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ByHimanshu Vashishtha

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Leverage our solutions from SixthDigital and SixthMobile to provide ongoing and predictive intelligence.

ByHimanshu Vashishtha

Market Research, with a difference

From focus groups to brain scans, from stated response to eye tracking.

ByHimanshu Vashishtha

Behavioral economics

In Today’s world of market research, researchers are often puzzled by persistent doubts. We always ask customers the reason for buying a certain product and in return we get a reply stating it’s due to the value reliability. Is that a good reason to believe them? Similarly if we question someone “what drives their choice of a chemical supplier, and they reply to us saying it’s the price, quality and delivery. How far can we trust their answers? In other words we have to measure the extent of what people actually say and what factors drive them to invoke that behavior, which brings us to the gist of behavioral economics.

Behavioral Economics Interpretation

Behavioral Economics is a study related to the economic decision making processes of individuals and institutions. In a broader perspective behavioral economics takes into account the psychological, social, cognitive and the emotional ingredients in the economic decisions of individuals and institutions.The core aspect of behavioral economics still carries the conviction that experience plays a vital role in the decision making process. Behavioral economics does not believe that decisions are made rationally rather it explores to gain insight why people make irrational decisions how and why it cannot adhere to the predictions of some economic models. In other a clearer outlook, behavioral economics assumes the short minded and irrational decisions of people to derive vindications based on assessments and observations. Behavioral economics firmly believes that mistakes are made all the time thus considers that deficiency in the real world can figure out why people behave imperfectly.
In simple words behavioral economics emphasizes to a greater extent on how we behave rather than what we say or think.
Hence behavioral economics can adjust and manipulate a person’s behavior.

Behavioral Economics Effect on Market Research

Behavioral economics throws light on the factors that influence people’s actions. It is important as a marketing researcher to think in the view of a behavioral economist to know how the choices are made rather than what choices are made. Each choice has its own direction that has its own meaning and is critical to understand. Marketers were constantly deploying behavioral economics even before it had a name.

Single Consumer, Two Perspectives

The lens of the behavioral economics process on consumer choices points out why some marketing efforts are not effective and most importantly how to build effective marketing strategies by analyzing consumer choices. Famous researchers on consumer insights state that one of the most important insights about consumer choices is that consumers think more intuitively than deliberate thinking. The Intuitive approach of thinking is known as system1 thinking and the deliberate approach of thinking is known as system2 thinking. Habits and Inertia also have an impact on consumer choices. For instance say the consumer receives a superior message about a product, it’s not necessary that the message will get converted into an action. Since our intuition sometimes overplays our beliefs, which many not be even salient at the moment of decision. Market Researchers should therefore be aware not only to decode and influence consumer behaviors but also know to decode and understand long held habits (intuition).

Improved Marketing with Behavioral Economics

Behavioral Economics drives the standard marketing approach with revelations from the blend of psychology, economics and market research. It enlightens our quest to find why and how people make the choices, what aspects are involved in the decision making process and what levers most effectively triggers outcomes. Though firms shed billions of dollars through their marketing efforts in order to persuade the customers the results are often mixed and is rarely in proportion to the amount with the spending.
Behavioral economics gives insights to devise methodologies that are effective and cost friendly to achieve the desired consumer behavior.

A Fresh Consumer Psychology

Market Researches are often accustomed to think about demographics while being accustomed to such a thought process they fail to realize that every consumer has a goal that is active. Recent psychological studies show a deeper perception about goals as opposed to standard marketing approaches that considers only static needs. People in today’s world have various goals ,goal of being a better husband ,goals of being a better parent but it’s always the case that one goals remain active at the moment while others remain latent. Conveying messages to consumers when the wrong goal is active can lead to disastrous results. We need to offer these messages when the right goal is active and it definitely boost our marketing efforts to a better level. Behavioral economics also highlights the need to understand a range of factors that are beyond the control of a marketer. For example people make decisions differently when they are subjected to time pressure or when they have made a series of unrelated decisions

Perceiving the Lens of Consumer Beliefs

Eventually it is the system of beliefs that the consumers interpret the world. These beliefs can actually have an impact on how we experience a certain product or a service.
This would involve understating and acting upon on the authentic beliefs at the right moments.
Beliefs about a product can be the stimulating force for not only the predictions about the products but the actually experiences that consumers attain after using the product or service. The challenge for us is not only on product enhancements through research and development but also managing and influencing consumer beliefs.

