Learning the Big Picture Through Need States
While consumers can purchase a product for a diverse set of reasons, insights professionals need to sift through the data and identify the primary drivers of the purchase, which then helps discover the need states of that purchase. The need state, as Valen Group puts it in its article, “What is the Value of a Need State?,” “transcends the behavioral vs. psychographic/attitudinal divide, the functional vs. emotional hierarchy, etc. to identify the common underlying unmet needs or wants that sum up to a need state or that a need state defines.”
Sometimes it’s challenging to find the best answer to such a consumer question—to identify the need state—as there can be ambiguity even in data analysis. There can be multiple answers that might fit the scenario as well. To best determine the underlying need state, Valen Group recommends starting with unmet needs research. This is before developing ideation and product concepts, as it’s significant to find that primary driver first.
This is where a strategic and organizational map can come into play, in this case a map that defines the landscape of needs. Valen Group points to a “Need State Map,” which can analyze and determine where to focus unmet needs insight research and concept identification work. “With this logic in hand, the team can determine what unmet needs seem the most valuable and also to consider which unmet needs or need state might we focus our insight research and concept development efforts,” says Valen.
So, how can you identify and profile need states? Valen Group suggests a need state segmentation to quantify need states and learn more about the need segments. “We want to understand who fits within the need state, what the most important underlying unmet needs are, and understand how well competitive brands are satisfying those needs. We value unmet needs by utilizing a technique we call a market opportunity analysis that finds the most important needs and needs with the most dissatisfaction.”
Trend Signal Development
All Things Insights looked further at this topic in, “Putting Customer Journey Mapping into Perspective.” Customer journey mapping is a critical task in today’s insights environment. We know that discovering who your target audience is should be key to market research, marketing, and product development missions. This may entail creating customer personas so that you can research your customers in an in-depth way, finding out their shopping and purchasing preferences, so that the company can enhance the customer experience. Customer journey mapping is important for finding out more about the company’s customer base, their brand determinations, and their shopping experiences.
Looking forward to TMRE 2024? The conference, which will be held October 8 to 10, will feature the session, “Leveraging Emerging Signals & Need States to Awaken a Sleepy Category,” presented by Suann Griffin, former Senior Director, Insights, Serta Simmons Bedding. Like many durable consumer products, mattresses are seen as a high-risk and low-reward category plagued by a sea of sameness and brand confusion. Ensuring that consumer insights stayed front and center every step of the way, Serta Simmons Bedding embarked on a series of initiatives spanning trend signals, consumer need states, brand platform validation and the consumer journey to reimagine the way we develop, deliver and communicate solutions that help people sleep better so they can lead healthier lives. Come with us as we show you how we refreshed two legacy brands and leveraged consumer insights to communicate the value of making an investment in sleep. Register for TMRE 2024 here.
Need State Mapping: A Cornerstone for Market Research
Need state mapping is a powerful tool for market researchers to uncover deeper consumer insights and drive innovation. This helps understand the underlying motivations and desires that drive consumer behavior. We asked Gemini to outline some of the key benefits of the process:
- Identify unmet needs: Discover opportunities for new product or service development by pinpointing gaps in the market.
- Develop targeted marketing strategies: Tailor messaging and promotions to address specific consumer needs, increasing relevance and effectiveness.
- Enhance product innovation: Create products and services that directly address consumer pain points and deliver exceptional value.
- Improve customer satisfaction: By understanding the underlying reasons for purchase decisions, businesses can better meet customer expectations and build loyalty.
- Inform pricing strategies: Determine the appropriate price point for products or services based on the perceived value associated with specific need states.
Finding the Primary Purchase Driver
Ultimately, need state mapping helps businesses move beyond superficial consumer data to uncover the true drivers of behavior, enabling them to make more informed decisions and create lasting customer relationships. Need states are an opportunity area, which gives researchers a window into the customer journey.
Certainly, there are many need states that a consumer may experience in the course of their journey. Insights professionals may be able to pinpoint just what the specific driver is, and thereby prioritize just what road the product development plan needs to take.
Valen Group advises, “Make choices where there is a sustainable competitive advantage whether looking at need states, unmet needs or developing a concept or solution. This means identifying need states and underlying unmet needs with the most promise and identifying solutions that are unique, valuable to target consumers and to the company in hitting growth/profit targets and something which, of course, can be executed.”
Video courtesy of Brand Master Academy
