1-minute Summary: Key Concept Brand’s Consumer Goals
Why are Consumer Goals Important?
Within Brand Strategy, there is nothing more important than understanding the universal needs and higher motivations that drive brand preference and brand choice within the category. If you want to sell, understand why they buy.
How do you Explore a Consumer Goals?
Consumer or trade research, market mapping; laddering techniques (from product attribute to benefit, then to consumer benefit to ultimate goals). Competitive reviews, categories exhibit naturally occurring common consumer goals. Can be done on any scale and budget!
What Does the Right Answer Look Like?
A Understand the motivations and goals of the consumer within your category. Typically, identify 2–4 key consumer goals, anymore and use the ‘laddering up’ technique to find a common goal across two benefits. Keep going until every popular brand ‘fits’ into the consumer goals.
5-minute Tutorial: Key concept Consumer Goals
Meaning (why are we asking the question):
Now that we have considered our heritage, challenges and our desired core business and focus (the Brand’s Business), we are now ready to consider our consumer. It is the consumer, after all, who will position the brand in their own head (with our help!). Therefore, within this section, we are answering the questions from a consumer point of view (in the previous section, we were answering from a business or commercial point of view). We are asking this customer question at a category (not brand) level.
Theoretical note:
There is much debate over the role of the target audience in defining a brand strategy. To understand our approach, I will try to summarise the debate.
Historically, communications strategy was based around an understanding and insight into a specific or single target audience (leading to a proposition for specific communication).
Brand strategy was less focused on the specific customer and more on the overall brand, which usually has more than one customer segment. Most sophisticated marketing organisations will operate complex ‘target audience segmentation’. This method uses quantitative data and statistical analysis that puts customers into different groups based on who they are, their attitudes and purchasing behaviour. So, any single brand like McDonald’s or Mars might have seven or more key customer segments.
Hence, the debate. Do you focus on specific customers or all customers within your brand strategy development? Added to this, and probably because of this question, a third method became popular; an ‘idealised customer segment’. Essentially, making up who you think your best customer segment would be.
The sequential nature of this model now begins to help guide us through the process. In the previous Core Concept, we defined our commercial category and our focus. This will give guidance as to the category target. It is within this category target that we need to understand and identify the consumer goals and motivation.
Concerning the debate mentioned, we are not focusing on a single or idealised target customer group, or even the multiple groups that are the brand’s customers. We are focusing on the prescribed category customers. For example, let’s think about the banking brands already used.
- For the National Bank brand, we articulated, ‘We provide access to a range of financial services across all of our customers’ life stages.’ This, therefore, would define our category customer broadly – anyone with financial needs through their life. Motivated by trust, security and advice.
- For the Digital Bank brand, we articulated, ‘We supply banking essentials at a low cost through all digital platforms.’ This, therefore, would define our category customer more narrowly – digitally comfortable, desiring better customer experience and value. Accepting of modern brands and lifestyle choices.
The conclusion to the Brand’s Business guides us towards our category customer. If the Brand’s Business is broad, we may consider the entire category our target. If it is more selective, we will be able to introduce qualifiers. Still, we should always make the category customer as broad as possible.
This is a guide; every brand needs to be treated separately and in its own right. It is easy to overcomplicate with strategic debate. Suffice to say, in choosing a core business and focus, you will naturally gravitate to a category customer, where you can explore multiple consumer goals.
Process (how to find the answers):
We are all subject to the same basic internal and external motivations. Internally, we all develop attitudes and values based on experience. Often those values are universal – our ideas of family, society, politics, success, and failure. Those values influence our opinion and actions. In the same way, externally, we are sensitised to how people will perceive and judge us, based on what we do, wear, live, think and say. Categories always exhibit key drivers based on human motivation.
What is our consumer’s motivation?
Within brand strategy, we are more concerned with emotive drivers over rational points of difference. There is increasing academic evidence (gathered through Behavioural Economics, Neuromarketing and Psychology) that would suggest most decisions are made, at least initially, from intuition and emotion. Therefore, it would be quite natural to extend this to purchase decisions. The more positively engaged (how much we like something), the greater the propensity (when the opportunity presents itself) to buy.
