Introduction
Many businesses aim to be consumer-centric. Or, as Amazon emphatically puts it, customer obsessed. Conversations about consumer-centricity often feel oddly business-centric. In boardrooms across the globe, consumer-centricity is heralded as an effective business strategy. Across departments, teams intuit the work they need to do based on understanding consumers’ wants, needs and preferences. There are numerous books and training courses available to help you learn how to build a more consumer-centric organization. All that is to say, conversations about consumer-centricity often feel oddly business-centric. So, let’s cut the business talk for a moment and imagine what it feels like for consumers in the middle of it all. If you haven’t realized, you’re a consumer too, so you can do this very easily by being yourself. Think about a product you’ve used recently or an ad you’ve just seen. Anything… First thing that comes to mind.. Quickly… Got it?
- What is it?
- Why did you think of it?
- What is its significance for you?
I’ll tell you mine. The McSpicy x Frank’s Redhot. It’s a mouthwatering combination. Spicy chicken is my go-to burger/sandwich. I love Frank’s Redhot (I buy it by the gallon) and I put that SH*T on everything. When I saw this latest collaboration, I thought, they made this just for me.
The McSpicy x Frank's Red Hot It didn’t take long for my research brain to start wondering about the data points that led to this collaboration. I recognise that there are millions of other people with my not so unique taste for spicy chicken sandwiches. McDonald’s and Frank’s didn’t make this sandwich just for me. But, that's besides the point. My feelings as a consumer at that moment were genuine. I was excited to see a new product, which seemed perfectly suited to my taste. As an insights professional, this gave me some perspective. It reaffirmed the importance of consumer-centricity while clarifying what this business strategy means for consumers. It also sparked ideas for how I could better connect with consumers in the work that I do to gain deeper insights. Working in insights is all about helping businesses become more consumer-centric. This means we need to maintain a consumer perspective, with the genuine feelings that come with it. For me, it helps to be a little more consumer, even at work. So, I’m going to think about my job as helping brands give consumers that ‘this was meant for me’ feeling.
Public Service Announcement:
This thought exercise aims to help you to gain some consumer perspective. But, it’s not a substitute for consumer research, which provides robust, reliable data and insights.
