Want to Become a Great Marketer? Become a Great Voyeur

There is an old saying in Marketing and Marketing Research: "Use Qual to Create and Quant to Validate". By this we mean, use qualitative research techniques to develop ideas and quantitative techniques to confirm whether the ideas work across the broader consumer base you hope to capture.

But how well do Marketers do in really using qualitative to understand their consumers and develop insights and ideas, and which technique is best leveraged to that end? The answer, in my opinion, is ethnography, which is a form of voyeurism (OK, maybe the visual above is a bit over-the-top, but this is a Marketing article).

Now, some will say "We do focus groups, so we are close to our consumer". While focus groups serve a purpose, they are still, very much, an antiseptic, laboratory setting. They operate with the Marketer sitting safely behind a 2-way mirror, typically eating snacks and many times ridiculing the respondents on the other side (which is unfortunate, as you can't delight a consumer that you do not respect). What focus groups lack is "in situation context". The most powerful learnings can come from observing consumers interacting with your brand, in their home, in the bar or nightclub, or wherever your brand is typically used/consumed.

Many times consumers themselves do not realize what they are doing, or why they do it. That is why the responses in focus groups many times lack the depth required to uncover real insights. Sometimes they don't think their comments or actions are important enough to share. Sometimes they are embarrassed. So, by going to them, in their chosen environment, and watching, really watching, keeping your questions and comments to a minimum, you can uncover critical information that make your brand's message much more powerful.

My first exposure to ethnographic work was in my 2nd year at Procter & Gamble. "In Homes", as they were called, allowed us to go to consumers' homes and literally watch them clean (I was working on Mr. Clean at the time). We got to see where they keep their cleaners, how much they use, how they apply it and how they clean. While no lightning bolts of epiphany were provided, we did learn that they applied the cleaner directly to the floor and not onto a sponge or rag - while subtle, it can help to make your message more relevant when you present usage that fits with how they do it.

So make sure you challenge yourself and your Marketing function, to build a robust consumer ethnographic process into your consumer research plan. There are 2 core moments of truth - when they purchase and when they use. Sometimes these overlap (like a drink in a bar), but many times they are distinct and separate. Invest energy in both, and you will see your consumer understanding, insight development and overall Marketing Plans improve.