I set up Cappuccino Research in order to focus on qualitative methods that work; that really tell my clients about their customers and how they think.
I've done enough focus groups to know that they just don't work. They deliver output that is shallow and thin. When you're using focus groups to answer your problem you're relying on the experience and consultative knowledge of the moderator, not the quality of the data because, frankly, the data won't be enough on its own to work with. I'm an analyst, and I prefer to have lots of great data to work with so that I can tell my client what's really going on without guessing.
If you don't truly know your customers and how they think there is a risk that:
- your messages won't land in the way you want them to
- your products or services won't gain the market share that they deserve; not because they're not better than the competition, but because they're not framed in the right way
- your innovation pipeline won't have the focus it needs to create great new products
At Cappuccino Research we use ZMET; the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique, developed by Professor Gerald Zaltman at Harvard's 'Mind of the Market' Labs.
ZMET harnesses the power of metaphor to connect with how customers (consumers or business people) really think. There are lots of other techniques that use metaphor, but none of them use the same combination of techniques that ZMET does; the 'secret sauce' that makes it work.
If you really know your customers and how they think, you'll never have to worry about whether you're communicating with them or serving them in the right way
- your messages will connect at a subconscious level
- your products and services will shine
- the new products and services you develop will meet genuine customer needs and desires.