‘Thinking outside the company box’

Blog Marian Cammaert – Client Consultant

I’ve noticed in the past couple of years that companies sometimes think too small. They think everyone has the same associations with a subject as they have. Unfortunately, that is untrue in most cases. Consumers can have an entirely different interpretation than you think they have, which could lead to serious misconceptions and wrong business decisions.

Which definition fits?

Recently we came across a case just like this. A client wanted to position themselves in a broader domain. They wanted to explore the growth possibilities and offer guidelines to all companies within their concern. But they were contemplating how to best define that new domain. In addition, they didn’t know which other companies and objectives fitted that definition. They wanted to determine which associations their target audience has with their domain definition. It’s about defining the domain within the associations of the target audience. If you do this study, there won’t be a gap between how the company defines it, and how their consumers define it. This is important for making the right business decisions.

They had a good idea of what definition to go for, but there were some doubts. So, we explored the associations in the target group. And what came out was a big surprise. Apparently, the consumers had completely different ideas surrounding the definition, then the client had. We used storytelling and by using this method, we were able to gain new insights on what the right definition would be for the domain.

Hitting the mark

The key learning that I took out of this, is that in research, you have to think bigger. You have to be prepared for a different outcome than you had hoped for. Companies need to follow the results closely and be prepared to switch things around when needed. Don’t keep thinking inside your own company’s box. Think bigger.