SMALL DATA IDENTIFIES THE REAL NEEDS OF YOUR CUSTOMERS
Over the past decade, Big data analysis has played a central role in the corporate strategy of many brands.
This is because Big data is able to provide a huge amount of impersonal information that predicts future consumer orientations.
However, the advent of the pandemic and the resulting new habits, emotions and changes in lifestyles have necessitated a drastic change of course with regard to the marketing strategies of companies, who in many cases have found themselves having to re-evaluate their brand identity.
Small data analysis is undoubtedly a fundamental element as it is necessary to focus on individuals rather than on a general and abstract target.
WHAT IS EXACTLY SMALL DATA
According to Martin Lindstrom, a neuromarketing and consumer psycology expert, «Small data are apparently insignificant observations that we can identify in the lives of consumers […] and that reveal emotions that we are not always able to tell or that we do not want to tell a stranger».
In practice, it is about identifying seemingly insignificant information about consumers in their daily lives.
These can indicate one or more unsatisfied consumer needs and reveal big trends.
Therefore, only individual and unique data from individual human beings can lead to an accurate understanding of reality.
MARTIN LINDSTROM'S ICEBERG
Lindstrom says that the consumer is an iceberg of which we can only see the top.
That’s because only 15% of people’s behavior is rational.
Companies must therefore understand what are the unconscious needs that move consumers (ie the submerged part of the iceberg, the remaining 85%).
In fact, the actions they perform are not always consistent with real needs.
It’s the real needs that make you prefer one brand over another.
By analyzing and understanding this submerged part of the iceberg, companies will be able to create new spaces and business opportunities.
HOW DOES SMALL DATA WORK? THE 7C PROCESS
Lindstrom’s 7C process is a practical guide for collecting one or more fragments of the consumer’s life and is divided into:
- Collection: phase in which the researcher immerses himself in the context, detaching himself from prejudices. The advice is to immerse yourself in the local culture to establish a base.
- Clues: to identify the emotional reflections that arise from observation. These are the clues that emerge from the analysis of the most private sphere of people.
- Connections: the analysis of the consequences of emotional behavior. Here are joined the dots between the different clues found previously.
- Causality: is the phase in which all the collected material is put together that will reflect the emotional DNA
- Correlation: when did this emotion-behavior appear for the first time? It’s the phase where you look for the breaking point that started a certain behavior.
- Compensation: The question of this stage is what is the desire behind this behavior-emotion
- Concept: the birth of the “big idea” that allows people to satisfy their desire.
SMALL DATA IS SUITABLE FOR EVERYONE
Last of all, we understood how important it is to rediscover dialogue with our customers through new methodologies such as Small data.
Nevertheless, it is well known that not everyone can use large economic resources for market research of this kind.
However, each of us can talk to customers, ask them questions to investigate the daily habits and social-cultural background that drives them to buy one product instead of another.
To learn more, you can send me an email to mb@marcobaldocchi.com, or you can follow me on Facebook and Instagram.