The problem with a good deal of market research is that it measures reported behavior rather than real behavior.  People have a habit of reporting behavior through the prism of what they believe are your expectations.  It’s a truism that has haunted political pollsters for decades.  The question, “Did you vote in the last election?” carries with it a significant lie factor.  To not vote, would be unpatriotic.

The tendency for real behavior to be different from reported behavior has troubled marketers as long as it’s troubled pollsters.  How many marketers ask their customers for the source of information about the product only to be told “word of mouth?”  The reason we get that reply is that they think they are gullible if they say advertising.

Humans are hardwired to edit behavior reporting when that behavior might reflect badly upon them.  So, they may answer questions very logically, when the real answer lies in their emotions.  They may tell you they watch public television, when in reality they’re watching Punked on MTV.

The key to good research is to strip away the ability to misreport behavior.  The best way to monitor TV viewership is a meter on the TV.  The best way to know how people shop is to watch.  You can discover how people feel if you give them a way to express their emotions without exposing their vulnerability.

Try this.  If you want to know where your product ranks in terms of prestige or quality, create a poster with logos of cars ranging from Mercedes to Yugo.  Ask your customers to describe your product based on the car that they perceive best describes how they feel about it.  Then ask them why.

We use many different techniques to drill down to the emotion that drives most purchases.  We think it makes the communications we create richer and more effective.