When Corporate Jargon Holds the Key: Research Can Help you “Pivot.”
“Let’s circle back on that.” “Let’s touch base offline.” “Agility is key here.” We have to be willing to pivot.” We hear these phrases everyday in our conference calls and watch them bounce around in our inbox.
But what does it really mean to ‘pivot’?
If nothing else we have learned this year that being able to pivot is crucial to growing your business in today’s economy. When everything we know to be true about the consumer marketplace shifts on the tectonic plates of a pandemic, we look for direction on what to do next.
Take a hint from Amazon’s latest launch of ‘Luxury Stores.’ Having a corner on the market of instant gratification shipping, and an unimaginably vast array of product availability, they saw where they weren’t instead of where they were. Consumers went to them for almost everything, except designer, luxury lines. So, they leveraged agility in service of a pivot. Christine Beauchamp, the president of Amazon Fashion explained how they relied on consumer insight to scaffold their launch. “We are always listening to and learning from our customers, and we are inspired by feedback from Prime members who want the ability to shop their favourite luxury brands in Amazon’s store.” In the space of a few months we have seen a launch of an ‘invitation-driven’ Luxury Stores portal on their app where consumers can find everything from high end lingerie from La Perla to $5,000 runway designs from Oscar De la Renta.
When I started in this field we were building real time data analytics tools from our imagination with duct tape and staple guns. AOL.com had just hit a boom and I was sixteen years old working as an intern in a youth-focused marketing agency in New York City. I shared a cubicle with my dear friend, Danit Aronson, Chef Partnership Officer, CSM, to build a consumer panel of tweens and teens within a messaging board on the AOL platform. We would post questions like “Dunkaroos or Gushers in your lunchbox? Tell us WHY?” and then hear what they had to say. We would post again once a new product line launched and see what chatter emerged about new snacks these kids were interested in.Today’s tools are so much more magical. We can see what consumers want and how they purchase. We see what sparks their interest, and gets them to “click” and what makes them ‘keep scrolling.’
But do we know WHY they do what they do? Qualitative research is still the best answer to understand the thinking, and the HEART of consumers. Knowing the ‘why’ that drives the ‘what’ is the best way to anticipate next steps forward for your brand.
