7 Secrets to Reaching the Next Consumers

dreamstime_s_65983349.jpg

Consider the following when reaching out to iGen-ers:

Don’t underestimate.  Teens today are more like adults. They know more than you think, and they want to be respected and treated like adults in return. Whether it's a joke or cultural reference, they like it when they get it or are in on it.

Keep it short. The average attention span is down to 8 seconds.  Video attention span has significantly decreased, from 15-30 minute YouTube videos to 2-minute videos and now to 6-15 second Instagram videos.

Focus on quality. With a world of information at their fingertips, iGen-ers are selective with their purchases. They conduct extensive research (quickly) before pressing “order”.  Marketing campaigns are useless if the product doesn’t pass the quality test.

Be entertaining and humorous. Make your message interactive and visually entertaining- be clever and very funny.

Use multiple platforms.  While many iGen-ers think Facebook is not cool, the majority still have it for specific uses- group communication, group calendars, and sharing content, in particular. Combine Facebook with Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and/or Snapchat- take advantage of these new tools.  Content is cheaper to produce so it will save money!

Keep it real.  The economic recession has helped to shape the buying habits of iGen-ers.  Because they grew up during a time when the internet makes anything possible, (and for some, money was tight) they’re resourceful and entrepreneurial.  They support companies who are transparent and socially conscious.  They not only want to make a difference but they want to see companies doing so.  Show them how your company makes life better for others- this matters to iGen-ers.

Listen to them.  Stop comparing them to millenials or your generation.  Get to know them- and listen to what they have to say!

 

Help Your Brand Get a Jump on the Future

If you need to hear kids’ perspectives, it’s best to hear it from the horse’s mouth.  The culture of youth is constantly changing.  Language, popular shows, apps, platforms, characters, songs, and everything else in their world is different every 5 years or so.  Conducting qualitative interviews with children can yield rich, honest perspectives as well as new language, new references, and an understanding of a culture not well-known to adults. It’s also a great time to interview moms and kids when there is a need to talk to both parties.

It takes a special knowledge of kids’ development and dynamics that will influence their ability to respond honestly, in order to elicit valid learning from them.  A researcher who successfully gathers insight from children requires slightly specialized skills not always needed when interviewing adults.  Patience and total acceptance of the children exactly how and where they are is primary.  There needs to be an understanding of expectations of children at different developmental stages.  Knowledge and experience in design as well as methods and challenges will make the research truly great, learning from all the kids involved rather than just the most assertive.

 
Nancy Clift of Clift Research is a master of conducting research with children and has received acknowledgement from clients in many industries.   She has patience, understanding of power dynamics and other influences, as well as extensive experience on many kid brands.  And her work has encompassed all aspects of ideation, concept development, product development, communication, packaging, brand exploration, and troubleshooting.

"Nancy’s style adapted readily to a delightful set of young girls, a difficult set of young boys, and several mixed sets of mothers. We learned a great deal. Overall, I don’t know how
this could have been better done."
– Director of Technology, Fortune 500 Consumer Food Company

Why the heart is the key to sales... all year round!

The heart has reasons that reason can not know     Blaise Pascal    

A woman in a Seattle focus group said to me, “Advertising does not influence me at all.  I just by plain Cheerios because it is the best cereal.”   When asked the question “why?” most people have an answer, usually a very rational, logical explanation of their motivations.  But the truth of the matter is that emotion plays a crucial and often non-conscious role in decision making.  Of course, advertising has influenced the Seattle respondent, otherwise there are many choices that might be cheaper, more nutritious, better tasting, more visually appealing…  there is something she is unaware of that has led her to Cheerios in the first place.  Whether they know it or not, people can’t make decisions without emotions.

     In his book: “The Brain:  The Story of You,” neuroscientist David Eagleman tells a story of a woman with a brain injury that affected the part of her brain that goes out and checks with the body to detect clues about emotions.  Because she could not connect her emotions with her thinking, she just sat on her couch all day -- she could not decide what to do.  Similarly, Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio studied people with damage in this part of the brain where emotions are recognized.  The people seemed normal, except that they were unable to experience emotions. And they all had something else in common:  they were not able to make decisions.  Logically, they could explain what they should do, but they found it very difficult to make even the simplest decisions. Scientists have concluded that emotions are vital when it comes to decision-making -- in fact, even with what we believe are logical decisions, the ultimate choice is always based on emotion. 

     Yet we are not always aware of this important role of our emotions.  So, it is important to remember that when someone tells you why they do something, there is probably more to the story.

      What does this mean in the consumer world?  Among many implications, one is a reminder to think about how emotion influences purchase decisions.  For instance, packaging, design, and the “cool” factor indeed have a large influence when a decision is otherwise benign.  And nostalgia plays a big role in some purchases.  It is critical to understand the emotions your consumers are experiencing when they are faced with a decision involving your products or services.
 
     Another implication is to remember to consider how to use qualitative research to understand consumers at an emotional level.  Because people are often unable to detect the emotional part of their decision-making, and sometimes even unwilling to believe that there is an emotional piece, it is not as simple as just asking.  We humans like to believe that we are rational and “smart” when making our decisions.  Ways to get to the emotional level using qualitative methods include projective techniques, as well as in-depth interviews that explore the human aspects of consumers’ lives.  There are types of interviews that help people talk about their motivations without the normal rational defenses.  When working with a consultant/qualitative researcher, it is important to find someone who is able to help people articulate these deeper motivations.
 
    Start to notice all around you when you and others are making decisions, the role of the emotional response in this process.

TIPS TO PREPARE YOUR TEAM FOR QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

July 2016

The Objective

As a team, review the objectives of the research and be sure the design and objectives are aligned. Remind them about what qualitative research does well and what it is less suited for.

  • Often, team members are used to getting research results that clearly tell them what to do, which one to choose, yes or no, red or purple, round or square.  Qualitative research gives results that tell us why people make the choices they do.
  • When working with small sample sizes, remember that there is a strong statistical likelihood of getting the wrong answers. For example, when flipping a coin, if you got heads twice in a row you would not assume there were no tails on the coin. Similarly, random error variance means that a small sample does not adequately represent the population.
  • However, qualitative research used to gain insight, to make better decisions as a team, is appropriate. So if a respondent says something that rings very logical and true, the team can consider that when making their informed decisions.
     
