Understand the mind of the market

Editor’s note: Jennifer Haid is cultural analyst at the Los Angeles office of Iconoculture, Inc., a Minneapolis research firm.

This article lays out the case for a heretofore infrequently used form of market research - participatory inquiry guided by critical hermeneutics - as a way to obtain a deeper, more nuanced understanding of consumers and brands than is often reached through traditional surveys, focus groups and consumer interviews. Because many aspects of daily activity and culture are so ingrained in how consumers think and act, they are often unable to accurately convey, or even to understand themselves, why they think and act as they do, which calls for observational research and/or a new form of inquiry.

There are several methods to understanding the consumer beyond traditional surveys and focus groups, including observational research, ethnography and in-depth conversation series. This article reviews this last method, and the value of informing and analyzing those conversations with critical hermeneutics (the study of interpretation), which in essence legitimizes the interpretive nature of understanding the consumer. No research data is purely objective; there is always an interpretation or a series of interpretations that take place as research is gathered, organized and presented. Traditional positivist research aims for answers; critical hermeneutics provides interpretations and explanations that everyone involved works to create.

Any learning about the consumer is only as good as its application and implication for a brand. While participatory researchers give added dimension to consumers, they are able to do the same for their brand(s). The thoughtful researcher who unearths a new or unexpected consumer value or attitude in an industry will use that learning or some key idea related to it when working with a brand. This article reviews the background of participatory inquiry and hermeneutics, discusses opportunities for its application, and explores implications for further research.

Background

Central to participatory hermeneutic research with consumers is the legitimization of interpretation, or the acknowledgment that each understanding of the consumer is in fact an interpretation, and can only ever be an interpretation rather than a definitive fact as is common in the positivistic sciences, which is partially shaped by the researcher’s prejudices or pre-understandings. Prejudice does not have a negative connotation here, but instead refers to the world an individual knows, based on prior experiences, interactions, language and values. When a researcher recognizes and acknowledges the role of prejudice as shaping his or her interpretation of consumer statements and actions, that researcher sees the value in returning to the consumer for additional clarification throughout the research process. For example a researcher and consumer in conversation about why that individual purchased a high-end home theater system may discuss the reasons for making the purchase, such as holding movie parties, enjoying a stay-at-home luxury, or immersing oneself in sporting events. The researcher may interpret “holding movie parties” as a reason for purchase to mean that without the system, the consumer would not hold the parties at all, and so return to the consumer for additional information. Upon reviewing the data and talking more, the researcher and consumer determine that why the item was purchased and why it is used (which may or may not be the same) are not as telling as how the product makes its owner feel. In this case the owner may feel confident as an entertainer, more social, powerful, wealthy, relaxed or rejuvenated. Talking and probing more about the use of the home theater, the researcher uncovers both new data and new issues to address or consider moving forward.

Anthropologist Clifford Geertz reminds us of the cultural anthropologist’s “keen sense of the dependence of what is seen upon where it is seen from and what it is seen with” (Local Knowledge, 1993, p. 4). It is this context - as rich and broad as possible, and brought to light with participatory hermeneutic research - which researchers can use as a framework for understanding the thoughts and experiences of diverse consumers. Consumer behaviors are just the tip of an often underestimated iceberg which is the whole of consumer culture, the main portion of which is defined by how consumers think, why they behave as they do and how they make sense of their beliefs, actions, relationships and the world and marketplace around them.

At the heart of the power of participatory inquiry and critical hermeneutics are both their simplicity and their concomitant richness. Even as used every day, dialogue takes on new meaning and power as researchers engage in conversation as a forum for learning about participants as well as adopting new business ideas. Philip Carl Salzman lays out a simple metaphor: “[F]acts are interpretations that we make of specific things in the world...Collecting facts is thus not like collecting stones, which keep their own shape; we shape the facts as we interpret the specific things about which we are doing research...There can therefore be different descriptions of the same situation...[and] all descriptive accounts of the facts are as open to debate as are theories” (Understanding Culture: An Introduction to Anthropological Theory, 2001, p. 5). The value of hermeneutics lies in its nod to difference in an attempt to bridge multiple understandings rather than attempt, almost always unsuccessfully, to arrive at one set of agreed-upon facts. In short, the business objective laid out for a market or target consumer may not be the best objective once the consumer is better understood, and once the consumer is better understood, the business problem may change.

As Geertz succinctly yet eloquently states, “[m]an is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun, [and] I take culture to be those webs, and the analysis of it to be therefore not an experimental science in search of law but an interpretive one in search of meaning” The Interpretation of Cultures, 1973, p. 5). The generalizations that questionnaires and focus groups often hold as their ultimate aim do not get at the heart of human or consumer behavior, in that they attempt to measure the “what” without always asking about the “why.” New opportunities for self-reflection and heightened understanding of the consumer are present with open and flexible conversations that empower the participants to talk about new ides and challenge one another. Marketers stand to gain not only in their awareness of the consumer, but also in their insight into their brand opportunities moving forward.

