Malcolm Gladwell and Gaining Insights

I really enjoyed reading the excerpt from Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink because it didn’t just lay out rules of how to conduct market research, but he delved into the things we should be weary of when doing so. It is a human tendency to get so caught up in what task is at hand that you forget to look at the ways you are executing the task poorly. Through reading the excerpt, I gleaned two main lessons about how to better gain insights with your customers.
The first lesson Gladwell teaches is that there can be problems with the outcomes of market research that result from the context of the research. One of the examples he uses to illustrate this point is the Pepsi Challenge taste test of the 1980s. By just looking at the result of this taste test, market researchers believed that Pepsi was more appealing to consumers than Coke. However, there was a problem with the context of this taste test. First, the test only allowed the taster to consume a small portion of a can. This didn’t allow the taster to decide on whether he or she liked the overall taste of the entire serving (which was important because consuming a full can a Pepsi is too sweet for some). Second, the test was done in a testing facility, which was not the context a person would normally be consuming a soda. Gladwell stresses that the contexts of market research really can affect the outcome.
One way I can see that this lesson used is in performing market research on a personal item such as toilet paper. If a person is stopped in a grocery store and asked to decide which toilet paper brand is softer and more durable if given two comparable brands, the results are probably not going to be predictive of the preferences of the total consumer market. The main reason for this is that the context of the test is affecting the outcome. First, the consumer is asked to feel with their hands the texture of the toilet paper. The feel of the toilet paper on your hands is not going to be the same as on your rear end. Furthermore, your hands may favor a quality of the toilet paper that your bottom may not. Secondly, the testing is in the store not in a person’s home space. The location of the test will definitely change the outcome. In this case, market researchers can begin their research with in store tests, but must be aware of the context. I think it is important that they then perform tests where they actually let a testers use the toilet paper in their home to gain a better insight to their true preferences.
A second lesson from Gladwell’s article is to not always trust a consumer’s first impression because it is human nature to sometimes dislike the “unusual”. Gladwell gives the example of the Aeron chair to describe this lesson. When the chair was first placed in a market research test, consumers disliked the chair, calling it very ugly. However, it eventually became one of the best selling chairs in history. The reason for this initial consumer response was because the chair’s design was very unique and unlike anything the consumers had seen before. Gladwell suggests we should take a consumer’s first reaction to a unique product with a grain of salt as they often confuse the shock of the newness of the product with dislike. I believe human tendency comes from the fact that people don’t like change even though it may be best for them. Thus, as marketers, we must convince our customers that the change really is for their own good.
One way I think this lesson could be applied to a current product is with new lines of cars. Cars are products that consumers keep for a long period of time. Thus, they get used to their design and feel. When their old car gets run down but they were happy with the experience of the car model, they often go back and buy the new version of their previous car. However, car designs often change after a few years. Thus, many consumers are initially not going to like the new design because it is different. For example, my mom had owned the boxy model of the Suburban for about seven years. When she went to buy a new Suburban, the design had become much more rounded. At first, she hated it. However, with time she began to like it and even began to see that it was a better looking car than her old one.
Overall, the lesson Gladwell is trying to teach us is to delve deeper into our product research. We can’t just focus on one aspect of the product or test in only one way. We have to form well rounded ideas that draw from all different aspects of the consumer experience.