Gen Z: people ages 3–23 (ish) and they’ve got spending power. Of course, a 7-year-old is not toting $3,000 around to spend on holiday gifting, but a study by CPC Strategy states that Gen Z as a group is planning on spending more this holiday season. While this same study does note that 66 percent of Gen Z is limited to a budget of less than $250, given the size of this generation, it still amounts to a lot of money.
When is a “yes” a certain response and when is it a maybe? Hesitation can be the key to unlocking the difference. As marketers and researchers, it’s critical that we get to the heart of consumers’ true attitudes.
We’ve been working with clients to assess the implicit level of certainty consumers have when associating attributes with various stimuli.
Let’s take a quick quiz. If you were to give an initial answer to the two items below, what would it be?
a) 2×2=
b) 17×34=
For item (a), the answer “4” automatically came to mind. But I bet many of you gave up on (b) and thought “too complicated, not worth the time.” Why is this? It’s not that you couldn’t solve (b). It’s that you didn’t want to. You unconsciously solved the 2×2 computation because your memory intuitively recognized it. However, 17×34 required more effort. These differences are referred to as System 1 and System 2 thinking, a process developed by psychologist Daniel Kahneman to help explain how we make decisions:
There is a lot of discussion lately about whether or not brands as we know them are dead. Clearly, shopping and communication channels are evolving at warp speed, but how does that impact brands? Let’s discuss.
Razor blades: Just the thought makes you leap for joy, doesn’t it? Okay, me neither. But Dollar Shave Club had the wisdom to find a way to overcome two consumer pain points while jumping on a burgeoning consumer trend.
Pain 1: The increasing difficulty of buying razor blades in-store. Many c-stores have them locked down tighter than Beyoncé’s security. One either has to grab the paper voucher and take that to the counter so the employee can access the vault of blades, or the blades are encased in a plastic box that can only be opened via a magic wand. Note: We understand this has to do with theft protection but for consumers is a big hassle!
Pain 2: Money, money, money. Four cartridges for $25. That’s a lot of cash.
I found myself in the drugstore the other day having the following conversation with my 15-year-old daughter:
Me: OK, here are the toothbrushes, just pick one.
Her: (Gets her phone out) I need to see which one’s best.
Me: You’re researching a toothbrush? (mind you, this is a bristle brush and not an electric model)
Her: It will only take me a couple of seconds.
Issue: A company that was established in food-based nutritional products was having an internal debate. Would consumers welcome their brand in the realm of dietary supplements, particularly omega-3s? Would current supplement users have a reason to switch brands? And what equity elements should they carry over from their existing lines?
If you, like me, are of a “certain age,” you probably remember going car shopping, narrowing down the brand of car you wanted, then trying to choose between the basic or premium options because those were the only options available.
Trash talking “brainstorming” seems to be quite the thing these days. And we get it. We’ve suffered through endless brainstorm sessions where the moderator didn’t adhere to best practices, so all that resulted was a list of mediocre thoughts and demoralized participants.
That’s why we practice what we preach. If you want a productive brainstorming session, please follow these principles.
You may hear some buzz about neuromarketing, or “System 1 Thinking,” an emerging approach to marketing research that combines three well-established disciplines of brain science to give a new perspective on human behavior and give insight into nonconscious decision-making: