Innovative Online Market Research

**note: this post contains updated information added today, May 2,2007***

Gathering "the voice of the customer" through market research is key in developing new products as well as enhancing existing products. A focus group is one traditional way of obtaining customers' needs.  But what novel market research is happening online?

Del Monte Foods  Pet Products Division is using two types of online market research to gather pet owners' needs. No doubt that pet owners become the voice of the customer for those adorable dogs and  cats that cannot voice their opinions.

Del Monte and other companies are using blogs to monitor what topics are important to customers.  Blogs provide a forum for pet lovers to talk about important topics.  Two blogs caught my attention.    Scratchings and Sniffings is a blog written by Yvonne DiVita who is "a pet lover hoping to share stories with other pet lovers." There are funny and serious stories about cats and dogs and expert advice from the online veterinarian, Dr. Larry.

Dogster's For the Love of Dog Blog is written by Dogster's editor Joy Ward.  The blog is about "dog lovers that thought it was about time there was a fun blog to stay up-to-dog about everything canine".

The second type of online research Del Monte Foods is conducting is through an online community called the I Love My Dog Community.  Pet owners are invited to join this password protected site. Del Monte market researchers observe interactions, stimulate discussion on specific topics, and lead collaborative solution building. According to Gala Amoroso, Sr. Market Research Manager at Del Monte Foods, "The online community helps us anticipate and identify opportunities and allows us to collaborate with our target market to develop solutions that truly meet their needs."

As marketers we need to keep up to date on new ways to reach our customers. Perhaps an online community might be a useful way to understand your customers' unmet needs. If you would like to learn more about Del Monte's online community check out a free American Marketing Association on demand webcast, Putting Thousand of Consumers to Work: Communities for Collaboration and Creation and a MarketTools case study, "Del Monte Foods Turns to Millions of Customers to Unleash Innovation."

Here at RAMA, we're going to be experimenting with audio and video, in the coming months. Stay tuned!

Comments

[Jared Bothwell]

The Del Monte case study is an excellent example of how this technology can bring companies closer to their customers after using it for many years to keep customers at a distant.