What do years of being a consumer researcher do to a person? Chris Haydon, our insight and innovation director, lies back on the couch and opens up about the effects of a decade seeking answers...
On reflection, being a researcher really has shaped me. At some point I morphed from being an inquisitive person into a series of different parallel personas; tools designed to seek the truth(s).
It’s no longer enough for me to understand why my DPD parcel will be “delivered between 9.57 and 10.57” (and not “between 10 and 11”) – I’m now compelled to look at it from different angles and share at least one plausible explanation* to get others thinking differently about it too.
When Madonna falls over on stage at the Brits, a researcher thinks: ouch, how embarrassing, poor old Madonna, did she break her pelvis, what a great performance that ruined, what’s that track called, this needs clipping down to three seconds, wonder if that’s online yet, this’ll get shared around, oh no – the memes are coming, click bait opp, Twitter storm a-brewing, Brits 2015 = Madonna, genius move (again), the world’s so cynical…
It pays to do this, to think as a range of different people in each situation. Empathic human, savvy consumer, marketer, potential customer, world-weary cynic – because then, bang, multiple universes emerge from each question. You’re on a path to enlightenment.
Understandably, I guess, this pervades my other life too (though they’re not really separate). Normal social conversations, not unlike chess matches, kick off with one from a set of ‘agreed’ openings.
Question. What did you think of that film?
Standard answer set. The acting was good, the story wasn’t very plausible, the locations were nice. It made me think. It was sad/funny/harrowing/stupid. Let’s go for a drink.
Researcher answer set. All the above plus… Who’d spend nine quid on popcorn and a drink? Why do they insist you’re there by eight when it doesn’t start until 8.35? Did you notice that all the products in the film were Sony? Do you think so-and-so is planning a singing career off the back of this? Why was that character Chinese? Let’s go for a drink (- hello, no don’t leave, come back).
So this skill can be both a blessing and – used unwisely – a curse, but it’s still something all consumer researchers should work to develop and embrace. I’m certainly still doing so.
* do we read 9.57 as any time starting with a 9 and 10.57 is about 11 – so we’re really accepting a longer window (say 9.30 to 11.20)?