MULTIPLE CHOICES: These make brand image that much more important to companies

You are out on a lazy stroll through Bangalore’s Shoppers Stop when a pleasant-looking, polite young woman suddenly buttonholes you. She has a notepad in her hand, and a few questions on her mind. Could she — if you have a few minutes to spare — ask you a few questions?

The questions — when do they come tripping out — seek a blow-by-blow account of your daily routine. So, what time did you get up in the morning? How did you decide what you were going to wear? What kind of music do you listen to in your car?

You are not quite sure what the inquisition is all about, till the interrogator tells you that the question-answer session is a part of Arvind Mills’ new consumer research strategy to boost sales of Arrow shirts and help in brand-building. “We don’t ask upfront whether you wear a Van Heusen or an Arrow ,” says Rini Datta, brand manager for Arrow. For that wouldn’t serve the purpose. “It would not give us an insight into the consumer’s mind,” she says.

Consumer research is no longer all about number-crunching; it’s now a mind game. “It is not enough to compile facts and figures. The philosophy of new-age research is to understand the consumer in total,” says Subash Chandra, senior project director, Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB).

The need for new research methods is market-driven. Competition is stiff and the consumer mind — snowed under by a host of brand choices — is cluttered. “There is a surplus of brands in the market. Companies are looking for new spaces to occupy in the consumer’s mind,” says Anju Joseph, general manager, Quantum Research Agency.

For a brand to get noticed, it needs to stand apart from the rest. And the researchers argue that conventional research methods — with their stress on statistics — don’t tell brand managers what a customer’s mind is all about.

Qualitative consumer research techniques are new to the Indian market. Some popular methods include focus groups, in-depth interviews, living with the consumer, deprivation studies and shadowing.

Finding willing participants is the toughest bit in focus group research. “The hit rate is 10 per cent,” says Datta of Arvind Mills. The participants — all drawn from a common age, economic and educational bracket — are divided in two groups: the brand loyalists and the brand rejectors. They are invited to a hotel room, placed under a neutral researcher and then pitched against each other. The loyalists talk about the core values of the brand. The rejectors explain in detail why they ignored it. “The discussions are an eye-opener,” says Datta. Sometimes, the participants get so charged up that the group becomes confrontational, she adds.

Clearly, the more vocal and agitated the group is, the more researchers get to know about what sells — or doesn’t. Chandra of IMRB points out that focus groups help zero in on a brand’s image in a consumer’s mind. “A lot of emotional aspects are in play. Which is why focus groups help,” he says.

A new research method — called ‘Day in the Life’ — is gaining ground with brand analysts. The researcher stays with a consumer round-the-clock and studies his or her relationship with a brand. “The researcher has been trained to behave like wallpaper. So the consumer forgets that the researcher is around,” says Joseph of Quantum Research.

This research technique is said to produce the best results, for it helps explain consumer attitude. Joseph cites the example of the Treat biscuit advertisement. “The Treat ad asks consumers to ‘open, lick and then eat’ the biscuit. It reflects an attitudinal change and is a result of closely observing consumer behaviour,” says Joseph.

In deprivation studies, consumers are told not to use a particular brand. “This brings out the emotions experienced while not consuming a brand,” says Joseph. The information garnered is believed to help in forming communication and advertising strategies for a brand.

Consumers might not like this one, but shadowing is becoming a popular research technique as well. A consumer is observed without his or her knowledge. And the researchers believe that the strength of the technique lies in the fact that customers who don’t know they are being watched are not likely to fake their responses. “The consumer is not conscious of being observed. So he behaves completely like himself. That’s just what a researcher wants,” says Joseph.

More and more fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), apparel and technology companies are adopting qualitative research methods. And, the researches say, they are reporting good results. Starting January, this year, Arrow shirts introduced qualitative methods to its brand research portfolio. “Based on the research findings, several product and showroom changes were introduced,” says Datta. The brand manager claims that Arrow has recorded a 30 per cent increase in sales over the last year.

Qualitative research methods have ensured that armchair researching is shown the door. “Researchers have to be pro-active,” says Chandra. He cites an example. If the functioning of a parking system at a shopping mall has to be assessed, a researcher is required to stand in the parking area and keep a watch on the cars driving in. At the end of the day, the researcher knows the total number of cars that have driven up, how systematic the parking system is and how long it takes for a driver to park a car. “Earlier, the researcher would talk to five customers and draw a conclusion,” says Chandra.

Brands are vying with each other to become consumer-friendly, brand managers want to know their buyers better and brand researchers are working over-time. So, the next time you are accosted by a stranger and asked some curious questions, don’t fret. The researchers will tell you it’s all for your own good.