Eaves dropping & Gossip - as a Market Research tool

Monday, 7 February 2011 02:50 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Conventional market research suffers from the bias that creeps in from being a ‘staged’ interview. The consumer is well aware that it is an interview, therefore is very mindful of what she says and in many cases it tends to be in abstract terms. As markets get more competitive and as consumer behaviour gets more complex, businesses need sharper and ‘real life’ insights. Eaves dropping and ‘tuning’ into consumer gossip (be it in person or social media) can be very powerful forms of market research, but needs to be handled with tact and within socio-cultural norms.