    How to Listen
     
  •  It helps team members if they have something to listen for that will help them focus on the broad insights, the objectives, and has them listening powerfully.
  • Consider giving them a note sheet or sticky notes to write down particular types of insights, to specifically listen for things that surprise them, that open up possibilities, that help them understand their consumer's deeper motivations and emotions.
  • Don't talk in the back room if it means you are not listening -- people often hear something and then want to talk about it, missing the next point.
     
    Don't Forget the Basics
  • Train your team members not to identify the company or brand , in case they happen to alert a respondent to information that could influence the research results. We often want respondents to be "blind" to brand, at least in the initial phases of a project, to hear if they bring the brand up on their own. 
  •  If using a one-way mirror for traditional research, it's best if people wear dark colors so they are not visible behind the mirror. This can be distracting and it also defeats the purpose of the mirror.

 

10 Things kids are up to today that you probably weren't

May 2016                                                                                                                           

Written By: Nancy Clift

Written By: Nancy Clift

Whether you are a Millennial, a Gen-Xer, or a Boomer, you should not be relying on your memories of your own childhood to imagine what kids today are thinking, feeling, and living.

My 15-year old son calls them the “Angry Birds Generation” – you know, the kids you saw in the corner of the waiting room with their mom’s iPad a few years ago?  Well, now they’re in school – elementary and high school, getting ready to be the next generation of consumers with their own budgets, and already influencing their families in how they spend their time, energy and money.

When you think about communicating with kids, developing services and products for them, meeting their physical, entertainment, emotional and psychological needs, it is important to remember something:  not only is the world they are growing up in different from the one you did, their language and context for responding to it comes from a completely different place.

Consider just this simple list of things that are part of the air these kids breathe:

The lives of young people in 2016

1.     Smartphones -- Many kids have smartphones, access to the internet and information about anything anytime, games and messaging – and phones at school! 

2.     Staying in touch with friends all summer, and even when they move away.  Constant contact, even when on family vacation. Instagram and snapchat constantly with friends all the time. 

3.     Broader worldview -- Young people can become aware of attitudes of wider range of people -- from the internet:  YouTube, BuzzFeed, Facebook – and they are sharing their own opinions too.

4.     Camera on hand -- Taking photos and videos anytime they want – selfies and pics of friends, things they want to remember.  Imagery they can share with one another.

5.     Instant entertainment -- Streaming – binge-watching shows, current or otherwise & music at their fingertips – free via YouTube, kids can watch and listen to what they want, when they want

6.     Responsibility to get their own information -- Imagine being home sick from school, being expected to look online on Schoology or some other platform to find out what you missed, and to get the work done asap.  Teachers don’t want to be asked.  Turning in assignments online and hoping they are received correctly. 

7.     YouTube relationships -- Watching videos by other kids all over the world – it’s a smaller global community.

8.     YouTube learning -- Kids can learn how to do anything – it’s at their fingertips (literally – how to decorate fingernails is a big hit; but also how to do anything they want)

9.     Fear -- They have grown up in a post 911 age of global terrorism, and climate change has become very real.  Whether they are aware literally or whether they absorb the attitudes of the adults around them, the culture has shifted from that of the ‘80’s and ‘90s.

10.  Sexuality attitudes and exposure continue to morph -- Kids are hearing about and learning about sex at a much younger age.  ABC Family Channel programming includes teens who have sex lives.  Sex is in the media for younger and younger children.  One impact of this is that young people start to consider and define their sexuality and gender younger, and today with many more options and pronouns.   

What is so delicate that when you say its name, it's broken?

April 6, 2016

It’s a scarce resource that makes us more creative, alive, and able to communicate—but that most people are quick to give up when they actually get it. While they say it’s golden, nobody goes prospecting for it.

Some of life’s deepest truths can only be found in silence, yet it also makes many people uncomfortable, especially during conversation. The impulse to rush in and fill the gaps, however, makes it difficult to connect with other people. This is a real problem in qualitative research, one that can seriously compromise the learning.

An interviewer who is uncomfortable with long pauses in conversation subtly discourages some respondents from honestly and openly sharing their opinions with the researcher. Respondents whose communications styles are particularly sensitive to interpersonal dynamics are among the most at risk.

Some personality types and temperaments, for example, need silence to communicate effectively. While it is estimated that 75% of the population are extroverts who “think with their mouths,” the rest are introverts who need more time to collect and communicate their thoughts and feelings. By talking less and listening more, a moderator conveys a genuine interest in learning from these respondents. Such an environment encourages these respondents to say what’s really on their minds, rather than what they think the moderator wants to hear.

Respondents who feel like they have less social power or status than the researcher—including, and especially, children—are also more vulnerable to leading by the moderator. A moderator who rushes to fill any gaps in conversation is, in effect, exerting a form of social control by signaling that some styles of communication are “better” than others. Picking up on this, respondents may emotionally disengage from the conversation or feel devalued and disengage from the conversation, or simply agree and/or apologize and “try to do a better job.”

Finally, leaving space for silence is especially important when conducting research on sensitive or potentially embarrassing subjects. Respondents may interpret a moderator’s discomfort as a discomfort with, or lack of receptivity to, the thoughts and feelings elicited by the research. By recognizing and respecting silence, the moderator signals provides an open, accepting environment where they feel safe to express themselves.

Silence creates the space needed for deeper communication and learning to take place, for new ideas and perspectives to emerge. And that’s where the greatest treasures/value in qualitative research lies.

What Does Making a Murderer Have to Do with Your Brand?

It might be hard to imagine what the story of a convicted murderer, serving a life sentence in the state of Wisconsin, might have to do with your brand.  In the case of Netflix’s Making a Murderer, however, it’s worth the effort.

Over the past Christmas/New Year’s holidays, millions of viewers binge-watched the ten-part documentary series, more than any of the company’s other big hits, including House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, both of which were speedily added to the lexicon of pop culture.

Making a Murderer’s phenomenal popularity reflects and reinforces a deep current in the nation’s psyche--a strong skepticism, even suspicion, among American consumers that they can’t trust major institutions, including brands that have been the stronghold of consumer marketing over the last several decades.

