In one of my part time marketing classes, we were going over the different ways that companies get information about their consumers. You know the usual suspects, they make you get a store card, give you discounts, but track what you purchase. Or they offer you the chance to win a prize when you complete a short questionnaire. But I feel a lot of these methods are very invasive, in that they intercept a consumer when they're in the middle of something more important to them. For example, if I'm in the line paying for my groceries, I could care less about some survey.
"For the last time, I do not want a Duane Reade card! Tell me how much I owe you, so I can get out of here! "
"No, I will not taste that yogurt, I don't care how much fiber it has. By the way, your commercials are terrible."
There must be a way to get data from your consumers without harassing them or interfering with their lives. Brain implants, anyone? No? Then maybe the next best thing we can do, is bring the consumer to us, when they have the time, and more importantly, the inclination to voice their opinion. How's this for an idea? I go to ShopRite - near the entrance there are a bunch of computer terminals. If I want, I can go over to the terminal, browse a simple user friendly screen, pick the products that interest me, and fill out some short surveys. I get a nice little coupon for those products in return. The more surveys I complete, the more coupons I get.
It sounded like a great idea to me, but I'm wondering what is so wrong with it that it hasn't been done yet. There must be some obvious flaw I'm not seeing. Is it too expensive to maintain such terminals, when compared to the amount of information you can gain from it? Possible. There are definitely some factors that would hamper the use of such a tool.
1. Time - This caters to only those consumers that have the time to spare. What about the ones that don't. If supermarkets don't offer a discount to them, they will just go to another chain that does- with the hassle.
2. Demographic skew - Economically speaking, the data might end up being captured from the portion of the general population that depend on discounts. Families that do not have money to spare and for whom every penny saved counts. The terminal does not guarantee data capture from the entire spectrum of shoppers. For a marketer that is a handicap. It's equivalent to telling a baseball player she/he is only allowed to hit the ball to left field and nowhere else. And they must wear an eye patch while doing so.
3. Physical limitations - The unit will take up space. And in busy locations, there is a possibility that queues could form.
Yep, definitely has some drawbacks. But the first two of these drawbacks happen anyway. The advantage that a physical terminal gives is that it's not the lazy way out. As marketers increasingly rely on online and mobile tools - it makes it easier for them to push the work out to these tools and then perform the number crunching on that collected data. The advantage such a terminal gives is that users can fill out longer surveys with more meaningful information in them. And if you offer discounts, people will try and get them. I have once been driven by a obsessed friend, to three different Shop-and-Stops and bought 8 boxes of tea from each of them, just because they had an attractive discount.
Besides gathering more meaningful information, it also shows responsible marketing. Offer the discounts like a service a consumer might want to avail of, instead of forcing them to sign up for things they do not want to. Who knows, you might actually develop a healthy relationship with your consumer.
Finally, such a terminal can be packaged in a generic form - such that any brand can sign up to participate - for a fee. For supermarkets, this would generate revenue through a subscription service. They could also tie in additional features to the terminal - like once a product coupon is printed out - the ticket indicates which aisle they can find the product in. For completed surveys, the terminal could also suggest other products the user might want to rate/try. The terminal could also be a launching pad for test products and a cheap way to buy some market awareness. For brands that usually don't offer discounts, the advantages of such a service could finally tempt them to. For consumers, here is one place to get your coupons in exchange for your time and opinions.
The idea has some merits and is worth considering. Capturing data from your consumers is very important to marketers. But perhaps a less aggressive approach should be considered, where the power is in the hands of the consumer. Consumer saves money. Marketer gets data. And the consumer chose to give it.
"For the last time, I do not want a Duane Reade card! Tell me how much I owe you, so I can get out of here! "
"No, I will not taste that yogurt, I don't care how much fiber it has. By the way, your commercials are terrible."
There must be a way to get data from your consumers without harassing them or interfering with their lives. Brain implants, anyone? No? Then maybe the next best thing we can do, is bring the consumer to us, when they have the time, and more importantly, the inclination to voice their opinion. How's this for an idea? I go to ShopRite - near the entrance there are a bunch of computer terminals. If I want, I can go over to the terminal, browse a simple user friendly screen, pick the products that interest me, and fill out some short surveys. I get a nice little coupon for those products in return. The more surveys I complete, the more coupons I get.
It sounded like a great idea to me, but I'm wondering what is so wrong with it that it hasn't been done yet. There must be some obvious flaw I'm not seeing. Is it too expensive to maintain such terminals, when compared to the amount of information you can gain from it? Possible. There are definitely some factors that would hamper the use of such a tool.
1. Time - This caters to only those consumers that have the time to spare. What about the ones that don't. If supermarkets don't offer a discount to them, they will just go to another chain that does- with the hassle.
2. Demographic skew - Economically speaking, the data might end up being captured from the portion of the general population that depend on discounts. Families that do not have money to spare and for whom every penny saved counts. The terminal does not guarantee data capture from the entire spectrum of shoppers. For a marketer that is a handicap. It's equivalent to telling a baseball player she/he is only allowed to hit the ball to left field and nowhere else. And they must wear an eye patch while doing so.
3. Physical limitations - The unit will take up space. And in busy locations, there is a possibility that queues could form.
Yep, definitely has some drawbacks. But the first two of these drawbacks happen anyway. The advantage that a physical terminal gives is that it's not the lazy way out. As marketers increasingly rely on online and mobile tools - it makes it easier for them to push the work out to these tools and then perform the number crunching on that collected data. The advantage such a terminal gives is that users can fill out longer surveys with more meaningful information in them. And if you offer discounts, people will try and get them. I have once been driven by a obsessed friend, to three different Shop-and-Stops and bought 8 boxes of tea from each of them, just because they had an attractive discount.
Besides gathering more meaningful information, it also shows responsible marketing. Offer the discounts like a service a consumer might want to avail of, instead of forcing them to sign up for things they do not want to. Who knows, you might actually develop a healthy relationship with your consumer.
Finally, such a terminal can be packaged in a generic form - such that any brand can sign up to participate - for a fee. For supermarkets, this would generate revenue through a subscription service. They could also tie in additional features to the terminal - like once a product coupon is printed out - the ticket indicates which aisle they can find the product in. For completed surveys, the terminal could also suggest other products the user might want to rate/try. The terminal could also be a launching pad for test products and a cheap way to buy some market awareness. For brands that usually don't offer discounts, the advantages of such a service could finally tempt them to. For consumers, here is one place to get your coupons in exchange for your time and opinions.
The idea has some merits and is worth considering. Capturing data from your consumers is very important to marketers. But perhaps a less aggressive approach should be considered, where the power is in the hands of the consumer. Consumer saves money. Marketer gets data. And the consumer chose to give it.
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