Consumer Research at Procter & Gamble: From Field Research to Agile Research |
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P&G appointed market researchers for all its product divisions. Besides, the company had two autonomous internal research groups which had the mandate of advertising research and market testing. Each group consisted of functional specialists, including MR managers, support specialists (survey designers, statisticians, behavioral scientists), and field representatives who organized consumer interviews.. |
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| P&G employed qualitative research to come up with new ideas for product and market development. The researchers had in-depth conversations with the customers over various aspects of the company’s products. As a consequence, the personal interaction between the researchers and the consumers was high. The key qualitative research tools that P&G employed included focus-group discussions, in-home visits, in-context visits, and in-store interviews...
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| P&G also widely used quantitative research tools. These tools aided the generation of new product ideas for P&G. While the sample sizes for quantitative research were generally larger, the personal interaction between the researchers and the respondents was minimal. The key quantitative research tools employed by P&G included blind tests, concept aided usage test/concept & use tests, habits and practices, and quality monitoring.. |
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| P&G undertook online concept tests to garner feedback from consumers. This feedback aided it in new product unveilings and in introducing improved versions of existing products. In 1999, 15% of its market surveys in the US were conducted through the Internet. The figure rose to 40% in 2000 and to 50% in 2001.. |
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| P&G’s online MR surveys helped conserve substantial time and costs for the company. Employing conventional techniques, a consumer survey cost the company nearly US$50,000 and lasted a minimum of three to four weeks. An online consumer survey could be completed in ten days for US$10,000. Similarly, a conventional product/concept test required nearly US$25,000 and lasted two months. A similar test on the Internet could be completed in a week for US$2,500... |
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| The proliferation of the Internet also resulted in P&G using agile market research for many of its brands (Refer to Exhibit IV for a description of agile market research). One of the brands was Prestige, P&G’s fragrance division. The Prestige research personnel were aware that Black Friday and Cyber Monday accounted for a considerable proportion of fragrance shopping. |
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| P&G made increasing use of Web 2.0 technologies to promote its products and augment their brand recall. An important medium was the factual accounts narrated by consumers about their product experiences. P&G’s former Chairman and CEO, Bob McDonald, who wanted P&G’s brands to have a distinct rapport with each customer, said.. |
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| While P&G’s market researchers were widely lauded for their efforts that had led to making P&G one of the top companies in the CPG segment, in 2018 they also came in for criticism for not informing the top management of the company about the changes in the US consumer market, the company’s largest market. |
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Exhibit I: P&G’s Financial Performance (2012-2017)
Exhibit II: How P&G Developed Gillette Guard Using In-home Visits
Exhibit III: How In-context Visits Helped Febreze Become a Billion Dollar Brand
Exhibit IV: Agile Market Research
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