Knowing consumers can be a very complex and exciting task. Like many other social sciences in market research, the means to delve into people’s behavior can be very varied and different from each other. The use of a methodology will be closely linked to the objectives to be achieved, the resources available to carry out the project and the circumstances that prevail in the study site.
We were able to observe a paradigm shift with the arrival of the health crisis that seems to be beginning to subside in some regions of the world. Before this moment, many studies in LATAM were carried out in person. With the arrival of lockdowns and physical distancing, the region was driven to implement virtual methodologies more regularly and that would involve minimal physical contact between field researchers and people.
However, despite this, there are a series of ways to obtain information that, given their requirements or the limitations present in several Latin American countries, are not usually carried out by brands. Here are five market research methodologies little used in our region.
- Traditional ethnography. It involves the accompaniment of a person or group of people by an ethnographer for the time indicated by the study. The role of the analyst is to register the motivators and limiters, mainly of an emotional nature, that direct the decisions of the subject of analysis. It is an invasive methodology for the Latin American idiosyncrasy and requires that the person invited to participate knows at all times what is required of them and grants all permissions to be accompanied clearly and in writing.
- Neuromarketing. Although it had a boom a few years ago, its application allows us to identify factors that people tend to keep silent about when trying to address it using other methodologies. It requires equipment and highly trained personnel to be able to implement them. It has some variations such as the on-site analysis of a group of participants to whom some specialized analyzes will be applied to know their neurological response to some stimuli. In this category we also find the vision heat maps of consumers in front of a shelf or visual stimulus.
- Mystery shopper via app. Self-applied methodologies have increased their market share given current health conditions. The mystery shopper applied through the telephone involves the recruitment, training and sending of the people under study so that they also participate as analysts when collecting data and information at points of sale. One advantage of this medium is that by collecting the data from the perspective of the consumers themselves, the findings are not biased by the objective view of the experienced researcher.
- Product test tracking. This methodology consists of sending a field researcher, either recruited or unrecruited, to the consumer’s home to deliver product tests according to a schedule. After each return, the researcher will fill out a questionnaire with the data of the experience of the tested product and deliver the following test at the end. This means of executing market studies involves the logistics for the dosage, labeling and distribution of the tests. In addition, a number of interview should be considered like lost, since 100% of the guests will not finish tracking for various reasons.
- Business-to-business (B2B). Market research is not always aimed at consumers. Several projects contemplate addressing managers and decision makers within brands or companies. Although it seems that we are talking about a mere change of subject under research analysis, we must remember that given the profiles of those involved in the B2B field, the same contact and data collection mechanisms cannot be addressed as in average studies. The application of this method requires a specialized network of contacts, knowledge of technical vocabulary, and the use of communication and dress codes required by the subjects under analysis.
At Acertiva we have had the opportunity to implement several of the methodologies listed above for almost two decades of professional development in Latin America. We have accompanied various agencies and consultancies as a regional ally to carry out their studies successfully. Write us today so you can tell us what your research needs are and we can tell you how together we can establish a strategic alliance in LATAM.
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