This is a bit like recent news from researchers that chocolate can actually help you lose weight: Market research, it turns out, isn't only a means of fine-tuning your
advertising, branding, and packaging, it also boosts consideration of your brand among consumers who participate in the research. Just getting people to give their opinions about your products and
brands makes them more likely to become customers.
Research firm Cint found that 62% of consumers are more likely to purchase a product if their opinion has been sought by brand, and 56% of
those polled felt more loyal to a brand if it takes the time to find out their opinion. It's actually too bad that Stockholm-based Cint itself isn't a consumer brand, as its market research is based
on a poll of 1,200 people.
Other findings: 90% of consumers prefer to undertake market research via new technology, and people think the retail sector would benefit the most from consumer
insight. When asked what made them more inclined to carry out market research for a brand, 55% said "show me the money"; 34% said free products and 6% vouchers. When quizzed on which sector
respondents’ believed would benefit most from undertaking consumer insight, retail companies came out top with 41%, followed by banking at 14%, travel and mobile tech at 11%.
Cint
reported that the majority of those surveyed, evenly split by gender, get the whole market research zeitgeist, with nearly 70% saying they think brands act on the market research results they achieve,
and 77% saying they feel brands listen more to what consumers want now than they did 10 years ago. "This was attributed to a number of factors, primarily increased market competition, the economic
climate, and a decrease in customer loyalty towards particular brands," said the firm.
Forget luring consumers into focus groups with finger sandwiches, crudités and wine in plastic
cups. People respond to convenience afforded by mobile digital tech. Over 91% said their preference was smartphone, web and SMS. Only 4% of those surveyed would choose to undertake market research by
mail as their first choice, and just 1% would like to be surveyed over the telephone.
Forty percent of those surveyed said they would only spend one to five minutes responding to a
survey, while 30% would agree to spend six to ten minutes of their time completing a survey. Only 13% said they'd devote 20 minutes getting researched.
“This survey shows that [market
research] is as valid a tool as it has ever been, and investing in consumer insight can reap significant rewards in terms of brand loyalty," said Bo Mattsson, CEO of Cint, in a statement.