Can you name the 5 last websites you visited last night?
As a matter of fact, you can’t.
29% of the respondents don’t mention any of the websites observed using a “Passive Data Meter”, an app that tracks their online behavior. Another 28% just hit one website on their list. Yes, people perform poorly when remembering their online activities.
For a number of reasons, our memory is absolutely overwhelmed when recalling online behavior: an increased range of events, reduction of time dedicated to activities, multitasking, and a low attention context make it extremely difficult for research participants to come up with an accurate recall. Gerald Zaltman, professor at Harvard Business School, said in his classic textbook How Customers Think: “the correlation between stated intent and actual behavior is usually low and negative”. It turns out that the same principle applies to 'Stated Recall'.?
Regarding online activities, the correlation between stated recall and actual behavior?is particularly low
Notwithstanding the evidence, according to the Q3-Q4 2017 Greenbook’s GRIT study, only 35% of Market Research (MR) agencies, and suppliers are currently using 'Big Data Analytics', needed to deal with the sheer volume of data points that a passive data meter produces.
Given that it is hard to name a path to purchase in any category that has not been touched by digitalization, (from apparel to toasters, from cell phones to cars) brands from many industries could be badly missing the mark with their digital consumers. We have a big elephant in the market research room that is holding back its value creation capacity.
What is a Passive Data Meter?
From a measurement standpoint, we basically have two approaches to track online behavior:
- Site-centric measurement: When users browse websites they leave "a track" on the web servers they visited that could be analyzed and interpreted for market research purposes. However, these “tracks” or “logs” are only accessible by the webserver owner so their collaboration is needed in order to understand consumer behavior across websites. Another drawback of this methodology is that we don't have any accurate information about who is leaving these tracks; tracks lack deep sociodemographic information.
- User-centric measurement: Users willing to participate in market research -, typically in exchange for incentives-, install an application that tracks their web-browsing and app usage: a Passive Data Meter. Since these users are pre-identified, this methodology better addresses the who behind the what, and also provides a comprehensive view of a consumer journey across different websites and devices. However, as it is impossible to force everyone to install the app, passive data metering has the intrinsic error that any sample has.
When it comes to understanding digital consumer journeys, a Passive Data Meter is the tool of choice.
Today, a complete data ecosystem is already in place for researchers on their mission to better understand digital consumer journeys. Nevertheless, several factors must be considered to succeed in this endeavor, namely:
- Select a GDPR-Compliant behavioral data collector: Data privacy matters. Under the GDPR, Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is defined as information that can be used to distinguish or trace the identity of an individual, either alone or when combined with other personal or identifying information. So, PII is not only your email or home address, a track of your mobile phone geolocalization could become PII too. Making sure that participants have agreed to be tracked by giving clear and explicit consent is mandatory. As the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data scandal showed, these consents cannot be buried down in “terms and conditions” or legal jargon. Be inquisitive with your behavioral data collector, do your due diligence and add "anonymization" to your vocabulary. Hint: companies with “black boxes” or not willing to disclose how they collect their data usually mean consent is non-explicit. Remember that getting more data points at the expense of people's explicit consent is not a choice for a market researcher. You don't want to cause a reputation crisis.
- Structure data to fit your needs: Analyzing a collection of URLs or apps can be overwhelming without a proper taxonomy, so don’t overlook the tagging and categorization process required. Remember that one size doesn't fit all, given your research purposes you may need to establish a particular taxonomy (e.g. Do I include Uber in the “travel” category? What about GasBuddy?)
- Hire talent and learn the tools to make sense of the data: Just with non-mobile data, a panel of 200 participants can create around 1 million rows per month,- yes, big data is not just a buzzword, your Excel cannot handle this-. To analyze these big data sets, programming statistical languages like R or Python are needed, so hop in and ride: data scientists, data engineers, machine learning engineers, and software developers will probably be needed. Also, understand that discovery comes before optimization; organize your team based on this principle.
Getting more data points at the expense of explicit consent is not a choice for a market researcher.
- It is crucial to approach your research objectives thoughtfully. Steering clear of the mentality of 'we have all of this data, what can we do with it?' is imperative, as it can lead to becoming entangled within the labyrinth of datasets. It is essential, instead, to lay out your objectives clearly from the outset; there are two distinct kinds of exploration. The first involves setting out without a specific idea of what one is seeking, relying on the belief that the object of interest will reveal itself in due course. The second approach stems from a confident understanding of the situation and a desire to test formulated hypotheses. This entails either embracing the journey of data discovery or formulating a highly precise question. For instance, consider the specific inquiry 'Which websites garner greater popularity among mothers-to-be?' This question can be addressed with accuracy through behavioral data, provided you define the term 'popular' (perhaps as the number of unique users) and meticulously analyze the gathered information. Conversely, the broader query 'What are the online touch-points that drive purchases in the spirits category?' presents a more intricate challenge. While online behavioral data remains a critical asset, it becomes evident upon closer inspection that this latter question is not as straightforward as its predecessor. Discerning pertinent touch-points and purchasing catalysts for a specific category demands an explorative expedition; be ready to invest a substantial amount of time. In this context, your most invaluable tool is curiosity. Often, the initial questions we formulate serve as the starting point, setting us on a path of inquiry. However, it is fascinating to observe that these initial queries frequently act as stepping stones to more captivating and unforeseen questions. These subsequent inquiries can be drastically different from the ones we initially conceived. In essence, this unfolding process of questioning and re-questioning embodies the true essence of the journey of discovery. It is curiosity that illuminates the path and fuels the journey of exploration, guiding you through the intricate landscape of data toward meaningful insights.
- Garbage in, garbage out: The good old principle still applies, more data doesn't mean better data. The most sophisticated Artificial Intelligence (AI) or predictive algorithms won't work if you feed garbage data in. Understanding biases, sampling, and statistics still is the cornerstone of good data science.
And finally, don’t forget the 'why'
We cannot rely on people’s responses to understand digital consumers. Market research practitioners need to face this reality and add passive data metering to their toolbox. However, asking questions still is a powerful tool. Don’t forget that the 'why' won’t merely come from behavioral or observational data. A combination of surveys and online behavioral data will help you unlock greater value.
