Dig Deep into Hidden Opportunities Through Behavioral and Emotional Analysis
By Todd Trautz, Chief Innovation & Solutions Officer | May 19, 2020
At Maru/Matchbox, we believe that understanding the intersection between behavior and emotion and customer psychology is key to establishing the strongest possible customer connections.
Our research methods are rooted in a wealth of behavioral science that shows how consumers feel, behave and think.
Traditional research methodologies are often too focused on attitudes and behaviors; as researchers and marketers, we have been ignoring the importance that emotions play on our decision-making and the customer journey.
Why analyzing the intersection between consumer behavior and emotion matters
It is critical that we capture feedback on both ends of the spectrum.
It’s well known that what consumers say and what they actually do often differs; and this is why 8 out of 10 new product launches fail to meet stated objectives, despite rigorous and costly testing.
By integrating System 1 and System 2 tools together, it’s possible to capture feeling, thinking and behavioral metrics in one unified approach. Take Concept Connections, our break-through concept testing methodology; it uses choice-based exercises, implicit measurement, and our proprietary Brand Emotion System 1 tool to uncover white space opportunities.
But collecting data is only half of the equation; analyzing results effectively is fundamental to uncovering insights and opportunities that deliver real competitive advantage.
Unifying behavioral and emotional analysis
Maru/Matchbox’s Intersection Opportunity Map is a unique way of analyzing behavioral and emotional metrics to help close the gap between what consumers say and what they do.
For example, with Concept Connections, we firstly use a choice-based trade-off design to evaluate stimuli or situations to understand priorities and importance. The design effectively replicates the natural, behavioral trade-off consumers make during their decision-making processes. Respondents evaluate the stimuli or attributes choosing one over the other, creating a priority of importance in their mind. We are simulating the System 2 process of a rational trade-off.
Next, we ask respondents to evaluate the same set of stimuli or attributes using our Implicit Association Test (IAT) tool.
This psychological test measures ‘implicit attitudes’ or the underlying influences that shape how we feel about something. It is designed to measure the System 1 automatic associations we hold by asking respondents to rapidly sort stimuli in a choice-based bipolar construct.
Respondents are given little time to fully process their decision, instead relying on gut reaction and subconscious System 1 associations. In this manner, IAT provides a window into our thought processes revealing how our dominant System 1 brain makes rapid behavioral decisions.
Intersection Opportunity Map
Finally, we combine the results layering choice-based importance with the implicit performance to create an Intersection Opportunity Map. This unique view quickly and effectively compares which stimuli or attributes deliver on importance and which deliver on implicit associations to the product or brand.
It clearly identifies opportunities and white space investigation previously hidden from traditional analysis. The unique intersection of what consumers will implicitly and emotionally rely on when making trade-off decisions at the point of purchase helps identify the stimuli combination that will impact long-term behavior.
This holistic understanding provides clear opportunity insights to both understand and close the Say vs. Do consumer gap – and ultimately deliver better results and more successful concepts and launches.
Maru’s Intersection Opportunity Map analysis can be used on any research project that captures feel, behave, and think metrics, including concept testing, comms measurement, and customer experience.