Research: Who Do You Trust?

When it comes to research, you can be certain of four things:

1) People don’t know what they want.

2) People don’t know why they do what they do.

3) People, generally, don’t make purchases based on reason.

4) People will answer a question even when they don’t know the answer.

Case in point, the “E- Expectations Class of 2007” study entitled “Engaging the ‘Social Networking ‘Generation.” When asked what they wanted to do on a college’s Web site, the top student response was:

Complete a financial aid estimator form (88%) see erelevant for the full list and discussion

Why did students give this answer? Because, other than getting information about the school, they don’t really know what they want to do on a college Web site. Most students are still forming expectations as they visit college sites for the first time. But, like most people, they feel compelled to give rational answers to the questions they’re asked.

Marketing research guru, Clotaire Rapaille, says people want to appear intelligent when they’re asked questions. So they give you smart answers. But, he says, most people have no idea what they want or why they do what they do because their reasons are emotional, not rational. Rapaille should know, he’s responsible for the creation of products like the PT Cruiser and the Hummer. And there’s no rational reason why women drive Hummers in Manhatten.

But, there are emotional reasons. Rapaille says consumers’ emotional connection to Hummers is domination. And there are all kinds of emotional reasons why people buy Hummers to dominate the road. The same goes for colleges and universities. But you won’t find those reasons in surveys that ask people to give rational reasons for their preferences and behavior.

So where do you find research, especially Web research, you can trust? Well, for starters, instead of asking people what they want on your Web site, look at what they’re actually using on your site. With analytics you can see where people are going, what they’re doing and how long they spend doing it. You can also check attempted search results on your site and find out what they’re looking for that you don’t currently offer. This information will be much more useful to you than anything listed in reports like the “E-Expectations” survey. (383 Words)