It is a new approach as a mere instrument

Netherlands masks! Pollsters seek by all means to flush out the actual motivations of consumers. "All began to make the qualitative studies five or six years ago and now incorporate a look of sociologist." The theoretical apparatus are equipped with broader analysis on consumption and the world in General. "We all need to understand what happens not to be naive in the markets", says Michel Reynard, Director of the Department quali-strategic TNS Sofres.

Because surinformés, consumers are more complex to analyze. When asked, they tend to respond with arguments found in such magazine or gleaned from their relational network. "They have developed a culture of the codes of the consumption makes them more difficult to handle, explains Yves Bardon, Director of qualitative studies in Ipsos." And really fun to talk about brands. "Result: classics qualitative studies in which it led a small group of individuals to talk about a product or a name are more all also adapted. This must be added the phenomenon of a conversation between individuals become "politically correct". "On many topics, there is more free discussions." Self-censorship develops and leads the people to say what they believe to have to tell. For example, the Evian water is considered great by consumers who purchase however the Cristaline competitor. Can do you the Chinese portrait of a mark to signify that they are attached. "There is a total dissociation between imagination and behavior," says specialist.

Starting from this observation, Ipsos has launched krisis sole two years ago. Original, the tool is to gather during three hours 9 people showing opposite postures requiring them to meet. Pushed to argue by facilitators in the exercise of the conflict, people eventually want to convince their opponents and develop by their strength of belief of the new elements. "In use today, a buyer submits alibis." Krisis sole destroyed them. When people engueulent, they finally reveal the key to their motivations. Finish the individual who said purchased a Porsche because it consumes little and station, or a woman saying acquire a Chanel bag for the quality of the leather. "Here, we would like the way to tell the truth", enthuses Yves Bardon. The advertiser, he also amused, apparently: present through a camera, it is a start to read marketing listening to its fans and knows what to avoid with its detractors.

At TNS Sofres, Michel Reynard do not yet share "this age of suspicion of the speech." "I think that people tell the truth when they speak." However, it must gather rich, generating more involvement than a mere verbatim. "Hence the idea of using the taste of the Internet for the staging of their own history. The tool is called "VAMP", for Virtual Anthropology on Micro Panel. The principle Create an interpersonal relationship with a small panel under the aegis of a charge of studies on the canvas. The latter introduces the relationship by a telephone interview. Then the user tell texts but also photos and video. The observation is introduces in the time between at least four weeks and a maximum of two to three months. "If it is a mark in the world of beauty, he asked information on consumption but also on the relationship to her body", explains Michel Reynard.

Customer of the first hour, the Bourjois cosmetics brand used in an international study it. Internet users were autoreportage books and sent photos of their bath room. "This harvest allows us to link each item and give a second wind to the practices of qualitative studies," concluded Michel Reynard.

This approach is intended also to involve the consumer upstream in the innovation process and to take into account all the "insights", i.e. the intuitions. "What the English called the"consumer driven innovation"and prevailing among Procter," says Stéphane Truchi, co-CEO of Ipsos France.

The traditional actors in quantitative studies seek them also to introduce more nuances in their reading of the markets. Thus, AC Nielsen with his concept of "shopper" conducted on a panel of 14,000 French homes. "The objective is to assess what is, in fine, building decision from that which will then become a consumer by studying the process since the impact of the pub to the point of sale behaviour through the attraction for brands," says Jean-François Cabotin, Director business unit consumer panel. "Ten years ago, asked us the CSP of the purchasers of any particular brand profile." "Today, attempting to seize the consumer based on lifestyle and behaviour, including through the study of the shopping cart", continues Jean-Luc Mauduit, Director of marketing Europe Panel consumer of AC Nielsen. The approach is therefore to study behaviors to infer attitudes of purchase.

Against quantitative and qualitative studies is more development in the trade. For evidence, some specialist players in customer relationship are interested them in behavior analysis. Thus, Experian, client relationship specialist, bought Future Foundation, international Observatory of societal trends and consumer to "complete his statistical supply." The Experian Scorex division, specialist of decision-making solutions, has developed the mosaic tool. It aims to segment consumers by their behaviour in relying on a qualification and a combination of more of 600 variables inducing profiles and habits, "to avoid producing too elementary studies", said Denis Bied-Charreton, Director business strategies from Experian.

The quantitative and the qualitative marriage is more common, the first attempt to integrate more psychological approaches to the second. Witness the Emotionnal Research at TNS Sofres tool. "It is a new approach as a mere instrument." "It allows to understand the motivations of the individuals the projective method," said Fabrice billiards, its instigator. In phase with the Archetypes of Young model, the technique gives the Primate emotion "to get what there is in the head of the people".

Finally, all reconnect to field: TNS Sofres and Ipsos launched a "shoppers" Observatory, to identify the attitude of the people in the store. But also relevant that these new tools, "If you don't know what you are looking for, you will find nothing", concludes Michel Reynard. "In the same way that you need to know analyze the image, otherwise it does not alone."