Market research: How to carry out desk research
You are managing or creating a company, and you are asking yourself questions about the strategy to adopt to approach the market as effectively as possible. Market research is the ideal way to answer your questions. But where do you start? Perhaps you are asking yourself one of the following questions: “Which offer should I put on the market to satisfy my customers? What is the best distribution channel through which to reach...
Evolution of alcohol consumption and the market for de-alcoholisation
The evolution of alcohol consumption in Europe is leading many industry players to rethink their offer. In this article, we return in particular to the initiative launched by Philippe Stassen and the Meurens brothers who are joining forces to propose a new de-alcoholisation offer in the Charleroi region. Alcohol consumption in Europe In France, alcohol consumption has been on the decline for nearly 80 years. While a Frenchman consumed...
EMAC conference 2019 : 5 marketing researches you need to know
The European Marketing Academy Conference (EMAC) is the number 1 marketing conference in Europe for academics. It’s a well attended (more than 1000 visitors) 3-day conference with up to 10 parallel tracks and hundreds of highly challenging presentations. This year I’ve chosen to present you the results of my 5 preferred research works. I tried to summarize the research as concisely as possible and highlighted the results...
Market research: visualizing the shadow economy
In light of our recent post on credit card ownership, we used once again Tableau to explore data related this time to analyse and visualize the shadow economy. The shadow economy is the part of the economy that runs “off the records”. From a fiscal viewpoint the shadow economy can be defined as all the activities that evade taxation; in other words all activities for which taxes should be paid and aren’t. Assessing...
The secrets of conducting market research or how to ensure the success of your (future) business: Part 3
How to do market research? You will find the answers in this article, offered to you by the market research agency IntoTheMinds. Find here episode 1 and here episode 2. We completed this series of articles in 2018 with the creation of an online market research guide that you can access free of charge on our website. For any question, request or quote for market research in Belgium, France or elsewhere, do not hesitate to contact us....
Qualitative studies: The Critical Incident Technique
After having explained how open-ended and closed-ended questions work and the contexts in which they are applied, we return in this article to the Critical Incident Technique as part of market research, using the Sage Encyclopedia on methods for qualitative research. Summary Background information Developments in the method 5 steps to follow Background information on the method The Critical Incident Technique (CIT) is a qualitative...
Music streaming: the primary source of income for the music industries
While the sales physical formats are suffering, the SNEP (National Union of Phonographic Publishing) report reveals that only the sales of vinyl’s are on the rise in France, attracting consumers to their vintage and authentic side. More and more music lovers are using digital platforms such as music streaming platforms to listen to their favourite artists and music while discovering new musical creations. Summary What is Music...
What are the habits related to money withdrawals in Europe?
Withdrawals of money from ATMs are, for many Europeans, the most efficient way to obtain cash. Recent events with the Bpost Bank in Belgium prove that consumers are very attached to their money habits. This article aims to understand the differences in money withdrawals across Europe and continues the report that we have written on payment methods in the countries of the European Union. Summary The Connection to Cash The Conditions...
Market research: who are the customers of ride-hailing applications?
Travel options are changing, and many American consumers’ habits are also changing. 10 years after the creation of Uber, what is the status of private transport and ride-hailing applications? Who uses this type of application, how and why? In this article, we propose to analyse the evolution of transport applications for private individuals according to their consumers. As most of these applications originate from the United...
How FP Journe created a niche market without market research
Is there any better market research than receiving customer requests for a product that doesn’t exist yet ? I’ve explained in other articles that an alternative way to do market research is to test the traction for an idea directly on the market (provided of course that it remains affordable). I recently stumbled upon an interesting example in the luxury watch sector. François-Paul Journe is an independent watchmaker who...
Market research: be careful when choosing the location of your store
A customer recently asked us to help him decide between several locations for his next store. This exercise is like doing a little market research and it’s actually crucial to the success of your business. The wrong location can lead to the death of your business. You’d better spend a little time on your market research, wouldn’t you? Here are a few tips we’d like to give you. If you want to deepen your...
How to do market research? Phase 6: quantitative techniques
How to do market research? The answers to this complex questions can be found in our online guide. After discussing qualitative techniques in our previous episode, we will deal today with the quantitative market research phase (which is the sixth phase of our 7-phase market research methodology). You can find the previous episodes here : Introduction, Phases 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Read step 5 of our market research methodology What is...
