brand recognition and positive brand associations, which can boost revenue and brand loyalty.
It should be noted that a brand can have value even if it has no equity. For example, a company may invest in developing a product and brand, so it will have a value attached to it even before it enters the market. Brand equity helps enhance and increase brand value.
What drives brand equity, and how can you measure it?
While brand value is easy to measure, brand equity can be vague and more difficult to calculate because it is influenced by opinions, perceptions, and behaviours, and not just financial metrics.
Let’s divide these drivers into three categories —namely, financial metrics, brand awareness metrics, and consumer sentiment.
Financial metrics
Although not the only factors responsible for brand equity, financial drivers like healthy profits help validate a brand’s equity to a great extent.
Metrics such as sales, average transaction value, customer lifetime value, profitability, growth rate, and the cost of doing business are essential data sets to measure overall brand equity. It is also important to calculate the competitive performance of a brand against other brands in the same space by measuring market share and customer acquisition rate.
These competitive metrics also help your brand identify gaps in customer service, product features, pricing, marketing messaging, positioning, social media engagement and following, and distribution channels.
No matter how well or poorly your competition performs, it will directly impact your brand. Conducting a thorough competitive analysis to evaluate how your brand measures up is essential.
When these financial metrics increase, so does your brand value.
Brand awareness metrics
A strong brand with a high level of recall and awareness will likely boost your brand equity. This is what sets successful brands apart as they endure even the most difficult economic conditions.
Customer awareness of a brand and its products and services is essential to brand equity. Brands should aim for consumer advocacy and, more importantly, for their consumers to actively engage with and talk positively about their brand.
Conversation share, measured by the number of times a brand comes up in conversations about the brand’s offerings, is a massive indicator of how aware consumers are of your brand.
Market research helps evaluate brand awareness through various methodologies online and offline. Commonly used methodologies in market research include:
- Surveys and focus groups
- Local store traffic
- Traditional media mentions
- Online search volume
- Customer reviews
- Social media mentions
Emotional metrics
Knowing how your consumers perceive your brand is critical—the more positive their perceptions, the higher your brand equity.
Market research helps track consumer behaviour and sentiment to obtain reliable information about brand perception. This type of metric is much more challenging to measure. Market research using qualitative surveys and the right text analytics software to interpret open text is beneficial in data collection and analysis.
Consumer preference and consumer perception of a brand are good indicators of brand equity. The former pitches the brand against its competition and gauges how consumers view it in relation to competing brands. The latter provides insights into the emotions and feelings associated with a particular brand. For instance, market research using qualitative methods can reveal how consumers react to a particular brand name.
Consumer preference influences purchase decisions, like paying a higher price for a brand name or going the extra mile to access the brand. A case in point is the annual beeline outside Apple stores when it releases its newest iPhone.
Quantitative methods like sales data are an excellent way to gauge customer preference; however, they should be used alongside qualitative methodologies such as surveys to identify to what extent your customers agree your brand is superior to the competition and how much they are willing to pay for your brand name.
These surveys are also used to measure how emotionally invested your consumers are in your brand and the emotions associated with it.
While a nebulous concept, brand equity provides the actual value of a brand beyond financial metrics.
Knowing how consumers feel toward a brand can open new opportunities for understanding key demographics within target audiences.
With a deeper understanding of the target audience, products and campaigns can be tailored to specific groups to improve ROI.
Utilizing quantitative methods, brands measure brand equity based on financial data, like sales, revenue, profit, and loss. Qualitative methods of measuring brand equity, on the other hand, include brand awareness, brand recognition, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and brand perception.
Brands like Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft did not build their brand value overnight, but we know they have devoted many years to creating memorable brands that resonate with their target audience, and they continue to tirelessly do so even today.
While tracking many of these metrics may be challenging, it is not impossible. Market research provides invaluable tools to etch out brands that stand out and shine using data, market intelligence, insights, and breakthrough technology.
Senior Marketing Executive
Sales & Marketing
General Manager PR -Internal Communications & Government Affairs
Vital Strategies
Customer Intelligence Director