Weeks after Ron Johnson was ousted in April, J.C. Penney launched a new television ad with an apology to its customers. Response to the ad has been mixed with many lamenting the insincerity of the ad. Others questioned the absence of the new C.E.O. speaking directly to the customer. With yet others pointing out a lost opportunity.

Mother’s Day weekend I returned to J.C. Penney for the first time in almost six months. The week prior I received a $10 off coupon (off a purchase of $25 or more). Once I did find what I was looking for and got to the register, I was informed that the pair of jeans I was purchasing was actually now $24.99 (not the $34 on the price tag). That was fine – I was still getting my $10 off. But then the customer service rep went the extra mile and gave me $10 off the $24.99 – meaning I now was paying $14.99 for a pair of $34 jeans. Or was I? Is the new pricing strategy just the old slight of hand trick?

How does a brand apologize and demonstrate they are going to change? Domino’s Pizza is the penultimate example. Launching a campaign showing real focus groups with customers criticizing their product went a long way in showing Domino’s was authentic about implementing real change. The brand rebuilt its product from its very doughy foundation. The result? Over the past four years they’ve experienced rapid growth and profit.

Only time, and money, will tell if JCP’s next brand evolution is a win with customers. At The Pert Group we help retail brands connect with their consumer through custom market research solutions, so the path to purchase is not a rocky one. What do you think of JCP’s ad and new direction? Share your thoughts below.

“Let’s send a whole class of people out into their professional lives with a negative net worth. Not starting at zero, but starting at a minus that is often measured in the tens of thousands of dollars. Those minus signs have psychological impact, I suspect. They might have a dollars-and-cents impact in what you can afford too,” said Kevin Carey, the director of the Education Policy Program at the New America Foundation, a research group based in Washington.

This goes beyond finance industry trends. It is a difficult issue and it is one that we are advising our clients on in key industries. What is the best way for financial services firms to help graduates payoff loans and save? Should automakers weigh-in on student loan policy debates? How do manufacturers and service providers stay on top as this group cuts back? The market research experts at The Pert Group can help you with these tough issues. Let’s talk.

1. A Manager Who Insists on Demonstrating Authority with Immediate Decisions

There are few things more irritating and guaranteed to “strangle creativity at birth” than a manager who insists on solving every problem with their first thought.  It’s a false pretense  that forcing decisiveness upon every problem equates to strength and wisdom. Rather than thinking through all the complexities of an issue – or allowing others to do the same – these egocentric executives believe they will be demonstrating weakness if they don’t immediately prescribe a solution after being given an issue to tackle.  I’ve seen the preposterous behavior countless times and I suspect you have as well. This management style not only eliminates the possibility of a better solution but also sends the message that delayed responses will be viewed as failure. This naturally leads to ill-planned decisions and new solutions to fix these new problems, ad infinitum. Mr. Cleese discusses evidence which shows that those who give themselves a longer deliberation period actually come up with better solutions in the end.

2. A Misdirected Emphasis on Seriousness

A corporate culture has been allowed to emerge where levity or laughter can be considered taboo during the creative process. Now, certainly there are going to be times when co-workers will sit around hashing out a problem without overt seriousness. But move this scene into a board room with a mix of executives and junior staff and the mood changes dramatically. Everyone becomes obsessed with sounding “smart” and taking themselves very seriously. Inserting a moment of laughter or breaking the stillness might cause them to be viewed as a person who simply can’t take problems seriously. This mistake shuts down the ability for people to think freely (including potentially amusing thoughts). You shut off an avenue of creativity, creating an atmosphere where things need to feel “serious” simply because there’s an important issue to discuss doesn’t actually facilitate creativity to better solve problems. It  merely provides a way for participants to feel a sense of their own importance.

Mr. Cleese closes his talk with “three sure fire ways to stamp creativity out of your organization”:

1. Allow your subordinates no humor and treat any expression of it as frivolous and subversive.
2. Never miss an opportunity to undermine an employee’s confidence. Use every opportunity as an authority figure to zero in on everything they are doing wrong and never, ever balance the negative with the positive. Praise makes people “uppity.”
3. Demand that people should always be “doing things.” Anyone caught in the act of pondering should be accused of laziness and lacking urgency. Use war analogies when addressing staff and create a permanent environment of stress, oppressive anxiety and crisis.