How to do market research? Phase 5: qualitative techniques
How to do market research? Discover today the fifth phase of our 7-step market research methodology. This episode is dedicated to qualitative market research methods. In our previous episodes (read them here: episodes 1, 2, 3, 4) we dealt with the preliminary phases of market research : putting the idea on paper and fixing its flaws with Design Thinking improving the business idea with a prototype choosing the right market research...
How to do market research? Phase 4: PESTEL and competition analysis
How to do market research? This is the question we’re helping you to answer with the publication of our online step-by-step guide to market research. Each of the 7 phases of our market research methodology is accompanied by a post on this blog. Today we’ll be dealing with Phase 4: the PESTEL analysis and the competition analysis. READ PHASE 4 OF OUR MARKET RESEARCH METHODOLOGY If you missed the latest episodes you can find...
How to do market research? Phase 3: choosing the right market research methods
How to do market research? In our online guide to market research we divided our methodology into 7 phases. After having dealt with phases 1 and 2 in previous articles, the time has come to chose the right market research methods, which is the aim of phase 3. If you believe that market research = online survey, you better make sure you read today’s article because you may be surprised. ACCESS PHASE 3 OF OUR ONLINE MARKET...
How to do market research? Phase 2 : improve your idea
How to do market research ? Here comes the second phase of our 7-step methodology that we’ve spent 6 months developing. A white paper is available on our website (click here to access the introduction) that will explain you the whole market research methodology. So today we discuss Phase 2 which focuses on improving your initial idea. In Phase 1 we discussed how to get informal feedback and gather additional insights through...
How to do market research? Phase 1: test your idea
To accompany the publication of our practical guide on “How to do market research” we have prepared a series of blog posts to highlight each of the 7 phases of our market research method. After our latest introductory article we’ll be dealing today with the first phase : testing your idea. Phase 1 of our market research method is divided into 3 sub-steps: Put your idea on paper Test your idea informally Use Design...
How to do market research? Here’s our step-by-step guide that anyone can use
How to do market research? To answer that question we have spent some 6 months writing this step-by-step guide. I’d have never believed it could take some much time but finally it’s there. Find out in today’s article why we created it and how it is designed. Why did we create this market research guide? The rationale behind writing this guide was that market research methods are numerous, yet those who actually need...
GDPR : market research predicts companies will be hit by massive requests
A market research carried out for Veritas reveals that a large number of UK consumers are planing to exercise their rights to privacy after 25 May 2018 (GDPR). What should we think about those results ? Market research results The main results of the market research carried out for Veritas are the following : 40 per cent of UK consumers intend to exercise their data privacy rights in the next six months Most requests will be sent to...
Market research: the 5 trends that will shape the future of retailing
Market research has identified 5 trends that will shape the future of retailing technology and tools to enhance decision making innovations in visual display to make customers’ purchase decisions easier differentiating customer experiences collection of data at massive scale (Big Data) and their usages use of analytics to improve profitability In today’s article we will discuss and illustrate each of those 5 market trends....
Marketing concept : in this bar cocktails are made by robots
Las Vegas is a kind of paradise for marketers. Not only is the city hosting a lot of important shows (like the CES or the NAB) but it also hosting some crazy marketing concepts. I spotted this one, a bar called The Tipsy Robot, located at the Miracle Miles shopping mall last month. Read also: A geographic map of the best and most innovative retail concepts in Europe The principle behind this bar is simple: your cocktail won’t be...
How to successfuly realize qualitative interviews in market research studies
Conducting good market research often requires to carry our a qualitative study. This is particulary true of customer satisfaction surveys that are often poorly designed and are not based on sound assumptions. In today’s article we reflect on some essential aspects of good qualitative research. We discuss a four-step iterative guide for interview design proposed by J. Arsel (2018) in his article entitled “Asking Questions...
Step-by-step market research guide almost ready: first teaser
As I announced earlier this year, one of my goals for 2018 was to write a step-by-step guide to market research. I did this between December 2017 and January 2018 and it took me quite a lot of time to finalize it : we let the market research guide translate in English and Dutch (translating 8000 words can’t be done overnight as you can imagine). This time I didn’t do the English translation myself as I wanted to have...
Market analysis: what’s the future of supermarkets ?
How will supermarkets look like in 10 year from now ? Will employees be replaced by robots or won’t there just be any employees left ? While points of sales are more and more resembling an extension of online businesses with experience becoming more phygital (see an exemple here) and while showrooming is taking up, supermarkets have never changed as fast as today. The 3 phases of supermarkets’ evolution: a 10-year...
