INSIGHT on INSIGHT: Utilizing a Category Assessment
WHAT AND WHEN: Proper usage
Category assessments tend to be a type of broad & (somewhat) shallow insight.
They are done to establish foundational knowledge either because no objective information exists, information is incomplete or information is outdated.
Category assessments can be the first step toward understanding who category buyers are, how they segment into unique groups, how they perceive the category (zero moment of truth), how they shop the category and select products to buy (first moment of truth) and how they use and consume that product (second moment of truth).
WHY: The benefit and value
As a foundational technique, a category assessment consolidates basic views about the category. It provides facts to build strategies and tactics on, such as:
- What do category buyer profiles look like?
- What does the product selection process look like?
- What variants have the greatest preference (i.e. colors, scents, sizes, flavors, etc.)?
- Where do opportunities for incremental sales exist?
- Where do points of dissatisfaction of confusion exist?
- What does awareness, trial, preference and loyalty look like for brands and retailers?
- What behaviors do shoppers claim to do at the shelf?
Depending on the amount of existing knowledge, results can range from revealing eye-opening opportunities to validating current beliefs.
HOW: Tips to guide a basic approach
To manage overall scope and cost, category assessments need to balance the breadth of questions with sufficient depth to provide meaningful answers.
Some things to consider when designing a category assessment include:
- Define a broad enough respondent profile: Opportunities often exist among marginal shoppers, lapsed buyers or prospective buyers. Don’t narrowly define the research to only study current core buyers.
- Consider all dimensions of the category that should be understood: New insights tend to exist where other companies have chosen to ignore an attitude or behavior (like opportunities with new packaging or sizing that is more convenient).
- Make sure design captures unexpected areas of frustration or confusion: Understanding and fixing pain points is one of the best ways to capture attention and sell new products.
- Explore if and how shoppers are getting educated about the category: Ignorance or misinformation can be common barriers to getting shoppers to discover and consider your product, spend more money on a category or be more satisfied with their purchase.
- Consider identifying other lifestyle factors, attitudes or habits that could reveal new insight: Consider how related factors could heavily influence preference or use of the category or where special needs or desires create the opportunity for unique product offerings.
APPLICATION: What to do with the results
If budget exists for only one project, category assessments typically provide some of the best insight for the money. While the depth of learning will have its limits, the new knowledge can provide a great deal of new ideas and actions that may be have been previously overlooked.
The power of this project is a function of how well and how widely the results are shared. This sharing can include:
- Creating an educational or “category 101” deck to train internal employees and external partners (like retailers) on basic category dynamics.
- Confirming that existing and planned products offer value propositions that are consistent with those dynamics.
- Developing new product ideas or opportunities where demand exists, but few or no existing products address the need.
- Guiding package redesign to better align with how shoppers utilize packaging or how they behave at the shelf.