While relishing the intentional absurdity of these suggestions I am sure that everyone reading will recall seeing one or all of them in action by a previous or current manager. Important issues exist  in both our business and personal lives, but the mistake we make is to confuse the PROCESS by which they are solved with the solution itself. If you happen upon a brilliant idea while laughing with co-workers it’s no less valuable than if it were conceived of during a rigorous strategy session. Similarly, when faced with a problem, if you happen upon exactly the right answer immediately – that’s wonderful. However, don’t scorn yourself or your staff for needing time to ponder, because it’s naturally how our minds work.

The purpose of creativity is to either bring something of value into existence or improve upon a current state. And it’s obvious to all of us when this happens because it’s instantly recognizable. So be absurd. Be crazy. Practice boundless thinking where you don’t need to be right at each stage. Trust yourself and trust your team’s intuition that when creativity strikes you’ll  know it and use it. In this way you can draw out the creativity lurking within yourself and those around you.

To experience the lecture yourself, click here.

One of our most common places to stop is McDonald’s because the food is always consistent, the bathrooms are almost always clean and it can be a quick stop. McDonald’s was recently ranked as the most-visited business in the United States, with nearly half of all Americans over 14 visiting in the past month. Walmart and Subway came in second and third, with almost 40 percent of Americans visiting. In Zagat’s 2011 Fast Food Survey, McDonald’s was the winner in many categories, including Best Value, Best Breakfast Sandwiches, Most Child-Friendly and Best Drive-Thru. Despite being one of the leaders among major fast food chains, McDonald’s isn’t sitting around, waiting to become less popular among consumers. The company recently launched two new products and is developing a new breakfast strategy.

 Egg White Delight McMuffin

These days Americans are looking for healthier options and McDonald’s is hoping the Egg White Delight McMuffins suits their needs. Similar to its famous Egg McMuffin, the Egg White Delight McMuffin, launched in late April, features Canadian bacon on an English muffin, but with egg whites instead a whole egg and white cheddar instead of American cheese. Other breakfast sandwiches are now available with egg whites only. It’s still early to tell whether the new sandwich will be a success, but McDonald’s Facebook page indicates their excitement.

Premium McWrap

Sandwiches are big business with Millennials, who are looking for fast, convenient, and fresh, so earlier in April, McDonalds added a new permanent menu offering of chicken sandwich wraps in three varieties – Chicken & Bacon, Sweet Chili Chicken and Chicken & Ranch with the intention of adapting to American’s health-conscious mindset. The Premium McWrap sandwiches are designed with healthier eating in mind and are similar to the snack wraps still offered at restaurants. The Director of Culinary Innovation says that other varieties are already in the product development planning stages.

Breakfast All Day

Despite McDonald’s popularity, first quarter sales in 2013 were lower than in 2012. The chain is also looking at ways to expand sales using existing products. Breakfast accounts for 25 percent of McDonald’s sales already, a significant amount considering the small selling window. McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson recently hinted that the company is considering offering breakfast foods all day, allowing them to maximize on their breakfast success. One of the hang ups in the plan would be the logistics of serving both eggs and burgers. With Sonic and Jack in the Box being the only major chains to currently do so, McDonald’s would certainly differentiate itself from other burger giants, including Burger King and Wendy’s.

As McDonald’s is showing, innovation is key to not only getting ahead, but staying there as well. The Pert Group has both quantitative and qualitative solutions for any innovation goal. Starting from scratch and need consumers to help? Try Online Discovery Boards. Have a bunch of new product ideas you’d like consumer opinions on? Concept Potential may be the way to go. Have a new product ready for market, but unsure of what price is best? Check out Price Clarity for a pricing strategy solution. Unsure of where your company stands in the market? We have a number of solutions, including Needs Clarity and Brand Affinity Effect, to determine your position in your industry. Have another question or need? Contact me to get started.

As I’ve mentioned in our Business of Women blog series, women are a major force in the economy, making the majority of purchasing decisions across categories as well as having tremendous buying power. I’ve also mentioned how women are dominating the digital world with online purchases, electronics purchase/usage and social media engagement. With undeniable buying power, this audience deserves some extra attention.

In the workshop, several touchpoints for communication and the potential opportunities for engaging with women were discussed, including Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, company websites and smartphones/apps. I discussed with attendees how to best communicate with their female customers using these tools.

After the touchpoint immersion, participants were asked to jot down key insights about these digital touchpoints, such as “what is a surprise?” or “what am I currently underestimating?”