How to manage unprofitable customers in 3 steps
Not all customers are alike. Some of them cost you money. Here are 3 simple rules to solve that problem. As you will see once again market research is instrumental to the solution. Identify unprofitable users and ensure they are not becoming clients The best way to avoid unprofitable customers is to actually not take them onboard. That’s where a good market research study helps. As part of your market research you will have to...
Market research combines Big Data and qualitative techniques .. 120 years ago
Visualizing data has become a standard task and one essential component of data science today. But, haven’t we forgotten how lucky we are to have all that data available and to be able to use it for various purposes ? An early example of Big Data and visualisation project One of the most stunning visualization projects I’ve come to know was initiated more than a century ago by Charles Booth, a Liverpool-born...
I turned off notifications and it changed my life
you may have read last week’s post (the first of the year) in which I explained that I wanted my time back and wanted to liberate myself from addicative social networks. My plan to liberate myself from addictive social apps Here’s what I did and I arealdy see the changes in my daily routine : remove Facebook from my smartphone (on my tablet, which I use only in the evening, I moved to the last screen) turn off...
Ghost kitchens : the next disruption in the restaurant industry?
I recently reflected on Deliveroo’s and Uber’s ghost kitchens which have appeared in various cities (read here and there) of the US and in London (read this article in the Guardian). Those ghost kitchen make perfect economic sense : margins are thin in the restaurant industry, driven by high employees-related costs, rent, expensive equipment and variability in demand. Setting up a restaurant is a bet with a 5 to 20-year...
New in 2018: step-by-step market research guide for all
Happy new year everybody ! What an amazing year 2017 has been for us. We feel blessed to have carried out so many market research and Big Data projects last year : banking, retail, media, FMCG, luxury, IT, indusrail goods, … you name it. We have done dozens of projects in many different industries. We have welcomed one more consultant in the team who has proved to be very talented from the very beginning. We are so proud to have...
Marketing research reveals free apps are bad for business
A recent marketing research published in the Journal of Marketing reveals that offering a free version of an app reduces the speed of adoption of the paying version of the same app. In other words, you will reduce the odds of selling your mobile app if you propose a free version. This is especially true for hedonic apps (gaming, fun), the study reveals. This study was carried out on the basis of 12315 apps covering a 3-year period of...
market research : how do Europeans pay ?
My mother-in-law is Italian. She hardly make two payments a year with her credit card. On my way to the University of Mainz a few weeks ago, I met a 64-year old taxi driver of Turkish origin who prouded himself not to have any bank card. I find it fascinating to observe how consumers’ behaviors can vary and have always been fascinated by how cultural aspects affected the way people paid in he European Union. I had the impression...
Market research : 190000 users surveyed on their connected future
The Mozilla foundation released the results of a worldwide market research on digital lives. The survey was entitled “How connected are you?” and gathered answers from pretty much all countries around the world. You can find the results of the survey here. In today’s post I chose to focus on some particular aspects of it that relate to articles I’ve published over the past weeks. Customers’ expectations...
Tips and tricks : using observation as a market research tool
In our latest article we dealt with an experiment carried out by the Virginia Tech University that used innovative observation techniques to study human behaviors when faced with self-driving cars. Today we want to dig a little bit more on observations as a market research tool and highlight settings where such a technique can be useful. At the end of the article we will also give you 3 useful tips. When to use observation as a market...
Market research : how to study reactions to autonomous vehicles
This is one of the most difficult type of projet market research professionals may face: investigate consumers’ behaviors in a situation that doesn’t exist yet. In such situations ethnography (a qualitative market research technique) may be the right methodology to go for. In today’s article we will illustrate how this technique was used in the context of autonomous vehicles. Self-driving car attracts attention in...
Market research : authentication on media website, a growing trend
As announced in an earlier article of this blog, I organized a 2-day conference on Single-Sign-On at RTBF (read more here). From a market research perspective this conference allowed participants to clearly understand that SSO was a growing trend among public service broadcasters. We had the please to listen to 9 amazing speakers from very different organizations and horizons : Tim Rowell (Piano.io), Ben Sekhon (Gigya, leader on the...
Recommendation algorithms : how CNN.com and Quartz learn to better know you
Making meaningful algorithmic recommendations require that your algorithm is “fed” with data about your customers tastes. This can be done in many ways : implicit feedback : it’s when you track a user’s actions and infere her taste based on them collaborative filtering : using someone’s profile and other similar persons’ taste you are then able to make recommendations explicit feedback : when you...