Found a place

Participatory research and critical hermeneutics have found a place in the worlds of several large companies and industries, including IBM Corporation, Cisco Systems, Oracle Corporation, Wildaid, Ernst & Young, Capitol One Financial, and public utilities. Swedish companies were some of the first to employ participatory research in understanding project management styles, particularly where there are employees from a wide range of cultures. The methodology is also used in education, international relations, organization development, and community development and activist work conducted worldwide.

Application of critical hermeneutics elaborates even everyday themes, elevating them from mere assumptions to thoughts of which researchers can understand the development and context. Both researchers’ and consumers’ personal experiences and deliberations become valid components of the process and legitimate sources of insight in analyzing assumptions and enhancing mutual understanding. In essence, it is insufficient to know what a consumer is doing along with his or her single explanation of why, as that explanation may be inadequate, unclear or misinterpreted. More profitable approaches come in the form of observation and discourse, the latter addressed here, and embarked upon with a plan for future refinement, and as such analyzed once or more for possible weaknesses in conveyance or clarity, so the researcher can then return to the participant and obtain that clarity. The beauty of hermeneutic research is that as the researcher returns to the participant for clarity, he or she may become aware for the first time of other areas that require illumination, and thus able to refine the results as often as needed or desired.

Let’s say a researcher wants to know about a consumer’s reasons for choosing a particular brand of jeans. The main reason provided by the consumer is comfort. The researcher understands comfort as a practical desire, and reiterates that to the consumer, who then indicates that yes, comfort is important, but it’s really all about the combination of comfort and high style - a big difference. People will pay upwards of $150 for comfortable jeans, but not just because they are comfortable; certain designer denims are a badge of style and status.

Qualitative in approach, participatory inquiry here will involve several conversations (note the word interview is not used here as these conversations are two-sided engagements intended to enlighten the researcher on issues relevant to the participant as well as the business objective that he or she may not have thought about prior to the conversation, and as such both the conversations and business questions may and often do change direction over the course of the research) intended to get researchers deeper in touch with consumers, possibly reframing their business questions, and as such asking new and more fruitful questions. Critical hermeneutics provides the platform from which researchers can then look critically at their research and “understandings” of the consumer, acknowledge their personal take on what was conveyed as well as the possibility of misinterpretation and misunderstanding, and return to the research participant for clarification. Clearly, then, the researcher or client must be comfortable with the departure from positivistic research methodology, and able to invest the time and money needed to arrive not only at new understandings of the consumer, but also new questions that arise - the answers to which may provide an entirely new dimension of consumer understanding and a reconfiguration of business goals.

How can the novice employ this type of research? Look for quality over quantity. Rather than having several hundred or thousand people complete a survey, take the time to hold individual conversations, or lunch discussion groups if time is limited. Treat the conversations as the mini-ethnographies they are; the researcher must be prepared to change direction and questions as needed, and keep as thorough notes as possible. The review of these notes will help guide subsequent conversations as the researcher and participant(s) revisit what was discussed and try to ensure agreement on the content and meaning of the dialogue. (“You mentioned you don’t think this brand speaks well to a diverse group of consumers. What do you mean by diverse? When you said it doesn’t resonate with Hispanics, did you mean all Hispanics?) How long this process takes is a function of the time the researcher has, the availability of participants for additional conversations, and the need for further clarification as dictated by the content itself.

Begin to understand

Many successful brands, original or reinvented, pride themselves on being as much about the experience as the product. Critical hermeneutics enables marketers to begin to understand the different ways in which consumers make sense of that experience, as they live, work and consume in a world with others, in which interpretation is a part of everyday life. Transformational leadership in an industry requires that a company explore and then define how it will innovate and what its brand will truly mean to consumers. People have myriad reasons to purchase a sports car, store-label product or luxury accessory, to patronize a fast-food chain or budget hotel, or fly a particular airline. Successful marketing messages and brand identities may resonate widely throughout the market, but not everyone has the same experience with or reason for shopping at H&M or buying a BMW. Hermeneutically-informed participatory research, conducted by the appropriate professionals, can provide insight into the whole host of feelings that consumers may encounter in a brand experience.

Corporate, education, advocacy, social and political organizations employ participatory researchers with knowledge of critical hermeneutics for good reason: simply stated, they can provide a richer understanding of just about anything studied. With careful attention to detail, time to participate in multiple conversations and ask questions, and a willingness to share personal interpretations which may be challenged or revised, researchers can begin to experience a deeper understanding of consumers.