Biggest Opportunities:

• The Pew Research Center’s study on the demographics of social media users reveals that Pinterest is the second ranked social network (surpassing Twitter) among women in the U.S. (Twenty-five percent of U.S. female internet users use Pinterest while 15 percent use Twitter.)
• Dave Kerpen’s Likable Social Media book is a great source for uncovering opportunities, including the following gems:
  • Consider creating boards beyond your products or services. Find other ways to connect with and engage your female consumers. i.e. If you sell a health product, pin an infographic related to the benefits of eating a healthy breakfast.
  • Twitter is primarily public (only 5 percent is private) and easily searchable – use it to your advantage to understand your consumers!
  • On Facebook, engage her with photos, videos and links – these are the top most engaging posts and are most likely to inspire her to “share” (the real bang for your buck).
  • YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google.

When you are developing your marketing strategy, make sure you are adjusting your mix and messaging for your female audience – and be sure your digital touchpoints are well-integrated. By researching and speaking to her you can better provide a product and service to meet her needs and ultimately build a better relationship (or help to establish a relationship if she is a new target for you!).

How are you considering integrating women’s technology and social media behavior into your brand strategy?

How can I help you:

• Better understand your target consumer?
• Use digital touchpoints most effectively to engage and delight her?
• Set and reach business goals to accelerate growth?

The Pert Group specializes in getting you the information you need to make business decisions that will position you for strategic growth. Let’s discuss what those opportunities look like for you.

My passion for market research means the world is one giant focus group. As a qualitative research analyst, going to Bed, Bath and Beyond is like going to Vegas. It’s big, full of sensory overload and fun. I love exploring the store, profiling shoppers by what’s in their carts and taking pictures of new and interesting products. And if I’m standing next to a shopper pondering an item, I’ll start asking them open-ended questions “So what are you thinking?”

Qual geek credentials verified. While most people never stop to think about it, the shelves of a store like Bed, Bath and Beyond are loaded with products that had to move along the spectrum from an idea, to the ideal, to end up as a product in a multitude of homes. That’s a whole lot of research and innovation!

The Path to Purchase

I walk in armed with my list, a handful of 20 percent off coupons (Mom would be proud) and a basket, because getting a big cart means too much room for impulse purchases. I almost always walk out with things that were not on my list, things I didn’t know I needed, but HAD TO HAVE.

Yes, I want that Turbie Twist – an absorbent towel that twists and ties, because a regular towel just won’t do.

For a qualitative research analyst, this isn’t just a towel. I look at this and I see ideation, differentiation, value and consumer focus groups. I study the package and messaging as it seduces me into purchasing this product. I’m already writing the moderator’s guide in my head. And with the 20 percent off coupon, that makes this MINE.

Cheers to Success

On a recent stop at a liquor store, I was totally sidetracked by a new display. I immediately snapped a picture on my iPhone and texted it to a food and beverage branding expert I know.

What pinged my innovation radar? Individual servings of wine in plastic glasses! I thought about this for a moment and concluded: Why not? We have twist caps on wine bottles, wine in a pouch and lots of beverages in individual servings. It turns out that Copa di Vino has sold more than 1 million 9-liter cases in just 18 months. Cheers to their ability to apply a tried and true technique to new product!

I would have loved to have been a wine consumer participant or moderator in the co-creation session for this product. The discussion about packaging, positioning, naming, branding, logo design, market viability, usage/drinking occasions, competitors, perceptions of quality, potential barriers, appeal of single servings of wine, pricing and “ready to drink” convenience would have been fascinating.*

Co-Create a Winning Formula

I’m seeing more and more successful companies across various industries send out RFPs for qualitative research to help conceptualize and bring a completely new, innovative idea to life. It’s exciting as a qualitative research analyst to be a part of what may be the “next big thing” and, as a consumer, to try it out.

The Pert Group Qualitative research team’s co-creation worksession methodology is one of many great tools for exploring new ideas. To truly embrace a market-driven innovation process, The Pert Group invites target consumer innovators to join forces with key internal stakeholders for a six-hour co-creation session to brainstorm all of the unique attributes and characteristics that will give this idea shape, and provide a brand platform in which to establish differentiation and market viability.

So the next time you’re exploring how to add more value, innovate or push the boundaries within your brand architecture, consider a co-creation worksession as a starting point to bringing your idea to life. In the meantime, feel free to email me your favorite find at Bed, Bath and Beyond!

