Target: It is time research was more than a 'one night stand'

Target: It is time research was more than a 'one night stand'
B&T Magazine
By B&T Magazine
SHARE
THIS



Retailers need to move research beyond the traditional “one night stand” approach and push it to become another touch point for branding Target’s customer insights manager has argued.

Research must be considered as a brand touch point and as a two-way relationship Fiona Buchanan, customer insights manager Target Australia, said at the ecommerce Conference & Expo Melbourne.

“Traditional research, I feel, is like a one night stand. You get the customer and you have them for a certain amount of time and you have to get as much information from them as you can,” Buchanan said.

“‘When where you born, how old are you, where do you live and what do you think of this’ and 50 other questions. Then ‘Ok, great, off you go with the rest of your life. I am never going to see you again’.”

Instead of this, Buchanan believes businesses should view research respondents as their “guests” and figure out ways gather information while simultaneously reinforcing the brand message.

Target has done this with its branded community Target Talks. The community consists of around 6,000 people who have joined on the premise that they are going to help make Target better.

Buchanan says the platform has been “hugely successful” thanks to the brand’s heritage and “strong customer base who seem to forgive us for anything”.

Turning unstructured information into structured data is a “really exciting space” that is beginning to become competitive, according to Buchannan.

From a customer point of view it is more natural to provide unstructured feedback on their experiences rather than a 0 to 10 scale.

“The onus then is on the research providers to make sense of that data in a way that is really meaningful.” The process is moving beyond counting words and matching them with another and allowing spontaneous themes that are different from the week before to emerge.

“It is really taking that unstructured, verbatim feedback and coding it and putting it into a list that is relevant to your business and turning it into structured data.”

Modern retail research techniques include passive, active and interactive aspects. Passive includes tracking a consumers phone, which Buchannan said can unearth information such as the time their alarm goes off in the morning and how many photos they have. Being completely transparent about exactly what information is being gathered and how it is being used is integral here.

Active includes more traditional research techniques such as surveys while interactive includes methods such as branded communities.

Areas Target is looking to push into include geo-fencing or using a consumer’s location to push them  questions that are relevant to their current location, mobile diaries and more tracking.

Buchanan said research today involved five main pillars: convenience, relevance, independence, experience and transparency.

Convenience – it should be easy for them to take part.

Relevance – it needs to make sense. If you are going to ask a consumer about a new in-store execution ask them about it while they are, not once they have returned home.

Independence – let them choose the device they wish to complete the research on.

Experience – aim to make it fun and engaging

Transparency – they need to know what you are doing. “Even feeding back some of the information that you are learning them is really valuable.”

Buchanan ended her presentation with the following directive: “Research must adapt to keep with consumer behaviour…always looking at what they are doing, how they are moving forward and how you can match that.”

Please login with linkedin to comment

Latest News

Shop! ANZ Calls On Industry To Participate In ANZ Shopper And Retail Marketing Industry Survey
  • Marketing

Shop! ANZ Calls On Industry To Participate In ANZ Shopper And Retail Marketing Industry Survey

Shop! ANZ is calling on shopper and retail marketing professionals from all retail related disciplines to participate in the first ANZ Shopper and Retail Marketing Industry Survey in four years. This important research provides a guide of where the retail marketing industry in Australia and New Zealand has come from and what is anticipated to […]

How To Align A Marketing Strategy With Customers’ Shifting Perspectives
  • Opinion

How To Align A Marketing Strategy With Customers’ Shifting Perspectives

In this guest post, Ania Kubiak (main photo), A/NZ country manager at Lucid, offers her tips on how to align your brand with customers’ fast-moving expectations… In today’s digital world, the speed at which consumers’ perspectives and opinions on political and social environments is changing faster than ever before. Consumers are inundated with new information […]

Opinion

by B&T Magazine

B&T Magazine
Woolies’ Retail Media Business Cartology Announces New Appointments
  • Advertising

Woolies’ Retail Media Business Cartology Announces New Appointments

Cartology, the retail media business of Woolworths Group, has further expanded its team with Martin Wood (pictured below) been promoted to head of strategic partnerships and Matt Gower (main photo) has joined the business as senior manager of research and insights. Wood will lead a new team dedicated to servicing the retail media business’s largest […]

Condé Nast Agree To Wage Raise After Two-Year Campaign By The New Yorker Union
  • Media

Condé Nast Agree To Wage Raise After Two-Year Campaign By The New Yorker Union

CondÉ Nast, the publisher of publications such as VOGUE, Vanity fair, Pitchfork and The New Yorker has agreed to raise the minimum wage for employees after a campaign by the New Yorker union. The union had previously organised a protest, which saw New Yorker staff demonstrating outside VOGUE editor-in-chief Anna Wintour’s home. Placards at the protest had […]

GoDaddy Wins Gold As Official Partner For Australian Olympic Team
  • Technology

GoDaddy Wins Gold As Official Partner For Australian Olympic Team

GoDaddy has announced it has been named as the official website builder partner of the Australian Olympic team for the Tokyo 2020 Games.  GoDaddy has a history of supporting entrepreneurs and small business owners in Australia. Many Australian Olympic athletes are small business owners themselves, running businesses and side hustle to help support the pursuit […]

Global Media Network MDC Partners Adds This Is Flow To Global Affiliate Program
  • Marketing

Global Media Network MDC Partners Adds This Is Flow To Global Affiliate Program

MDC Partners (NASDAQ: MDCA), the company that owns agencies including 72andSunny, Anomaly and Media Kitchen, has expanded its global footprint in a partnership with This Is Flow. The Australian based indie will become MDC’s affiliate media planning and buying agency across Australia and New Zealand and will help manage global clients and participate on global pitches etc. however This is Flow will still remain 100% independent.

Woman hand using mobile phone and laptop, Worldwide connection technology interface.
  • Technology

DoubleVerify’s Custom Contextual Targeting Launches On The Trade Desk

DoubleVerify has announced the expansion of a partnership with The Trade Desk to include activation of DV Custom Contextual, which will enable programmatic advertisers using the platform to target relevant audiences in a privacy-safe manner that does not utilize cookies or personally identifiable information. The Trade Desk now supports a comprehensive suite of DV’s pre-bid […]

Seven Reveals Revenues Up 45% In Q4
  • Media

Seven Reveals Revenues Up 45% In Q4

Seven West Media releases Q4 update. Yet, no mention of Ben Roberts-Smith or James Warburton's gold-plated toilet seat.

Swinburne University Of Technology And FourthRev Help Students Gain Hands On Digital Skills
  • Marketing

Swinburne University Of Technology And FourthRev Help Students Gain Hands On Digital Skills

Swinburne University of Technology has launched a series of  Bootcamp Graduate Certificate courses, developed in partnership with FourthRev. The courses, an Australian-first, will upskill career changers and provide students the capabilities required to thrive in the digital economy. They are available on-campus and through its online arm, Swinburne Online. Alongside completing projects which will emulate […]

PayPal Partners With Welcome To Country
  • Marketing
  • Media

PayPal Partners With Welcome To Country

PayPal has partnered with Welcome to Country, Australia’s first Indigenous-led not-for-profit marketplace, which showcases businesses that support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Welcome to Country launched in 2019, providing an online platform for Indigenous experience providers across tours, day treks, scenic flights, bush food, festivals, art and cultural experiences. When the pandemic hit, the […]