We can see this skepticism in other places -- the increasingly polarized rhetoric between the two major political parties, both accusing the other of lying.  The seeming popularity of a reality-TV star and billionaire as a presidential candidate, despite concerns from the leadership of his stated party.  Americans strongly suspect things are not what they appear on the surface--that powerful interests are pulling their strings.  By showing a corrupt and faulty justice system, Making a Murderer strengthens this belief.

This zeitgeist should be a wake-up call to marketing teams of major consumer companies: Don’t bank on the prestige or authority of established brands to prevail in the marketplace. Companies can no longer rely on consumer loyalty on the basis of their past reputations.  Over the years, comments in focus groups have increasingly questioned the truth of claims by major companies about the food and/or other products these companies sell.

So who do consumers trust?  How does a brand or entity earn their confidence?  Just look at the continued growth and constant transformations inside social media for a clue.  Word of mouth, whether it is coming from a regular person or the founder of a brand or company, is how people are getting their information and forming opinions.  To succeed in the current environment, brands need to be personal and approachable, more like individual people with whom customers can establish a relationship based on trust. 

One can see examples of this kind of personal connection between brands and their consumers.  One company, TheGrommet.com, is based on the idea of allowing the inventor of a product to “speak” directly to their customers.  Direct marketing has allowed WEN hair products to grow strong, and their customers have been heard to refer to the founder by his first name. Even Apple, while large and corporate, uses very personal strategies in-store with high emphasis on personable, individual attention for their customers.  Profiles of inventors of healthy food products, especially young and healthy inventors, abound on the Internet.  One young man is selling protein bars that are vegan, and another young company is seeling “ meat bars”, a feat that would be extremely difficult for Nature Valley, Quaker or even Clif.  (See http://www.eatclean.com/personalities/kid-protein-bar-inventor).

It’s easy to forget, but relationship is the key ingredient to building successful long-term customers, whether it’s between individuals or a brand and its consumers.  In skeptical times, especially among younger consumers whose relationships to legacy brands are relatively new, trust is more difficult to build using old models.  

Accelerated Learning Labs®

As a researcher, nothing beats the fun and satisfaction of working with a great team to produce actionable and successful results for our clients.  Lately, I have had the opportunity and privilege to be part of such a process:  Accelerated Learning Labs® led by Burke.

If you have not heard about this quantitative qualitative process used by Burke, let me tell you about it.  In working on several of these over the last year or so, I have seen quite a few successful product launches and test markets soon to be launched.  They have been able to identify and further develop products consumers love and purchase!

In case you don’t already know, Burke is one of the first full-service market research companies started during the Great Depression by Alberta Burke (a woman in her twenties)!

Accelerated Learning Labs® are a quant/qual process that is powerfully designed and supported by great technology, consistently and quickly providing teams with the knowledge and insight needed to make effective, successful decisions.   The process is fun and gets everyone on the same page.  The teams I have worked with have been very excited about the actionable learning that results!

Some of the benefits clients enjoy by participating in Accelerated Learning Labs®:

  • Team interaction and engagement in the research
  •  Nimble
  •  Iterative
  •  Immediate – quant and qual results available that day
  • Ability to choose focus group participants based on their quant ratings

In Accelerated Learning Labs®, the team watches from another room as respondents use keypads to input their responses to questions, and the team sees the results in real time.  The team then can choose focus group respondents based on how people responded to the quantitative questions, in order to follow up on needed further learning.

Next, focus groups are conducted immediately, with the ability for the team, when appropriate, to bring in modified/iterative stimuli for the focus groups to react to.

The discussion guide starts as bare bones and is further developed immediately following the quantitative portion, based on the team’s emerging questions and needs.  It’s important to have a moderator who is flexible and can change on the fly!  That is where I have been able to use my skills to contribute to the process.

Teams leave with enough insight to move forward, and within a couple of weeks, a formal analysis and actionable report is delivered, combining qualitative and quantitative learning.

If you’d like to know more about Accelerated Learning Labs®, contact me and I will connect you to the appropriate team at Burke. 

And of course, I am still conducting other forms of qualitative research to provide you with the insights you need.

HOW NOT TO BE IGNORANT ABOUT THE WORLD

This Ted Talk is a very interesting and compelling illustration of why we are so often wrong!  It’s a reminder that consumer research is a necessary part of the product and service development process — we don’t already know what we think we already know!  Take a look:

ARE YOU UNKNOWINGLY INFLUENCING YOUR RESEARCH DATA?

By the time most of us are adults, we know how to do a lot of things we take for granted.  We’ve learned how to walk, ride a bike, drive a car, use a credit card, etc.  Yet there are some things that seem so simple we think we’re expert at – even when we’re not.  We know how to ask questions, don’t we?  You simply realize something you want to know and then attach a question mark at the end.  Sounds simple, right?

When you want accurate information, however, it’s not so simple.  Here’s an example from my own experience to illustrate one of the possible ways we can influence the answers without even being aware.

When I was an intern at an ad agency, I went along to observe some in-home interviews with farmers about farm equipment.  The interviewer I was observing (not usually a moderator) was told at the last minute to ask a couple of questions about farm-tires for the Goodyear account.  The interviewer told me on the way to the interviews that she did not think she’d get much from the farmers about tires, but she had to ask.  As we sat through the first two interviews, I watched her ask the farmers – “How important is it to you what brand of tires you buy for your tractors?” and both farmers sort of shook their heads and said they guessed not real important.  But I was watching her, and as she asked the question, she shook her head as if she was saying “no.”  I pointed it out to her afterwards and she was shocked, but in the next interview very consciously did not shake her head again, and the farmer talked for a half hour about brands of tires and how critical it is to get good ones – they are large and very expensive and last better!

This interviewer was completely unaware that she was communicating her expectations to the farmers she was interviewing – but if there had been no intern to watch her, the Team would have never known and would have come back with very different conclusions.

There is a large body of social-scientific research on interviewing and the influence the interviewer and the questions can have on what we learn.  There are several ways that an interviewer can unconsciously bias their findings, which is why it is so important to hire an independent and experienced interviewer when conducting research.  This should minimize the risk of leading the interviews and give the team members a chance to listen

·         Leading questions:

We all know that open-ended questions are critical to getting good qualitative learning.   But even among open-ended questions, there are ways to lead that should be avoided.

o   Order of questions – one must keep in mind the effect of previous conversations on future ones: – make sure the conversation flows in an order that keeps people free to share. 

