I don't know WHY, I just do

What’s the main problem with your brand?

Is it that not enough people are aware of it?

Or they’ve heard of it but would never consider buying it?

Or they might consider doing so but would rather buy another brand?

Or they go to buy it but get tempted away at the last minute?

Or they buy it and use it, only to find the experience isn’t what they expected?

Or they were happy enough with it, but next time around they buy a different brand?

Or they really liked it and you kept your fingers crossed they’d tell others, but they never do?

Those are the main questions, moving down and out the funnel.

The obvious way to answer them is to ask people. But that’s just going to have them post-rationalising their behaviour or just lying. We are all unreliable narrators of our lives.

So often, it’s because we ask not-very-good questions.

Which brands in this category come to mind?

What are your reasons for choosing this brand?

How satisfied were you with the experience?

How likely would you be to recommend it to others?

There’s nothing wrong with these questions. Entire industries are built on them.

But in every case, what’s missing is why.

And that’s the real problem, because people don’t necessarily know why they do what they do. As they go about their lives, they don’t have to explain their behaviour or thoughts or feelings to anyone.

And the very act of asking people “why?” confronts them with this reality. It’s an honest person who replies: “I don’t know why, I just do”.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t discover why.

Both projective and ethnographic research are built on these principles. The indirect, sneaky approach.

One of my favourites is still masking and illumination. You get people to project themselves onto another ‘person’, who they find easier to talk about than themselves. They then create a story about an ideal experience for their ‘person’ in the world of interest.

That, in turn, ‘illuminates’ their own deeper needs and the tensions that exist for them. And as if by magic, a Need Map appears.

I also still love brand worlds. People transport themselves into the world of the brand. They then describe that world, the experience they have and how they feel when there.

And then you can understand the associations people have with your brand in a bit more depth than a link with an occasion or a jingle.

I think the reason I still use these tools is because what I really believe is that deeper needs make stronger brands.

Actually, I know that’s why.