Views from the Hills by R. E. Stevens, GENESIS II (The Second Beginning) E-Mail views@aol.com

A Lost Treasure -- Relocated

When I started in Consumer Research in the early 1950's, the state of the art was "door-to-door" research. Now with the growth of computers, large databases, national mail panels, mall facilities, market segmentation of demographics and lifestyles, and the rush for tomorrow's answers today, it seems we have lost sight of the most important part of our research, the consumer. Today we seem to have a never-ending job of mulling over volumes of numbers and graphs, never seeing the respondents, the conditions under which our products are used, how the product is used, or even making a confirmatory assessment of the product's performance.

Some of my most enjoyable and valuable research was undertaken in what today would be considered very unusual research. I can recall many afternoons and evenings sitting at the kitchen table with a test participant having a cup of coffee and discussing her use of the test product. (Naturally following the formal interview, if there is one.) If we were testing a laundry detergent, I found it very informative to have the homemaker show me examples of what she considered good cleaning or not-so-good cleaning, looking at the age of the fabrics, the types of soil, the redeposition, fading, undissolved product, staining, etc. Being in the home also allowed me the opportunity to check the usage conditions such as tap water temperature and hardness.

Today we seem to be looking for the one answer while what seems to be a lot of years ago, we were looking for answers. Recognizing the fact that there are a great deal of differences among households and these differences can affect the performance of our brands. We seemed to put forward more time and energy in understanding why things were happening rather than what was happening.

They say if you wait long enough, things will repeat. A good friend and her company are putting together an ambitious program of "consumer intimacy." This program involves a cooperative effort between their Market Research Department, Marketing Group, R&D, the Advertising Agency, and her Group of Consumer Researchers within the R&D Department all working to develop a basic understanding of the consumer which is built on the idea of "Getting Closer to the Consumer."

I believe that anyone involved in the development or improvement of consumer products should devote time to one-on-one interviews with the consumer in the usage environment. As a mentor once told me, "The poorest view of the world is from behind your desk."


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