Research: Consumer Research

A number of myths surround media use: Some claim that people no longer read, while others argue that there is no substitute for reading the news, especially for commuters. Others claim that readers have switched over to social networks, so publishers should now forget about media Web sites and focus instead on posting to news feeds. Still others believe that the readers of Web publications continue to open the main page, then thoughtfully and consistently read through new articles.

Certain editorial metrics—such as scrolls, engagement, and conversions from visitors to readers—offer some insights into how people use and communicate with online media. Statistics make us aware of what topics and content engage readers and what layout patterns actually work. We know how specific types of users respond to particular articles. But, still, all of this data gives us little insight into the role online media play in readers’ lives. Read More

Thanks to the proliferation of start-up literature, we know that any product-development process should start with an unparalleled understanding of the user for whom you’re designing the product. It’s clear that consumer research is at the top of the to-do list for any entrepreneur or product manager exploring a new problem area. However, what’s often less clear is what the scope of this research should be.

Spending too little time conducting primary research would hamper your ability to discover real customer needs around which you could design a successful business. In contrast, spending too much time could delay your beginning product-design iterations and, thus, deprive your team of precious learnings that you could gain by doing usability testing. There is no clear-cut answer or rule of thumb for how much consumer research to conduct. But there are some helpful signals you can watch out for that can help you to determine whether you should keep investigating or pull the plug on research and start solutioning. Read More

This article explores the data behind the “Portrait of a Mobile Consumer” infographic that my company, Vouchercloud, produced recently. The evidence in this portrait of mobile consumers highlights the importance of mobile technologies to the future of B2B (Business to Business) and B2C (Business to Consumer) industries.

Mobile Usage Data

As Figure 1 shows, consumer use of mobile platforms is huge and expected to rise to 8.2 billion users by 2018. A great variety of tablets and smartphones is now available on the market. In 2013 alone, sales of new mobile devices exceeded half a billion devices. Users are now becoming adept at using multiple computing platforms at the same time. In fact, 63% of mobile device users confess to using phones and tablets as secondary devices while also browsing using other computing hardware. Indeed, news of a strategic partnership between Apple and IBM demonstrates the importance of mobile to B2B companies and multiple-platform users alike. Read More