Blog 2

Kenna’s Dilemnia
Kenna’s dilemnia talks to us about a way in which we are boxed in to figure out what our opinion on things, whether they are music or food. We are asked to describe our like and sensation and that to us is too complex for the average person. We also can’t judge accurate differences on “pieces” of the item- like listening to some of Kenna’s song without having the experience of seeing him live. Reactions by questions are not the same as observing the behaviors of people as they see/try a new food or experience. Chekin believe that we put the product and the packaging as one. We are unable to separate our thoughts on the previous distinctions.
I believe that the context in which we receive something makes a difference in the way we evaluate it. The experience is more robust than just the taste of something but how you eat it, what it looks like and how it’s displayed plays strongly into that. I agree also that the article is right when it says different is often interpreted as bad, while it is is just that, different.

Turn Customer Input into Innovation
Asking your customers for outcomes is the best way to do R&D because they know what they need things to do, but they aren’t able to think of the way to make that happen. Trusting your customers can be hard, but they know what they want and using lead (above average) users. Working this way ensures sales as your customers had a major hand in produce creation.
This approach resounds with me. After being in sales, my focus is always on the customer needs and this exemplifies what the customer needs being met. This also learning about your customer in a higher level and not boxing them in buy questions, but letting the work on open ended statements. Then you can take this data and work with what is most strongly aligned with your goals.

Metaphorically Speaking
With the need to better understand the how customers experience data, came a new method called the ZMET process. This combines knowledge from the humanities and science (social and biological). The key points in most communication is non verbal, though market research currently tends to focus on words and verbalization. Thoughts occur in images, so we will want to do research that allows us to get closer to that. Metaphors are key in speech and a strong indicator of feelings. Reason and emotion make up decision making. ZMET uses this information to ask people to find pictures to share their feelings, also ask for metaphors. This really ensures there isn’t any interviewer interference in the process. Constructs are a huge part of ZMET using a consensus map, they are able to see repeat statements and summarize findings.

I liked this approach, however I questioned the cost factor involved in this, as well as the effort needed from the research subject. There had to be some sort of financial incentive to make this feasible. I thought the validity of showing it in media format, preserved the work and also was a better way to see the data, as opposed to quantitatively.