There is a great deal of fascinating academic and popular literature around this topic. Starting points: read anything by Antonio Damasio; put Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman on your reading list for the full story, mix with Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink for the shorter version. A personal favourite is Rory Sutherland, who founded Ogilvy’s behavioural science practice (listen to any TED Talks!).
Consumer goals exist at a basic level (to drink, eat, sleep), and at a more complex needs level (status, security, love, or ultimately self-actualisation). To explore this further, research Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Most companies build their brand strategy against an understanding of their consumer’s deeper, more complex motives (or should do!).
The customer is, of course, usually buying something to satisfy a rational or functional need (food, car, clothes). However, which brand they choose is motivated by that brand’s capability to match or relate to their personal motivation and goals.
Finally, and I have tried to find the attribution of this quote for many years to no avail, it may just have become or has always been a marketing truism: ‘If you want to sell something, find out why people buy it!’ The key to creating a positive brand positioning is to first understand the motivations and goals of the consumer that lead to the purchase.
What are our consumer goals?
Brand strategy requires a particular and often deeper level of thinking about the product and service, and no more so than within this question. Here are some techniques to help arrive at the category consumer motivation and subsequently, their goals.
Research – Understanding a category customer comes more naturally to some companies than others. But most successful companies have an intuitive knowledge of their consumer, and it is an effortless thing to develop with a little research. Hire research companies, talk to the sales teams or get out in the field (lurking around the POS)! There are numerous cost-effective ways to understand our customer. The key point when considering the research within this context is to build an understanding of why a category customer buys from a particular brand. We need to understand our consumer purchasing motivation within our customer category.
There are two key aspects to understanding this question. Firstly, we must understand the brand perception for both the business and our competitors (remember, they are buying, initially at least, based on emotion and intuition). Secondly, we must understand the purchase process. What is their primary need, their initial consideration, the moment of truth (purchase), and post-purchase experience? At each of these stages, we need to explore the physical process and personal goals to be satisfied.
Market mapping – Mapping is a handy tool (when used correctly). Naturally, brands evolve over time to fill consumer needs through the laws of supply and demand. When we see a ‘gap’ in the market, we try and ‘fill’ it.
Let’s take something we should all do: eat more fruit. Within this category, there are various motivations at work, which all result in a purchase. Firstly, most people will have a standard set of fruits they purchase regularly. They may also buy what is on special because they are value-conscious (or have a large family of fruit-guzzling children!). In opposition, some buy only expensive, premium brands. They may buy on taste. They may buy for health, favouring antioxidants versus sugar. If we grew fruit, we would have to understand the range of motivations and goals our consumer processes in their purchase decision.
A simple way to understand the scope of customer motivation is to plot the parameters in opposition to each other. As a shortcut, you could use the previous competitive analysis outlined in the first Core Concept. Develop an understanding of the consumer goals the competitor brands are trying to target by a simple review of their websites and apply that knowledge within a consumer, not commercial context.
Laddering techniques – Laddering is a simple technique that will help in determining the answer to this question. I was taught this technique through the Account Planning Group (APG) early in my career in London. (I can find no specific academic reference to the method but have taught it myself and seen it used in many agencies and client organisations since.)
Like all useful tools, the laddering technique is simple and universal. Within this context, we will use it to ‘ladder up’ product or service attributes into product and then consumer benefits, giving us category consumer goals.
For the sake of a universal example, let us consider toothpaste. The category has many different subcategories: children’s, sensitive, and whitening varieties. Let’s utilise these to illustrate (some oversimplified) examples of laddering:
- Children’s toothpaste: the products include cartoon endorsements or sparkling gel (product attributes) that lead to the experience being fun (product benefit), with the consumer benefit of establishing good oral hygiene in children for parents.
- Sensitive toothpaste: the products put a protective layer over teeth (product attribute) that leads to reduced sensitivity (product benefit), with the consumer benefit of eating and drinking what you want.
- Whitening toothpaste: the products use whitening dentistry products (product attribute) that lead to whiter teeth (product benefit), with the consumer benefit of greater social confidence.
From a brand positioning view, it’s clear why many brands ultimately ladder up to confidence within this category.
By a simple process of laddering, we can take any product or service and explore some of the category consumer motivations that will, in turn, give a better understanding of broader consumer goals.
One more example I use in workshops is the pen someone is holding. The conversation usually goes like this:
‘What are the product attributes of this pen?’