*Copa di Vino wine’s brand positioning is “Drink Differently” and has just been named “Best of Show” beating over 600 prestigious wineries at the 75th annual highly competitive and acclaimed 2012 Northwest Food and Wine Festival. Check them out here: https://www.copadivino.com/

Last month, The Pert Group facilitated a Discovery Worksession among a group comprised of both recruited participants and clients. In this case, the recruited participants were chefs in the San Francisco area – this was perfect considering my recent move. This co-creation approach allowed the clients to interact directly with the participants, and the two audiences built on each other’s ideas to get us to nearly 400 ideas by the end of the day!

While co-creation may not be the appropriate approach for all qualitative studies, it is not just limited to ideation or product innovation. Sessions like this can be used for message development, product refinement, packaging, and learning more about the customer experience.

So why come in front of the mirror? A primary difference (and benefit) to these types of sessions is that they take you out of the backroom and ground you in how consumers are thinking, feeling, and acting as it relates to your product and category. They give you a fresh springboard to either new ideas or thinking about existing ideas in a different way. As an added bonus, your internal stakeholders are more engaged in the process, allowing everyone to be on the same page and give input throughout the process, rather than at the end. Everybody wins!

And you’ll walk out of the session with not only a list of ideas, but also some key insights for how to implement and move forward.  We, like you, want these ideas to live!

The success of a co-creation session depends on all participants – recruits and client team members. Ensuring the right attitude and a sense of openness and inclusion will help participants feel right at home in sharing their ideas. Further, encouraging your team members to come to the table with an open mind (or wearing their green hat, as we like to call it) will make for a successful day as critiquing consumers’ ideas can cause them to shut down.

Finally, we know that not all research projects are created equal. In other words, sometimes a co-creation session is not the best approach.  And that’s what we’re here for. The market research experts at The Pert Group specialize in Discovery Worksessions just like this and partners with clients to determine if it’s a fit, or not. Ready to create? Let’s talk.

For what types of research would YOU like to be in the front room engaging in conversation with your consumers?

Wait! What do you mean you were only joking? What a cruel April Fool’s joke that I cannot actually start purchasing bacon flavored mouthwash. In an article that went viral on social media sites starting the day before April Fools day of this year, Procter & Gamble seemed to be unveiling bacon as the latest in trendy, savory flavors for mouth-refreshment.

How did this new product hoax go viral while so many other new product launches fail to succeed? In the Heath brothers’ book, “Made To Stick,” they lay out a communication framework for lasting ideas:

Sticky Success =

1. Unexpected: Get people to pay attention. Bacon flavored mouthwash is so vastly different from the typical minty flavor range that it inhabits a space all its own.
2. Concrete: Understand and remember it. I saw a picture of the packaging that I could visualize on the store shelf, picking up, and putting in my medicine cabinet at home.
3. Credible: Agree/believe. The product has its own website. It’s on Facebook. It must be true! Also, the longer it perpetuated after April Fools Day, the more believable it became.
4. Emotional: There are some who care deeply about bacon. Some might say that’s by law. And there are those, like me, who just salivate Pavlovian at its mention.
5. Story: The call to action to soon purchase at a store near you prepared us to be able to participate.

And why not? Bacon is making appearances in everything else these days. In all of The Pert Group’s flavor research, it is definitely a trend in the United States and several other countries. As one example, bacon-infused vodka marries well with small-batch infusions as an increasingly popular alcohol trend in the United States (which, of course, did not share the same enthusiasm – along with steak and BBQ – when discussed in India).

We at The Pert Group heartily embrace the inclusion of bacon in new products. Semi-annually, those of us who fancy ourselves rather adept in the kitchen hold an employee bake-off competition. Bacon brownies anyone? Savory, salty and sweet simultaneously. Yes, please!

Ideation research, an area that plays very strongly in trend and flavor identification, is a strong suit of The Pert Group’s qualitative research department. The plethora of mouth-watering new flavors for alcohol, baked goods, seafood, dairy products, gums, mints, cough drops, confections, and many other product categories we have generated is staggering. Thousands of trendy new flavors and flavor combinations have been identified and prioritized across dozens of countries. With your stomach and your innovation pipeline now full, get ready for new products to start hitting the store shelves.

Ask me how The Pert Group can help you bring home the next bacon and other trend ideas for your brand through custom market research. In the meantime, share your favorite bacon-flavored goodie below.

Accessibility

Over 1 billion people around the world own a smartphone. While many people also own computers, cell phones actually travel with people and do not require someone to be sitting in their home. Cell phones are always on, meaning people are constantly connected to what is happening. You can even create a push notification for consumers to take a survey as they walk into a store.