§  Social desirability and pressures should be considered. 

·         For example, don’t have a conversation about the perceived dangers of germs in the kitchen before learning about someone’s kitchen cleaning habits – they might feel pressure to avoid telling about their less than pristine behaviors. 

·         Reverse that order, have them describe their behavior and then ask about germ-concerns.

§  If specific probes or diagnostics are asked before the general discussion (either in the interview or in a pre-interview questionnaire or screening call) people, including kids, often take their cue that these elements are the ones the interviewer wants to hear about.  They might start talking about “texture” or “comfort of grip” when what is really important to them has been missed. 

·         How to avoid this:  start broad, avoid diagnostics in pre-interview materials.

o   Phrasing and wording of questions – Avoid language that has social-acceptability attached to it, for example, such as asking moms if they “care” about an issue with their kids would lead them to say yes, but asking them simply about the issue:  tell me about ______________ would allow them to answer more honestly.

o   Avoid putting words into the respondents’ mouths.  -- When listening to friends, we often re-phrase what they have said or guess as to how it impacts them.  In research interviewing, it is vital not to introduce language that is of interest… it should emerge from the interviewees.

o   There are several types of leading questions*:  Assumptive questions assume something in the question;

§  Linked statements is similar to order of questions in that what is said before the question influences the answer;

§  Implication questions imply cause and effect between two things;

§  Asking for agreement – suggest a desired answer

§  Tag questions are often yes or no questions tagged on to a statement

§  Coercive questions Imply trouble if the reply is not in a particular direction

·         Body language that can influence

o   Research shows that when interviewers take notes, respondents begin to give more answers like the ones the interviewer seems to be noting.  Just note-taking alone can influence findings!

o   Other body language, such as posture, nodding, smiling, frowning can have an impact on what people will share.

o   How to avoid this?  The interviewer needs to act.  Interviewing is playing a role of a naïve and curious person who has no idea what they are about to hear.  Sometimes the act is to be skeptical, to get the respondent to “convince” the interviewer of something.  Sometimes the act is simply to not laugh when it might embarrass a respondent, or to pretend to completely like the respondent when they have just said something offensive.  But always acting in service of keeping the unbiased, deep sharing flowing.

·         Interviewer expectations

o   A lot of research has been done on the impact of the expectations of the questioner.  (Even with lab-rats, the researcher’s expectations can influence the findings!)  Maybe you remember the research with teachers who were told which students were going to perform well and which were not, and then the fulfillment of these expectations despite the fact that the students were assigned randomly to the “expectation condition.”

o   How does this affect interviews with kids (and adults)?  If the interviewer has set expectations of what they will learn, they can easily give subconscious or unconscious cues to respondents, and nobody might even notice! 

o   What to do?  It’s best to have an objective interviewer who does not know team expectations and especially team hopes about what they will hear.  Interviewers/moderators need to work to stay in a place of curiosity rather than  believing they already know what they will learn.

·         Repeating questions

o   Research shows that children will often change their answer if a question is repeated.  Listeners sometimes interpret this to mean the respondent is wavering in their answer, and often dismiss the answers all together.

o   However, a likely explanation is that kids (and adults too) can think there is a “right” answer – they spend a lot of time in school where this is true.  So when a question is repeated, they try a different answer to get it “right”

o   How to avoid this when you need to repeat a question?  Try giving them permission to give the true answer.  Something like:  I am going to ask you something I already asked you – you did not get the answer wrong before, I just can’t remember what you thought about this.  (I hesitate to use the word “wrong” – I’d probably remind them that there are no right or wrong answers at that point.)


*For more information on leading questions, see this webpage:  http://changingminds.org/techniques/questioning/leading_questions.htm

6 STEPS TO A SNAZZIER TITLE SLIDE

I recently came across this article and thought it had excellent advice for creating attention-getting slides for a presentation. I really wanted to share it with you. ~ Nancy

 

6 Steps to a Snazzier Title Slide by Bruce Gabrielle

I was watching a YouTube video recently on nutritional supplements (long story!) and saw the speaker had used this title slide. I immediately knew what was wrong with it and how to fix it. So as an educational opportunity, I wanted to share my step-by-step process. 

http://speakingppt.com/2015/06/15/title-slide/

These types of title slides are common among non-professional designers:

·         Lengthy title that is center-aligned

·         Lengthy speaker biography that is crowded and hard to read

·         Clip art photo slapped artlessly on the page

·         Gradient background (or some template background) for that extra pop!

It looks amateurish, doesn’t it? And yet, it could look very professional if you know what to look for and how to fix it. Let’s go step-by-step fixing this title slide.

Learn about the 6 Steps here >>

 

Source: http://speakingppt.com/2015/06/15/title-sl...

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MIDDLE SCHOOLERS: An Eighth Grader's Perspective

by Andy Kizilos-Clift, guest blogger

There are many ways to get through to adults --there are also many ways to get through to a kid.  This is just some of the essentials of getting through to middle schoolers – who are not adults or children.

Middle school is difficult… and that is an understatement because kids can be mean and hurtful, and everyone is looking out for himself or herself.

Middle-schoolers are concerned with the basics, like talking in class just enough so you are funny but not so much that you get detention. You also want to get A’s and pass classes. Middle schoolers want to stick out and seem different – or, blend in with everyone else.  Not getting bullied.    

This is not diary of a wimpy kid.  One of my friends cuts and another was walking in town with a complete stranger who did not look safe to me.   And it makes me think just what a difference in lifestyles there is.  And I would love to have a funny story about middle school but truth is about half of the kids at my school have some level of anxiety.  THERE IS NOTHING FUNNY ABOUT MIDDLE SCHOOL BECAUSE it is a difficult time in everyone’s life, and middle-schoolers just want to be left alone. I think middle school is the worst time in everyone’s life.   Any adult that says otherwise was popular in middle school, which means that their perspective is flawed.  

So when advertising, make sure that school does not seem like some magical happy funland. 