Shopper Insights

In the same line the presentation of the alternative solution known as choice architecture is essential in successful marketing. Retailers have learnt for years that the products displayed on the middle shelves are more attractive than the products displayed on the top or bottom shelves. This is because our intuitive thinking (System 1) generally starts by selecting what is right in front of us. These findings clearly indicate that intuitive thinking (System 1) involves simpler processes than what is assumed actually about it. Careful choice architecture can thus have an impact on offering a superior product.

Behavioral Economics uncovering new opportunities

Behavioral Economics unveils that consumer decisions are more complicated, it also discovers a new sphere of opportunities to marketers. System1 (Intuitive) and System2 (Deliberate) Thinking: Given from findings that most of the consumer decisions are dominated by System1; marketers have ample of economic opportunities to convince the consumer. It can be attained by simply generating appropriate messages that cater to all the process involved in System1. Beliefs: Marketers face a stiff challenge for the need to reset the belief systems along with designing a good product. They need to find tools to change the beliefs that people hold or alternatively utilize the existing belief systems to attain benefits. Goals: Delivering messages to consumers when the right goal is active is important to get attention and boost marketing efforts. We also need to design communication network that influences which goals are active. Behavioral Economics undoubtedly delineate the modern consumer in a concise manner.
Behavioral Economic thus is a vital aspect in understanding what drives in consumer actions/decisions.
ByHimanshu Vashishtha

SixthRetail®

Sixth retail is synonymous to our recent foray is into Marketing Activation Monitor, here we track, monitor and analyze promotions, leaflets in supermarkets and hypermarkets.
Two of our main offerings are Promo Track Leaflet tracking and retail Zoom Store Diagnostics
To start with, we have Promo Track Leaflet tracking which provides retail promotions intelligence via its proprietary based software and retail Zoom Store Diagnostics which measures the incidence of product promotions and prices at the retail level. Initially our area of operations includes UAE and Saudi Arabia and plans are in place to expand our footsteps into other GCC markets as well. As an offshoot we are keen to also provide services related to shopper insights, outlet census and at some point retail audit as well.
Some retail market intelligence require just window shopping. But we belive that for more clear understanding, you want in-depth data on retail markets worldwide – sales performance, space distribution, store collections. Revolution in products, ranges, service and formats.
We help you benchmark your own business, with pricing or point of sale audit, mystery shopping and competitor astuteness.
We do this by keeping ourselves up-to-date with fast-moving retail and consumer trends.
We study all spheres of retail including multichannel, omni-channel, online and mobile. We pay attention to automation and personalisation, cultural, urban and societal change.
By understanding how all this data works out together – we help you vision your business and the bigger picture, global trends in the local context, What are the opportunities for your business and assist in some goal oriented and very critical decision making.
At Sixthfactor, we have studies and mastered the retail sciences. Some of the top brands in their industries have used our expertise to develop their product range and offerings, understand their competitors’ shoppers and manage their business and product portfolios. We offer MAM which is a very important component of this multi-layered market research and intelligence which you need to succeed in the business of retailing. This includes Tracking Advertisements and Offer types, Brochure data management system all critical processes set up to study competitors.
Our international team of retail industry expert and analysts pull all our resources together and with the help of expert data mining,
... we can evaluate, question, test and assess data to convert them into powerful information.
And this powerful information is handed to you for your decision making process.
ByHimanshu Vashishtha

