Discovering crucial insights by listening to people tell customer journey stories in their own words.
To ensure results were both deep and actionable, we designed the project as a two-phase program to help us uncover triggers, motivations, barriers, influences and influencers as well established brand relationships the drove people on their path to purchase. We used our Snakes and Ladder approach to identify the things that might stop a person from considering a brand, move them backwards in their journey, or take them out of the category (i.e., Snakes), as well as the moments, experiences, and conversations that move them directly or indirectly to their decision (i.e., Ladders).
The first phase involved qualitative depth interviews using Snakes & Ladders to build a hypothetical construct of the market using a regressive interviewing technique inspired by behavioral economics. Through a storytelling experience people were gently brought back to their original mindset pre-purchase, reminiscing and reliving all their feelings and influences that brought them to their purchase. The second phase involved quantitative online surveys using Snakes & Ladders to identify and measure opportunities, prioritize insights and validate the hypothetical construct.
Among the key takeaways from the research:
- The client was losing sales because it wasn’t getting onto the shortlist at the beginning of the journey, which was happening at a less conscious level for consumers
- Customers that chose the client’s service versus some of its competitors did so for more rational reasons
- Word-of-mouth and influencer activity plays a key role in the customer journey.
- Consumers experience multiple touchpoints throughout the journey and expect the same experiences from the brand throughout.
