Consumer brands: 5 questions to ask your consumers

In a constantly changing market, consumer brands are no exception to the rule and are also facing many challenges: the growth of e-commerce, discount brands and the proliferation of niche brands are just some of them. The expectations of consumers, who are increasingly demanding, have also changed significantly, with the environmental, social and societal impacts of their purchases becoming a central concern.

Faced with these changes, it is crucial for consumer brands to know in detail the needs of their audience by collecting relevant and actionable insights. What are the top 5 questions to ask your consumers in your next surveys? And what are the various types of studies that can be used to answer them? That's what we will discuss in this article!

‍

1. Do consumers know you?

How do consumers perceive your brand and products compared to your competitors? Where do you stand in your market?

Not all consumer brands are as well known as Coca Cola, Nespresso or Ferrero Rocher, 3 players who have created an instantly recognizable brand image. Understanding your positioning and the profile of your buyers is essential to communicate more intelligently on your products.

Theawareness study

This type of consumer research is the ideal tool to answer these questions. It allows you to make a real assessment and to understand your strengths and weaknesses within a competitive market . In concrete terms, the awareness study measures your awareness through a spontaneous awareness question (without showing a list containing your brand name) and then an assisted awareness question (based on a list). It will also allow you to identify the channels that make your brand known, determine the image that connoisseurs have of it and precisely define the profile of your affinity targets. Valuable insights to refine your communication strategy!

‍

2. What are the real needs of your target?

What is the daily life of your audience? What are the behaviors and habits that shape their needs and guide their consumption?

To capture new market share and compete with niche brands, these insights must be central to the development of your next concept.

The success of niche brands

The success of companies focusing on a niche market is not insignificant. Their small size and proximity to consumers on social networks allows them to adapt to their environment in a quick and flexible way. Brands such as HappyVore or Heura Foods have succeeded in taking over the supermarket shelves by offering vegetarian products with a vegetable base. A promising market that the big brands have been slow to seize.

The study of uses and attitudes

Thestudy of uses and attitudes allows you todeepen your knowledge of your audience by drawing a precise portrait of your personas. Niche targets, unfortunately very difficult or even impossible to recruit via traditional research methodologies, become accessible via social networks. This gives you the opportunity to adjust your business strategy, and to succeed in investing in niche markets too 😉

‍

3. Do consumers like your next concept?

What is the market potential of your product? Which version of your product will best meet the expectations of your target audience?

Knowing your consumers' opinions before marketing a new concept is essential to get the best market penetration rate.

The concept test

This type of consumer research takes place before marketing and allows you to easily identify the strengths and weaknesses of your target population. If you are hesitating between several concepts to market, they will be randomly proposed to identical groups of individuals in order to clearly identify the version that will be the most successful. You will then have all the cards in hand to better define the potential of your concept, optimize its positioning and identify the most relevant marketing channels!

‍

4. Have consumers seen your ad (online or offline)?

How are your campaigns perceived and what effect do they have on your image and sales?

Thanks to your audiences, and their authentic opinions, you will be able to identify ways to improve your future campaigns, andultimately optimize your advertising and media investments .

The advertising post-test

This type of survey takes place after your campaign has been broadcast and effectively measures the impact of your communications, whether they are posted in public spaces or broadcast online. In the case of physical advertising, the study is conducted on respondents targeted locally and precisely in the areas where your poster campaign was broadcast. Post-testing also allows us to identify the profile of consumers who are most in tune with your campaign and the offer in question. For even more in-depth analysis, this research format can be complemented by a pre-test to collect baseline data for comparison (before and after the campaign).

‍

5. Are consumers satisfied with your offer?

Consumers often feel that consumer brands are too impersonal in their marketing. Conducting a survey to determine the level of satisfaction of your buyers with your product will allow your brand to reinforce its promotional strategy, and thus avoid falling into this criticism!

By gaining insights into the strengths of your offer, you can determine the best possible communication axis. Like Michel & Augustin, which in its latest campaign produced entirely in-house, features its own employees. An ingenious idea to reinforce the artisanal and consumer-oriented spirit that has contributed to the brand's success!

The satisfaction survey

Satisfaction surveys are very useful to improve your understanding of your customers' expectations, so that you can provide them with an offer that is even more in line with their needs in the future. The NPS (Net Promoter Score), which evaluates the intention of targeted users to recommend your offer, is one of the indicators we use for this type of consumer research. Ultimately, the satisfaction survey is essential for all consumer brands that want to go further in their marketing strategy!

‍

Conclusion

With 4.6 billion active users worldwide, social networks are today the best playground for interviewing your audience and conducting all your consumer research. These platforms allow us to recruit respondents with varied profiles, from the broadest to the most niche targets, who are not used to surveys. With our method, designed from the start for use on cell phones, respondents no longer feel like they are filling out a questionnaire but rather participating in a conversation. All these elements guarantee the authenticity of the answers, and therefore the generation of relevant insights for your brand!

To learn more about the different types of consumer research we offer, feel free to download our Guide.

A need to share with us? Send us your request here .

‍