One of the most difficult things in middle school is organization.  So, stores should advertise to middle-schoolers for things like back to school items, but don’t do it too early in the summer, it makes us rage.  We don’t want to think about school in July. Bed, Bath and Beyond people really like lotion and hand sanitizer – they have become really popular which is weird.  People have become so rabid about hand sanitizer that they have a nickname for it – “Hand-Sani” which doesn’t work!  When people go to stores, they just want to get stuff that’s “in” –they like the product because their friend introduced them to it and they like it or everybody else has one so they want one too.  Also, if it is really cheap, and they can buy a whole bunch, middle-schoolers love that.

ADDENDUM:  This from the point of view of the mother:  It is interesting to notice that for a couple of years everything is about fitting in.  No fruit-snacks at lunch, no Batman tee-shirts, etc., and then in 8th grade it seems to shift back, as if these things are ironic or nostalgic instead of embarrassing. –Nancy Clift

How to Conduct Great Kid Research

Remember, summer is a great time to conduct research with kids, because their schedules are more flexible, allowing for more efficient designs that will save you time and money. 

Over the years, I have conducted hundreds of focus groups and interviews with kids, both in facilities and in their own homes.   The experience and expertise I have gained has been invaluable and fascinating!  I want to share some of the ways to optimize your kid research.

Interviewing children is fun, entertaining and can be very insightful.  Techniques for interviewing kids can be playful and fun, but many of the mistakes we can easily make with adults can have even more of an impact on what we learn from kids.

Pause and Listen:  I find that the biggest difference in interviewing kids and adults for me is patience.  Kids often want a moment to think before they speak.  It’s important not to jump into the silence.

Comfort:  Others say they think it’s hard to interview kids – I think it has to do with comfort and respect for the children – really being curious about what they think.

Zen:  Kids are generally antsy and playful.  It’s important for the interviewer to be comfortable with the bubbling energy, the wiggles and giggles, and let it occur to a limited extent so the kids are comfortable and can share.

Control but don’t Quash:  The moderator walks a fine line here if there is a child who is problematic.  Usually kids want to have a good time and do what the moderator is asking of them.

·         Boys are often more squirrely and overt about their misbehavior – one technique I have used is to act like I had no idea what was going on, and asked in a very concerned voice if a boy was alright.  He was a little embarrassed and stopped misbehaving.

·         Girls tend to be more discreet in their problematic behaviors, but the moderator should be alert to alliances forming, or someone trying to impress another.

Research Design is Critical:  

·         Having the right mix of age and gender in the room means you can get the most out of your research.

o   Stick to a 2-year range (such as 8-9 years old or 3-4 grade).  If you have a broader range than that, the younger children likely defer to the older.  There is a big difference between an 8 and a 10 year old or a 3rd and 5th grader.

o   Gender-mixing seems fine at younger ages unless the topic is such that might clearly evoke different reactions from boys and girls, or if the team wants to know if that might be the case.  Then genders should be separated.

o   However, when kids get to be in middle school (11 years old or 6th grade) then I recommend separating genders.  Other uncontrollable dynamics (such as hormones) make it more challenging to conduct the interview and interpret the findings.

o   Homework is recommended when possible as kids can be creative, and also start thinking about a topic so they come in ready to hit the ground running.

Size and length of groups:

·         Clients often think the groups should be very short – kids can actually sustain their attention for quite a while.  In fact, if the topic requires 2 hours, kids can do two hours if the interview is interesting and changes techniques, is playful and fun.  Of course, older kids are more able to do so than younger.

·         Group size can also vary and depends on your objectives.

o   Sometimes people want to do friendship pairs to get kids more able to share.  There are plusses and minuses to this.  It depends in part on the moderator and their ability to get the kids to open up, and the objectives.  However, I think of a friendship pair as paying 2 kids for 1 interview, because they will often share a viewpoint.  Further, their already existing relationship dynamics are not known to the moderator, whereas when interviewing kids who do nto know each other, dynamics form right there in the room and are easier to perceive.

 

Techniques don’t have to be limited – kids love visual and verbal exercises – have them write a poem or bring in a picture to share.   Or make a game of it.  The more the setup is like school, the more likely kids will respond as if there is a “right answer.”

Visit http://www.cliftresearch.com to learn more about Clift Research. Choosing the most appropriate research methods and techniques is essential to getting the insight needed to make sure your marketing strategies are based on sound consumer insights. Nancy Clift will work with you to develop a research plan designed to get the answers you need quickly and cost effectively. She can help you make the right choices—every step of the way.

 

Boomer's POV

This past month I have been reflecting on the differences in Millenials and Boomers, particularly in each group's perception of the other--it was not what many Millenials would have expected.  I recently posted some interviews with Millenials and today I am sharing responses to similar questions from the perspective of two Baby Boomers with adult children in the Millenial generation, and one with a 15 year old.  All are still working. 

  • How do you think Boomers and Millenials differ?

Baby Boomers were strivers, they want to get ahead – similar to their parents.  Immigrant notion, you always want your kids to do better than their parents.  I see my peers wanting to do better than their parents did in terms of status, success, a lot of materialistic aspects of life.  A lot were the first in their family to go to college.  A lot were better educated than their parents, achieved more educationally than their parents.  A lot wanted really to achieve and make a mark in the world.  They were not going to be satisfied having a good job like dad had, work at the same 40 years.

Millenials look at their parents and say “My dad worked his butt off--for what?" More experiential, don’t want to be in a rut.  [Millenials] look at their world more [in terms of] experience and less about the destination.  I think that they looked at their parents and maybe . . . they realize that chasing success is not what they want to be about. They want to be successful, but not at the expense of living.  More into the journey than the destination.  Boomers were about the destination.

As parents, we all foist our worldview and our values on our kids and expect them to have similar worldviews and values, and that’s where there’s a rub between generations.  It’s a different worldview.  We all wanted to express our individuality; in college we had long hair and we did different things, that was partly generational, and it was the style, but part of that was rebellion against our parents’ values.

--Brad, 62, Executive

All the digital stuff, ways of communicating, as [my daughter] entered 16, 17--it had an interesting way of pulling people together and pushing people apart, both.  If you were in the group that had all the communication modes – it worked.  If you were out of step with that or not quite on top of that game, it at times left my daughter at odds…she didn’t know, everyone else did.

She’s very connected around the world and that is automatic, the friends that she makes go all different places and continue their connections, and that was not going on when I was growing up.  And it’s a continuing connection.  She knows how to network very well.

I personally like the face-to face stuff, I like communicating that way.

