Thursday, April 14, 2016

Marketing Research and Behavior

One of the best pieces of advice I have gotten in my marketing classes is this: 

When you are doing marketing research, be careful of the data you gather, because sometimes the same people who say they will buy something are the same people who will lie to you. 

 For example, say you are designing a product, and you take the concept to your target audience to ask them how much they would pay for it.  Say the average person said they would pay $20 for this product.  Great.  You can work with that.  You go through all the development, with all its expenses and pains, and finally come back to the same people with the finished product in hand, ready to sell for $20.  But, they do not buy it.  

It makes things more difficult, but people will make different decisions when aroused or under pressure.  The decisions they say they will make are less likely to uphold.  

Thankfully, there are ways to control for these things statistically, to help mitigate that risk.  I just thought it is interesting and a worthwhile word to the wise.  

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