The Latest in Research Tools & Findings
In what I would call a fairly staid article the author seeks to underline the importance of research to inform marketeers of the value of online marketing:
Knowing a site's traffic and the size of its audience both in terms of sheer numbers as well as demographic breakdowns is still important, but it has become secondary to more sophisticated research tools that demonstrate not only "how many" use a site but "who."
Okay sounds fairly common sense to me. Its why I have this site after all to get to talk to people about subjects that interest me :) And whenever I am developing a product its important to know the type of customer (or user) who will be utlising the product.
Very much along the line of getting closer to consumers as 'people' rather than only as 'interviewees,' it seems that there is a growing trend to take the personal status of the individual into account in terms of his/her profile of how innovative they are,” says Laurent Flores, CEO of CRM Metrix, referencing the much-regaled book by Edward Keller and Jonathan Berry. "Indeed, much is currently said on the so-called 'influencers' or 'opinion leaders.'"
Okay, so now we are gettng much deeper. Not just who is it but what kind of person and whether they can be labelled an influencer or opinion leader (does this sound like the Tipping Point definitions too?)
"Reach of the Internet can finally allow marketers to go beyond identifying consumers just in terms of socio-demographic profiles or buying behaviors to now qualifying people in terms of their innovativeness, their opinion leadership or their 'lead usage,'
So Marketeers now can identify a person who they will use to lead others to their product... This is beginning to feel rather manipulative and yet at the same time more effective in developing advertising and products. However what is missing in this whole article is the kind of view something like Cluetrain has where the real target is to have conversations, in a real voice.
The article itself seeks to measure effectiveness and while I believe measures are sometimes important, I never forget the Heisenberg Uncertainty principle that suggests:
"The more precisely the POSITION is determined, the less precisely the MOMENTUM is known"
That for a number of reasons mean to me that human interaction is of far more importance than a set of numbers.
Talk to people, real people get their views, see how they react. I feel that this gives you more insight than a research project that outlines 'Brand exposure duration'.