I think it has impacted the way they learn.  It has probably changed their brains.

I feel like I learn so much from my daughter and I work with a lot of Millennials and I am so impressed with their attitude with the quality of work, with their intelligence, with their willingness to share.  I am really pleased to be working with them.  And my own daughter I find inspiration in.

--Cindy, 65, Physical Therapist

Often I think the strongest differences come in the use of technology.  I'm fairly connected, but many of them are using tools I don't use --  Twitter, Snapchat, and much more YouTube video.  I still would rather watch something on TV than the small screen.

Another example of difference with Millennial's; I bike with a guy who is 30 years old, and I find he's much better at dictating a voice text than I am.

I am surprised when he and I talk, how often I feel like I am interpreting my culture for him and he for me. I am actually just a few years younger than his dad.

--Tim, 52, Middle School Teacher

  • On How Different Parenting affected Millenials:

You still see a broad range of rebelliousness.  Just like we rebelled against our staid, depression-era parents, Millenials want to choose a different path, different from their striving and their materialistic parents.

Our parents really knew what it was like to go hungry, that drove their view. Most of us middle class kids who went to college didn’t know hunger, but we knew what it was like to stick to a budget.

Now Baby Boomers have been such helicopter parents--the mealtime looks different because these Millennial kids are involved in so many activities, have lived such programmed lives.  Every ball game they’ve played was structured, where we played sandlot ball.  Our parents said just go outside and play; we grew up much more independent.  That’s kind of a class notion, I’m speaking about middle-class and upper- middle-class families, not people who have struggled more.

--Brad, 62, Executive

I think the thing with Jacob Wetterling [boy who was abducted] affected her, people protected their kids more and were put in organized activities and not allowed to run loose as much.  The fear that your child could be abducted was really impactful, parents felt like they had to protect their children all the time.

--Cindy, 65, Physical Therapist

  •  How did you feel when you were in your twenties about being grouped as a Baby Boomer?

Fascination, and a little irked with it.  I didn’t particularly like it, it had to be explained to me.  The talk was that we had so much impact – as I was more in my twenties and there were more and more protests, I thought maybe we as a group can accomplish something.  I took it as a positive, but also sometimes was annoyed at being clumped and labeled.

You gotta ask who is doing the clumping and labeling, it’s the people who want to make money off of you, who is doing that and for what purpose. Are you clumping and labeling to simplify things and turn heads, or to seek to understand?

--Cindy, 65, Physical Therapist

I remember the term Baby Boomer more in an academic sense, probably when I was in grade school.  I'm the very tail-end, being born in November 1962 I think it's the last year that's even considered Baby Boom, maybe the last few months… So, I've always been on the tail-end of it.  So much of the change that was done to accommodate the Baby Boom was over and done with and old news by the time I was sliding through the system.

I didn't feel like the term Baby Boomer was any kind of bad label, put-down or other thing that maybe held me back from reaching the highest potential possibilities in life.

--Tim, 52, Middle School Teacher

I learned it in sociology, looking at demographics, more like we studied it in school; there were not generational labels yet.

Did not matter as a label, but I remember that growing up, demographically there were a lot of us.  I am right in the middle of the Baby Boom--bubble was the biggest around the time I was born.  Turning 16 and wanting a job, it was impossible to get a job because there were a million 16 year olds wanting jobs. 

 When you think of marketing to these different target audiences, it’s challenging because the values are meaningfully different.

My son was thinking about selling his car, for us having a car was part of your identity.

 --Brad, 62, Executive

  •  How a Boomer feels about how times have changed:

When I was in my twenties, we were recycling, and now – are you kidding are we still fighting to recycle?  Why is that a question?  I can hardly bear people throwing that stuff away.  The environment is an area we have let ourselves down on.

And now I cry about the backsliding on women’s rights – not getting the ERA through was a big mistake, and we did not fight hard enough.

I feel like the Baby Boomers have some opportunity to forage into this next phase of life – there are a lot of us who are going to live longer.  What are you going to do, how do you want to expand your life? 

I think there is going to be a lot more of me, people who will continue to work, to contribute to society, than there ever were before--that want to continue to be engaged in positive ways.

--Cindy, 65, Physical Therapist

Millenials POV

To better understand the communications gap between Millenials and Boomers, I asked a few Millenials for their perspective.  Here is some of what I heard:

How do you feel about being grouped as Millenials?

 Using a general term to describe anyone is frustrating.  Millenials have been painted too negatively in the media, as people that live at home until they’re 27, and things like that.

I would prefer to be considered as myself, as an individual person, and not as an entity of an age group or of this entire population. 

I don’t think of my parents as “old” – I mean I don’t think of them as being just old people, and I think that would be considered rude, right?  If you were to see a senior citizen and say, "Well, they’re a senior, and that’s who they are, they eat dinner at 5pm and they like Jell-O."  So why is it okay to say, “Well, he’s a millennial, he probably doesn’t care about much, apathetic to politics and everything, how do you market to him?”

--Nolan, 25, Market Research Analyst

I feel a little offended, because I feel like most of the time the Millennials are looked at as bratty and maybe not hard-working, whereas I think the Baby Boomers see us as not hard-working because we’re not following their steps that they saw as successful.  Now we’re doing our own thing, and it’s being deemed as not hardworking, not successful, but we’re working differently than they did.

  –Amanda, 25, Marketing Professional

Honestly, I hadn't given it much thought until recently. In the last three months I've heard more negative words, opinions and stats correlated with my generation than any other generation currently being discussed. It's odd to me, too, that prior to all the recent publicity, I'd never really heard anything about my generation. I don't feel offended to be grouped as a generation because that is the standard. Being grouped allows for many benefits in terms of identifying how our needs and wants differ from the generations before us and, additionally, how we have to go about "creatively" fulfilling those needs and wants may also differ. 

I am not sure it's that we dislike being grouped, but more the negative words the group is being labeled with. However, the negative criticism we are receiving as a whole instead of on an individual basis is very offensive. No one of any generation would be okay with this. People in my generation enjoy finding themselves and finding out how to differentiate themselves. Grouping us can misinform people with the idea that we are all a bunch of sheep running around doing/being the exact same thing. Obviously this can be the case with any type of group. 

--Nicole, 29, Entrepreneur and owner of The Site Edge

How do you think Millenials and Boomers differ?