SixthDigital®

Analyzing consumer sentiments, feedback and mentions available online with regards to your brand is truly authentic and has greater scope for feeding back into marketing strategies. Our proprietary Social Media Text Analytics Framework helps to decode the nature and the depth of conversation happening online.
Find out what your customers really feel about your brand
A leading CPG globally wanted to decode the consumer sentiments expressed on social media around a new brand launch, to drive greater traction and growth for the brand across the Middle East.
Find out how arab consumers process advertising An insightful document based on Neuromarketing principles on how Arabs process advertising content. The results are constantly monitored with a set of panel of Arab consumers

Transition from traditional to digital marketing

Spending behind digital marketing on the rise and will soon equal that behind traditional marketing; however companies still investing in traditional data gather techniques. 2 out of 3 marketers have moved at least 30% of their budgets from traditional to digital media in the past 3 years.
By 2018, Internet advertising will be poised to overtake TV as the largest advertising segment.
Internet advertising revenue will rise at a 10.7% CAGR to reach US$194.5bn in 2018, just US$20bn behind TV advertising. Of the US$241bn growth in total consumer and advertising revenue between 2013-2018, US$157bn will come from digital sources. B2C product marketers expect social media to make up 24.4% of total marketing budgets within 5 years. Traditional Methods are Pen and Paper Surveys, Focus Groups/ Depth Interviews. Whereas the Emerging Technologies are Social Media and Text Analytics, Neuro-marketing and Mobile Research

3 offerings of Social media sentiment analysis

Depending on the depth of information needed, there are 3 offerings around Social Media Sentiment Analysis:

    Automated Sentiment Analysis

  • Standard output
  • Data Extraction using and Analysis like automated tools like Synthesio, SocialBakers, Radian6 etc.
  • Lower investment and time

    Ready-Data Sentiment Analysis

  • Standard Frameworks but customized talk drivers developed specifically for brand
  • Data Extraction using both an Automated Tool as well as Manual Extraction
  • Mid-range investment and time

    Seeded-Data Sentiment Analysis

  • Customized Framework developed exclusively for the business question; conversation seeded around the business questions and tracked
  • Data Extraction completely Manual
  • High level interaction with both client as well as it’s digital agency with conversation seeding and tracking
Linguistic Capabilities - SixthFactor Consulting works with arabic professionals with strong understanding of the native language, dialects & cultural nuances so that richness and accuracy of data is maintained.

Social Media Data Extraction Process

Social Media Data Extraction Process is an iterative, collaborative exercise between the client, it’s digital agency and SixthFactor. Few comments extracted but would be highly relevant
Start with focused Hashtags, Keywords, affiliated terms.
Output will multiply as there will be a large number of comments but low on relevance. We need to expand search to include related keywords. This query should give robust number of relevant comments. We will look at both sets of outputs to come up with optimal query. This process is repeated till optimal number of comments are extracted

Sentiment Analysis: Automated through Tools vs. Manual

Given the multiple channels and huge amount of chatter online, mining all this data and link to positive outcomes for a brand is a very complicated and exhaustive task. The automated tools currently available for Sentiment Analysis are not able to consumer comments accurately and manual analysis is critical to analyse data in the right manner
The feedback/mentions present online is more authentic and has greater scope for feeding back into marketing
key objective though is ‘mine’ to derive insights from YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Forums
    Social Media Sentiments involves
  • Open & Transparent System
  • Authentic content
  • User/Consumer generated content
  • Active Involvement of consumers
  • Two way conversation

Steps for Social Media Sentiment Analysis

SixthFactor Consulting proposes the following steps to kick-off any Social Media Sentiment Analysis projects.
  • Do a exploratory run, to understand the category dynamics in the online space.
  • Identify a business issue to understand key questions brand team is facing which can be answered by Social Media Sentiment Analysis.
  • Define the scope of the study and also share a time/cost estimate for the same.
  • Once Go-Ahead received, Start data extraction.
  • Get in touch with client’s digital agency partners and initiate data extraction as per clear process laid out