Janet Larson is a thought leader in market research who draws from a wide array of both traditional and innovative techniques to help her clients get the kind of consumer insight that can move their business forward.
Having trained with PhD clinical psychologists, ethnographers and cultural anthropologists, Ms. Larson’s techniques draw upon key tenets from the disciplines of psychology, sociology, anthropology, perceptual modeling, and ethnographic research.
Central to her approach is the understanding that market research often needs to go beyond direct questioning to use information from the environment that surrounds the consumer, as well as projective and creative methodologies to uncover unconscious beliefs. These methodologies enable clients to access the emotional drivers behind consumer decisions and preferences, and to understand the context within which choices get made. The outcome is a clearer, more accurate read on what consumers will actually do, as opposed to what they say (or believe) they will do – actionable findings that can be applied in practical ways to win more business, starting tomorrow.
Ms. Larson has designed and perfected a number of innovative proprietary research techniques across both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.
Qualitative Research
Options within qualitative research include:
Brand-Sonality™ perception research using creative visualization and projective techniques, associative imagery and creative exercises to relax consumers, get them to open up, and unlock unconscious thoughts and feelings that influence brand perception.
Hot Context™ interviews, where we accompany and interact with the consumer in the “hot context” of the retail environment as opposed to the “cold context” of a research facility. Instead of reflecting and remembering, the consumer is experiencing and deciding. We are “observing the animal in their natural habitat” as they go for a shopping trip in this category and there are rich worlds of information that open up to us in this way.
Cohortium™ research, in which we assemble a group of friends (or family members), typically in a casual, relaxed setting (for example at a private home), and explore wants, needs, expectations, experiences around a particular category such as travel or financial planning — friends and family tend to keep everyone honest, and the discussion candid and lively, with an already well-established level of rapport.
RetailWorld™ groups in which we replicate the retail environment or shopping shelf in the context of a focus group room, showing product choices and displaying a number of designs, options, and product types for concrete direction and reaction
In-Life™ observational or ethnographic research, in which we come to a target consumer’s home and see, hear and feel “in real life” their lifestyles, favorite products, pieces, style, tastes, choices and their experiences of using what they buy in the category.
WarmTopic™ groups, for which the consumer is asked to go on store visits, keep a diary and/or do journaling in advance of the groups to ensure they arrive warm on the topic and ready for lively discussion; this ensures high engagement and recent experience with the subject matter
SuperGroups™ where we conduct dynamic, intensive ideations with groups of consumers who are specially screened and selected for high IQ, high creativity and/or high levels of imagination and ideation abilities
And, of course…
Traditional focus groups with target consumers (those who are currently buying or recently bought in the category); in addition to screening for buying behavior within the category, we can screen for a wide range of characteristics – affluence, age, gender, taste, sensibility, attitudes, fashion sense, home style, what they eat, where they shop, what they read, what they watch, purchasing behavior in a range of categories, etc.
Quantitative Research
Within the realm of quantitative research, Larson Research and Strategy Consulting, Inc. designs surveys that are innovative, pragmatic, insightful, and engaging. Respondents love to take our surveys, so we often get to talk to them longer than our competitors. Building on the foundation of consumer knowledge gained in the qualitative research process, questionnaires are designed to investigate, validate and expand upon findings in a broad-scale national setting, confirming the consumer’s voice on a national stage and obtaining the comprehensive, precise, projectable marketplace data that is critical to management decision-making. Rigorous, in-depth, customized analytics support the process.
Quantitative studies include:
- Brand Perception and Positioning
- Customer Segmentation
- Pricing
- Satisfaction
- New Product Development
- Competitive and Industry Analysis
Techniques include:
- Statistical Modeling
- Conjoint Analysis
- Longitudinal Studies
- Perceptual Mapping
- Statistical Analysis
- Regression / Correlation Analysis
- Variate / Co-Variate Analysis