I see the Baby Boomers wanting structure; they need tangible things to make everything seem real and legit.  Whereas my generation is a little more loose, like all these online businesses that are worth millions of dollars, where they’re not really doing anything, there’s no ads on them or anything, and they’re like worth millions of dollars and people are working from home and everything’s kind of like fluid. Whereas the older generation is kind of like, “I need like this much money, I have to go to college, college has to be at a university . . .” I think everything’s a lot more fluid. 

 The people [at my most recent corporate job] who are in leadership positions are Baby Boomers.  So although it may seem like a young company, the rules and the guardrails are very “Baby Boomer.”  They’re very strict, there are steps you have to take to get to the next level in the career path and making decisions.  While at [the ad agency] where my manager who was right below the director was like 32.  And she was like, “you make up the rules, you do what you have to do to get the work done,” there’s no set path you have to take, you do whatever makes it easiest to get the job done to get there.

It’s kind of like a river vs a sailboat.  Where like you go straight down the river to get to the other side, where my generation is like a sailboat that can take different paths to get somewhere. 

–Amanda,25, marketing professional

 … Three huge buzz topics surrounding our generation are housing, marriage and kids. We are straying from broken cycles, traditions and other expectations generations before us had that might leave our generation in a place of unhealthiness. We may not be buying houses as early as the generation before us but we're renting, traveling and living as though the sky is the limit!  We are choosing to be intentional about children and what it really means to each of us individually to be a great parent. We have raised the standards on who we partner with in life because we aren't interested in becoming another divorce statistic. We are drinking and smoking less. 

Where is all the publicity on these facts? Where are all the stats and labels on all the positives our generation is bringing to the table?

--Nicole, 29, Entrepreneur and owner of The Site Edge

 Comments on technology, the media, and their parents' generation

 Technology

 Thinking of like my family and work too, the BB generation is just not willing to step into technology as much as they need to to stay successful.  My dad just retired,  but he’s just like “I hate technology” and he’s just given up.   And even like my director at work was like – I’m really good at Excel, and I came up with this spreadsheet that was filterable and you could do anything you need to do in it, and she was like, “I need a printed copy.”  And I was like, “You can’t analyze anything with the printed copy because all you can see is just that little bit, and she was like,“I don’t know how to work that,” and it’s like ARRGGGHH – Amanda, 25, marketing professional

 I feel like the gap is closing. Older generations are utilizing more and more technology to help fulfill more of their needs and wants. The Millennial generation is learning more and more that relationships cannot be obsolete and that strong face to face communication is necessary. I see people who are Boomer's, Xer's, and Millennials trying to find a balance with technology and face to face communication. I can't speak for everyone in this area or any area for that matter, but personally, I strive to find a balance for myself between technology and face to face communication because I value them both--Nicole, 29, Entrepreneur and owner of The Site Edge

Media

 I think it’s less about trying to figure out the Millenials and more about trying to figure out how to market in the environment that we’re in right now.  So things are different – you don’t have cable television, you don’t have commercials like that – people get things through Netflix.  So how do you market through those surroundings?

Everybody I know in my age groups comes home and they don’t sit down in front of the TV, they sit down in front of their laptop.  So how do you market to that, what do you do?  It’s just different, so I think maybe it’s more about medium than people--Nolan, 25, Market Research Analyst

What do you think is unique about your age now that people your parents’ age don’t understand?

I think it’s just a generational thing.  I think that it’s every generation feels this way, right?  My parents’ parents didn’t understand my parents at all, right?  So I don’t think it’s this newfound, “Well, we don’t understand the Millenials because they are so different from any other generation.  I think that it’s just been painted a little differently, and I think that combined with the media changing a little bit, how we interact with products is creating this false buzz about who Millenials are and what they are and things like that. 

I shouldn’t say false, but maybe exaggerated–Nolan, 25, Market Research Analyst

The Millenial-Boomer Language Gap – An Insight

By Nancy Clift

Bridging the generation gap is a challenge in any age.  Yet marketers trying to reach the Millennial cohort of today are finding it especially difficult to crack the code.  Despite all the information and research available about their attitudes, habits, values, concerns, and desires, marketers are still susceptible to stereotypes that oversimplify and obscure who these young people are and what they want.

Some of the mystery about how to reach Millennials stems from the radical shifts in the environment in which Millennials (generally considered people born between 1980 and 1996) must confront the developmental challenges facing every up-and-coming generation.  The problem is not that Millennials are especially mysterious, but that the challenges of going through these developmental phases are very different from those that Gen X and Boomers--who grew up in very different cultural and economic circumstances--faced in their early adulthood.  This difference is further compounded by revolutions in communication and technology that affect the way Millennial respond to those developmental challenges.

While there has always been a “generation gap” separating people from different age cohorts, the current divide is arguably wider and deeper because it grows from a significant shift in the way people interact. 

The Primary Problem

Recently, I was sitting in a strategic planning session led by TAG consulting, and they started to talk about how people communicate.  As the facilitator spoke, a light bulb turned on for me.  I could suddenly see something about these generational differences that made so much sense that I wanted to share it with you.

            For countless centuries, the primary mode of human communication was oral. People relied directly on other people, e.g. town criers, travelers, minstrels, etc., to obtain their information.  It required knowledge of the messenger to determine the credibility of the information

Then with the advent of the printing press – Gutenberg’s early press was mid-1400’s --  people relied more and more heavily on the written word to learn about the outside world.  Information was easier to disseminate, and its credibility depended more on the facts.  Advertisers used text to communicate the benefits of their products and services.   Take a look at this example of an early car commercial – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCbuMIDcAYQ. You will notice it focuses primarily on facts and information about the automobile.  They were not sure how to use the new medium of television yet in 1950, so stuck with the old fact-based language.

During the baby boom, television transformed the way we communicate as we began to understand how to use the visual medium, and image took on the primary role. In advertising, for example, image became primary, and for Baby Boomers and Gen-Exers, image became the primary language.  (Contrast this car commercial from the 1990s with the previous ad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Vb8pxpbRUs). Brand logos conveyed volumes through a single symbol or image – think the red Betty Crocker spoon -- and brand created credibility about a product’s quality, consistency, etc.