‘It’s got black ink, ballpoint (or nib), a screw top (or retractable), a rubber grip.’
‘Now, what is the product benefit of your pen?’
‘Well, it writes.’
‘Exactly.’ (I also explore other product benefits here, e.g. writing easily, smoothly, doesn’t slip, doesn’t clog or blotch)
‘What is the benefit of writing?’
‘It helps me record information and ideas, my thoughts, things to do.’ Looking at me strangely and now slightly nervous.
‘What’s the benefit of recording information?’ Opening it up to the workshop. ‘Passing on knowledge.’
‘What is the benefit of passing on knowledge?’
‘Learning, education, not making the same mistakes, evolution, world peace?’
Now, I am not suggesting Bic, for example, should articulate its consumer goal as world peace! In this example, I bring the key product benefit back to writing and focus on the consumer benefits of this, as articulated here, ‘It helps me record information and ideas, my thoughts, things to do’.
I believe this is the best territory for the consumer goal for this product. A good pen is, in fact, the starting point of many ideas.
Outcome (what the answer looks like):
This Formative Question is contextual. It forces consideration of the consumer and category, not the brand. The next Formative Question focuses on specific brand strengths. Resist the temptation at this point to answer a different question, ‘How does our brand help the consumer in our category?’ A perfectly good question, but one we will answer later in this chapter, within the Brand’s Truth.
Categories have generic motivation needs and associated goals. Every product or service starts with a basic need – to eat, sleep, travel, have fun or relax. But they can all be laddered up to find the broad category consumer goals using the techniques previously illustrated.
For example (evident in our previous bank examples), most of our financial services and products have been built around retail banks. Most of us need (not necessarily want) mortgages, credit and debit cards. Like it or not, banks facilitate our living. We will therefore see a global preference in retail banking and credit cards around ‘customer empowerment’. This is because banks and credit cards understand that, while they are seldom the most popular brands, they help people achieve goals. ‘Empowerment’ or ‘life facilitation’ is a consumer goal. If you look at the top national banks in your country and consider their positioning, I bet ‘life facilitation’ drives the majority them!
As a further example, let’s continue with our fictitious airlines. Each brand has a different core business focus. The core focus led to a category definition that naturally defines a broad but relevant customer base with multiple consumer category goals.
- National Carrier consumer goals: Our market prefers to fly a major, full-service airline. They enjoy the national affinity shared with the national airline carrier (if relevant). They want the level of service and convenience afforded to a major airline domestically and internationally – the wide choice and frequency of travel routes. On the ground, they want to travel to and from major airports. They prefer the preferential positioning for check-in and exclusive loyalty lounges. In the air, they enjoy an expected level of service befitting a major carrier.
- Summarised consumer goals: In this category, consumers fly major full-service airlines for the choice, convenience and comfort, but also for the internal self-worth and external status it affords.
The choice of a major airline is influenced by internal and external perceptual factors. People self-identify with their airline of choice. The airline they choose infers something about who they are and how they want to be perceived. The goal of a full-service airline domestically and internationally is to get you from A to B as conveniently and as comfortably as possible. The focus is around the journey and making it effortless, comfortable, and enjoyable.
- Budget Airline consumer goals: Our market prefers to fly with low-fare airlines because it gives them the opportunity to explore and experience more domestic and international locations. They are not concerned with preferential treatment. They want the basics only with the value that brings. They are more concerned with the experience of the destination than the journey.
- Summarised consumer goals: Customers seeking fun, affordable and exciting experiences both domestically and internationally choose us for our reach into new and exotic destinations.
Consumers of discount airlines are less concerned with the range of destinations, the major airports on the route, flight times, the ability to choose a class, or the quality of the on-ground and in-air service. Discount, low-fare airlines have enabled them to travel to places previously out of reach. Or travel more regularly to more destinations. The focus is around the destination.
Following the techniques illustrated above will help develop a contextual understanding of the motivations and goals of the consumer in our category.
We should typically identify between two and four consumer category goals. If it seems there are too many, ‘ladder’ them up again and try to find the common consumer goal. A good way to check this section is by taking random popular brands within the category and seeing if they fit within the stated goals – if they don’t, we need to do more work. Keep going until no brand does not fit into the consumer goals categories. Once this is accomplished, it is time to move to the next question and consider our brand strengths, or the Brand Assets.
