Using Qualitative Data To Understand Your Consumer

Understanding consumers is essential to make better decisions that will add value to a spirits business. In the video above, Dr. Nicola Nice, CEO of Pomp and Whimsy, explains that big data is not necessarily as useful as deeper insights because it is expensive, open to everyone, and by the time certain consumer trends show up, they have already happened. Nice advises entrepreneurs to focus on collecting and analyzing qualitative data, which  gives a deep understanding of a consumer’s actions.

One of the most useful aspects of qualitative data is understanding your target audience. Nice asks her fellow entrepreneurs to avoid common mistakes, like assuming their consumers are just like them, assuming that everyone is their consumer, or relying solely on social media to define their target audience. Instead, entrepreneurs should know their consumers’ demographics, age, gender, life stage, social and cultural values, and more.

Qualitative data can also help entrepreneurs define their brand positioning by assessing how relevant and emotionally engaging their brand is and how different it is from others within and outside their category. This research can help entrepreneurs test new products and communications to validate how a particular product or communication fits with how consumers view their brand, predict whether consumers will engage with their product or communication, and determine if it will drive an increase in sales.