Then with the internet and the exponential growth of social networking, along came the interactive era of today.   Millennials have been raised with a different primary language from that of their parents and grandparents— they are used to having information at their fingertips, as we are all aware.  But it’s more than that – Millennials’ primary language is interactive.  They get their information and insight by interacting with one another.  They are used to taking in the opinions of many,

Interestingly, for the first time in history, people who are alive at the same time have three different primary languages, making communication and understanding one another much more complex.  How many time shave you heard a baby boomer complain about how much their kids are texting these days?

Interacting with Millennials

So, for Millennials, brand is about relationships and interaction.  Word-of-mouth and interaction with brands is critical.  Social media helps to form and re-form in an instant the image of a brand.  A company makes a political misstep and their brand image does a flip-flop.

According to an article in Ad-Week, Norty Coehn, founder and CEO of Moosylvania said “This is a group that will adopt brands – if you can create a friendship with these consumers, you really take it to the next level.  They will go to great lengths to support you.  They will go to great lengths to support you.”  (read more of article “Attention Brands:  this is how you get Millennials to like you” http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/attention-brands-how-you-get-Millennials-you-160575)

Consumer goods and services companies should be asking themselves how to form relationships with these consumers – personal relationships that can be nimble and meet their new and changing needs.  One of the best—and most essential--ways to get to the heart of it is to talk to the consumers themselves.  This brings the relevance of qualitative consumer research to a whole new level for this generation. 

The old methods are mostly not going to work – the old brand logos and stories do not resonate unless they interact with these young people.  New listening is needed, new responsiveness and personalization will be powerful – and keeping on top of the zeitgeist to be sure that whatever is buzzing on social media is connected to the brands, products and services, is vital to the long-term health of todays companies.

            As an afterthought, consider this:  Trying to communicate with a person who doesn’t speak your language is a frustrating experience at best.  Without a shared vocabulary, the parties involved must play charades--i.e. rely on the movement of their body, gestures and hand signals--to get even the simplest of messages across.  It is practically impossible to carry on a conversation.  Yet that is precisely what some of America’s leading companies find themselves doing when trying to connect with today’s Millennial generation. 

Intuition Without Knowledge is Just Guessing

Whatever the product, whatever the industry, successful marketing campaigns build on a solid foundation of great consumer research—both qualitative and quantitative. 

Most of us incorporate intuition—that gut sense of “just knowing” something to be true—somewhere in our everyday decision-making process.  Under the right circumstances, it can be a useful tool—a quick way to clear through the clutter of too many choices.  But relying on intuition alone to make major decisions at home or work is a risky business at best -- especially when it involves guessing about what other people want or other people’s points of view

To cut costs in a highly competitive marketplace, however, some companies are advising marketing managers to “trust their intuition” as a substitute for consumer research.  They’re making a big mistake.

No one doubts the value of using intuition in some situations.  But it should not replace the practice of listening closely to, and gaining a deep understanding of, consumers through qualitative research. 

Here is a great illustration  -- the development of Gogurt by General Mills presents a cautionary tale about the usefulness of intuition without listening to consumers.  Gogurt has been a very successful brand for the Minneapolis-based company—yogurt-in-a-tube now seems like a no-brainer, we take consumer acceptance for granted.  But it didn’t start out that way.  Without the rich consumer research that led to its development (I had the privilege of conducting most of the qualitative component), the product might well have never been launched.

Before conducting qualitative research, the marketing team’s original plan and strategy was to create a fun way to eat yogurt.  As a result, the first package designs reflected that strategy—and were quite different from the now-familiar tube. Through focus groups and in-home placement, they discovered their original package idea was not workable, too hard to use and even embarrassing for some. 

Later in development, upper management was concerned that moms of young children would be turned off by the yogurt-in-a-tube -- they assumed it would be too messy.  That assumption turned out to be wrong.  The major “Aha!” moment came from focus groups with mothers of toddlers and very small children with whom the product was first placed in-home.  Before even being asked, the moms came into the focus group room raving about how much less messy yogurt-in-a-tube was from other yogurt products for their small children.  Eliminating the spoon made this yogurt less messy—easier and better for small children, not worse.  Moms loved it because it allowed them to give their children yogurt—a healthy snack—in the car or on the run, without worrying about the mess. 

Rather than “fun,” the primary benefit of Gogurt turned out to be its portability.  Even the name relied on this insight.  Without giving consumers a chance to use and talk about the product in focus groups, that would not have been discovered.

Putting Intuition in Its Place

There is no denying the value of using intuition as part of the decision-making process.  Sometimes, our gut gets it right.  But with millions of dollars and the success or failure of executive careers at stake, consider the pitfalls.  If it is not based on as thorough an understanding of your consumers’ wants and needs as possible, intuition can easily lead you astray.  Here are just a few of the ways intuition is filtered:

Wishful Thinking—Wishful Thinking (also known as “Magical Thinking”) leads to biased decisions based on the fulfillment of unconscious needs and/or desires.

Personal Bias—Intuition is, by definition, a power of the single, isolated individual.  Overgeneralizing the validity of a single observer or decision maker’s perception causes radical differences among and between people to be overlooked and/or excluded.

Blind Spots—It is impossible to know what we don’t know. The less we know about or understand our consumers, the more likely we are to assume things about them that are not true

Overcharged Emotions—If we relied on our intuition in a previous situation, and our gut feeling turned out to be right, we can become overconfident of our predictive powers.  People tend to remember their successful intuitions and forget about the wrong ones.

Misattribution—If our intuition is not derived from research, it is easy to forget where it is coming from.  Research shows that we may think our “gut feeling” is based on a solid source, and only later discover it came from a letter to the editor in Reader’s Digest.

Media Bias—The media presents a slanted view of reality, distorted in all sorts of ways.  For example, journalists are more likely to report on the strange and unusual than the “normal” or typical.  This gives us a skewed picture of the ordinary and the average.

Focus groups often produce surprises – I have learned this as a busy focus group moderator with more than 25 years’ experience helping some of America’s best-known companies and brands gain insight into their customers.  You can only learn so much about your customers’ needs and desires without interacting with them face-to-face.   Qualitative research gives you the richest, deepest possible insight into your consumers, a depth of empathy and understanding that can’t be gotten any other way.  The best way to know what your consumers want and need is to listen carefully to real people in real time.  Now that’s a no-brainer.