Using a Consultative Approach to Connect With Your Customers

In marketing research, companies and marketers alike can gain valuable insight from taking a “consultative” approach to research projects where they consult with respondents, instead of taking the standard transactional approach that dismisses participant theories. We discuss how the consultative approach works below.

Deliberative

First, it should be pointed out that it’s often said that survey respondents can’t solve marketing problems, so their input in these cases is disregarded. However, companies that follow this methodology may actually be missing out on helpful insights from potential customers. The way to garner novel insights from respondents is to take on a more deliberative approach that exposes those involved in the market study to key issues over a long period of time. Researchers then collect feedback at several stages along the way to correspond with the level of respondents’ understanding of these issues.

Pre-tasking

An important component of this process is called pre-tasking, where exercises are designed to measure the respondents’ current preferences and behavior as consumers. During this phase, researchers also encourage respondents to pay attention to their brand allegiances, so that they may be able to answer the next set of research questions in greater depth.

These exercises actually work quite well for commercial enterprises, as consumers can be quite passionate about their favorite brands. Additionally, even if they can’t give a rational reason why they purchase a certain brand over another, most consumers are aware that their preferences exist. The answers to the pre-tasking exercises can then be used to generate topics for more in-depth face-to-face discussions between moderators and respondents.

Cooperation

At this point in the standard methodology, the respondents would have been dismissed due to the belief that their opinions are now tainted by the research process. The consultative approach, however, sees things quite differently; from this standpoint, respondents’ relationship with the client’s product is viewed as a benefit, not as a hindrance. The moderators now must keep the session focused on the client’s most important areas of research without dampening the respondents’ enthusiasm for the products. From these consultative sessions, the feedback gained actually typically has more detail than a standard research study that dismisses the respondents earlier in the process.

Now, for a consultative session to be productive, the moderators must be able to create an atmosphere of cooperation between themselves, the respondents, and the client. The respondents should feel as though they’re involved in the marketing process alongside the client; if they don’t feel this way, they may not put the effort in to giving very meaningful insight.

When done correctly, this collaborative approach can lead to the formation of a strong relationship between the consumer and the company, for each party can feel ownership over their respective role in the research process while also effectively complementing the others.