Social Media -- Should it be your primary source for consumer insight?

The consumer is King (and Queen, of course).

While it may seem you've heard it a million times these days, the fact remains your brand is defined by its consumer perception.  While companies and brand managers try to control and influence how a brand is perceived, it is the consumer that determines a brand's position in the market.  And that is why understanding the voice of the consumer is paramount to developing and managing a brand.

The number of avenues open to consumer market research is ever evolving.

From mail surveys, to in-person intercepts, to telephone, to Internet, to panels, to focus groups, to anthropological interviews, to social media analysis, market research can take many paths.  Too often the methodology choice is reflective of what is the latest and greatest, regardless of whether or not it is the best practice.  All research techniques have pros and cons, and it is necessary to select the tool which maximizes the pros and minimizes the cons.

Are traditional techniques headed for extinction?

I say no. Much has been written and hypothesized that traditional research techniques are quickly becoming dinosaurs and the key is to maximize analysis of social media. Check out this article on the subject by Adam T. Sutton on MarketingSherpa.  However well-meaning that thought process, in my opinion, it is not necessarily correct.  Social Media research is very important, but like all research techniques it is most effective when used properly; is responsive to a clear set of objectives and the respondent base reflects a core set of demographics.  There is a significant amount of discussion surrounding the idea of replacing traditional research tools with in-depth analytics on Internet activity, especially blogging posts.  While this should be an important tool in understanding how some consumers are reacting to a product, retailer or service, it should not be the sole source of future consumer intelligence as some have suggested.  The important factor is to understand who is blogging. Is it your core customer? Are they potential evangelists who you want to spend more time listening to? Or are they just a small core of disgruntled customers who do not represent the majority and whose voice is limited and just appears loud to you because you are following them?  Traditional market research tools are no more dying than Social Media research is the panacea to understanding a brand.  An interesting article on this discussion can be found right here. 

Evolution of the species.

The palette of tools available to smart marketers is simply evolving.  The key is understanding how to use the information and not be blinded by the glitz of the technology.  Just as a company should evaluate and make use of multiple media outlets to maximize its reach and communication, its market research efforts should also be diverse.

Evaluation and integration can lead to higher-order research.

Clearly, utilizing social media research should be a key element of understanding your customer point of view.  However, traditional surveys (whether executed through the Internet, telephone or other techniques) and focus groups can still be important as they can focus information collection in a manner that can yield insights that may not be uncovered through analysis of social media.  Just as it is important to have a strategic communication goal with a diverse execution, you need a strategic research plan that clearly defines key issues for evaluation:

• What is it that I need to learn?
• What do I need to know for developing  marketing objectives?
• How should I evaluate whether or not the consumer views my brand the way I want them to, etc?

And, just as you understand that different media options have can have different levels of effectiveness, not all research tools are appropriate to answer all questions. In other words, a research plan should be flexible and utilize all the tools available.  The value of the research is often found with the practitioner of the research and how they can work with the information and condense it into meaningful information that can be used to move a brand to the next level. 

Those are my thoughts. Let me know what you think.

Comments

[Tom Downey]

Fascinating perspective