Get Answers in the Moment

When you want to get a “here and now” response, mobile surveys are a good fit. At The Pert Group, we’ve seen this become beneficial in qualitative. Natalie George, senior qualitative researcher, expects that trend to continue. “In mobile, we can ask people to upload videos or images right from their phone and it really engages them. For qualitative especially, it’s a chance to be right there with them – we can be with people while they’re shopping or at a restaurant. We can be with them when they’re at home watching TV, asking them questions about commercials they’re seeing right then. It eliminates the recall issues you have in typical focus groups or online discovery boards.”

If you’re going to use mobile, here are three suggestions to making your survey more mobile friendly.

1. Do not use large scales. As you increase the scale length, the harder it is to see on a mobile phone. According to the AMA, 10-12 responses should be your maximum. Anything longer than that will decrease the ability for respondents to see the full scale. Respondents are not likely to scroll to see the full scale and will assume what they see on the screen are their only options.
2. Open-ends are ok! Some might think having respondents fill out an open-end question on a smartphone would be too difficult, but the increasing size of cell phones means this isn’t an issue. The best approach is to program a large enough text box to allow the respondent ample room to respond.
3. Begin with the mobile design in mind and then size-up. Any question that you program to be shown on a mobile device can also be shown on computers. When developing a survey that will be accessible online and through mobile, test first with how the survey looks on a mobile device. If you can see the scales and questions adequately on a phone you will be able to see the same survey on a PC just as well.

There are many factors to take into consideration when it comes to understanding your consumer. Mobile is just one of the many ways to do so. At The Pert Group we’re experts at uncovering new opportunities and building a target-centric market response through custom market research, tailored fit to your situation. If you want to talk about how, feel free to contact me.

Three major restaurant chains have experienced the social media “perfect storm” in the past two months – where their brand story was taken over by customers online. All three stories involved actions by wait staff at individual restaurants and yet all made national headlines for different reasons.

Outraged at Applebee’s

When a pastor and her large group visited an Applebee’s in the St. Louis, Missouri area, the automatic gratuity of 18% for large parties was triggered. The pastor scratched out the tip amount and wrote “I give God 10%. Why do you get 18%?” A waitress, who did not serve the party, took a picture and posted the receipt to Reddit. As a result of her actions, the waitress was fired. When the story broke, the Applebee’s Twitter feed and Facebook page were filled with messages of disbelief directed towards the pastor and Applebee’s and support for the waitress. Applebee’s official explanation on their Facebook page has gathered nearly 15,000 comments alone, not accounting for those posting directly to the official Facebook page.

Suspicious of Olive Garden

A different contributor to Reddit posted a receipt that showed a comp’ed meal at Olive Garden and had no idea his actions would cast doubt on the restaurant chain for creating a fake receipt and posting it for their own gain. The contributor and his family were eating at the Vernon Hills, Illinois Olive Garden after a fire at his parents’ house; when the manager asked about their visit, the contributor’s 3-year-old said “Grandpa’s house burned down.” When the table received the check, the meal had been comp’ed. As a result of the distrust shown by the comments on the Reddit page, Olive Garden confirmed the story as true.

Moved by Chili’s

When a server at the Chili’s in Midvale, Utah served a 7-year-old girl with autism a cheeseburger cut in half to make sure the meat was fully cooked (which is company policy), the girl believed the cheeseburger was “broken.” The girl’s sister explained the issue to the server who then engaged with the girl rather than her sister (and so did the manager of the restaurant). The “unbroken” cheeseburger appeared at the table and the girl kissed the top of the burger. Her sister quickly took a picture and posted the story to Chili’s Facebook page. The story has been ‘liked’ by over 870,000 people and been shared over 200,000 times. The general manager, proud of his employees, was shocked to be talking to Good Morning America about the incident and CNN featured the story on its blog about food and restaurants. The quick-thinking and understanding of the server and manager created a windfall of good grace for Chili’s.

Having a social media presence is key to creating and maintaining your brand’s awareness. In an ever-changing landscape, posts and stories about your brand can become viral in minutes. Making sure your brand stays aware of these developments and is on top of the official response is vital. The Pert Group has many ways of assessing brand perceptions and messaging, along with social media audit platforms to help you put your best foot forward. The key is being proactive. How do you manage your brand’s social media platforms? What do you think is key when your story is being told by others online? Feel free to share below.