Creating and writing winning marketing positioning concepts can be done in a variety of ways; however, I am a firm believing that you need to have input from your consumer/customer through out the process to ensure you have the voice of the consumer captured in the spirit of the idea. As such, I believe the idea of writing concepts in a cubicle just doesn’t work. You need to be with the consumer and have periodic touch points to keep you on track. Although I often do this with in-person qualitative, I’ve also found that using and online bulletin board (OLBB) can be equally effective and offer some distinct advantages over more traditional qualitative. Let’s take a look:
Provides a more demographically diverse sample – Generally, we have buyers of products and services in a wide spectrum of locations. This could be as simple as a few regions in the U.S. or markets around the world. Either way, the OLBB can help link these consumers together in the same discussion allowing for the ability to compare and contrast experiences and wants/needs with a broader scope. Of course, these must be done in the same language and have like-minded habits for recruiting purposes, but imagine the richness of understanding how a person in the UK thinks about a concept compared to someone in Australia or the U.S. Typing responses allows for a “blinded accent†as well as 24-hour feedback.
Creates the unique ability to learn and build with the SAME consumer – An OLBB is typically structured for multiple days. I’ll typically run an OLBB session for 3-5 consecutive days which provides the opportunity to start with the basic learning about habits and practices and develop a full concept as they participate over time. The huge benefit to the client team is that they know immediately when they veer off course because the iterative nature of the concept building process will quickly reveal the problems and the clients already know how the earlier ideas played with the consumer. Additionally, the client is already “warmed up†by days 2-5, so the rehashing of baseline learning is not necessary so that all the time can be spent of augmenting the concept effort.
Allows nearly constant real-time collaboration with clients – And finally, the client can be involved very closely in the process. He is virtually a typed message away allowing for strong communication between the moderator/consultant and the client at virtually anytime. The client simply logs in a few times a day to catch up on the new learning. This is particularly helpful when you have some key client constituencies who can’t leave the office for a week to attend working sessions for the concept effort. The consultant can leverage their knowledge through a scheduled conference call at the end of each day in addition to their comments throughout the process.
So as you start your new concept development work, be aware the OLBB is another approach that might work for you. If you can answer check any box any to the questions below, it might be your best choice:
ï£ You have a demographically diverse consumer base
ï£ You desire to hear from the some consumer in more “longitudinal†way
ï£ You have a key client team members whose input is critical, but their schedule won’t permit in-person participation.
Good luck and don’t hesitate to call me with any questions.
