During a conversation with a
Views reader
concerning the S.P.A.C.E. Technique, I was asking why, when I asked for
a Uniqueness rating, I phrased the questions "Overall, how would you
rate
this product in terms of being different from other products?"
The
reader pointed out that all other companies with which he had worked
used
the phrase "New and Different." My response was that the decision
was easy and it was based on personal interviewing experience. It
seems that while conducting an interview on a New Tide, Clothes Line
Fresh,
I asked the test participant how she would rate the New Tide for being
"New
and Different"? To which the respondent replied, "On which do you
want me to evaluate the New Tide, on being New or on being Different.
It
is not new but it is different."
Now what was my objective, to determine how different the respondent
perceived the New Tide to be or how new? I knew it was new.
I really wanted to know how different she perceived the Tide to
be. I guess there
may be times when we are interested in how attractive the words are to
the
consumer. However, in almost all research I have been associated
with,
our objective is to understand the relationship of the product to the
attribute
in question.
How often do we ask the respondent to evaluate a multiple attribute
phrase? Consider not only the "New & Different," but
"Fast &
Easy," "Soft & Fluffy," "Strong & Absorbent," "Soft &
Absorbent,"
"Nice & Easy," "Quick & Easy," "Clean & Shiny," "Soft &
Creamy," etc. It goes on and on. As a result of this
experience and following research, I decided that I would never include
either the word "and" or
"or" in a question. In either case, I do not know what the
operative
word is when the consumer is responding.
A second point to note is that I would have probably never uncovered
this opportunity to sharpen my research had I not been doing the
interviewing
myself. I had a habit of interviewing at least one day a month
even
up to the final year of my career. There is no replacement for
that
personal contact. Do yourself a favor, spend time with your
consumers.
As I have often said, "The poorest view of the world is from
behind
your desk."
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