Prioritizing what matters
At the turn of the decade, this national agricultural organization was grappled with a multitude of threats – diseases in animals, animal welfare, and rising prices, to name just a few. Individually, each represented a challenge. But collectively, they posed serious threats to consumer confidence. Then came COVID-19.
How do you manage consumer confidence in the face of multiple, interconnected crises? Selling food products requires deep consumer trust. We came in to give this client the data they needed to maintain the confidence of their customers, especially those they were most at risk of losing.
Complex problems need flexible approaches
We needed to build a bespoke research program that could adapt to any changes that came its way. Then we would be able to make informed predictions on what would or wouldn’t work to address consumer concerns. First, we began a weekly tracking survey of thousands of meat consumers in the U.S. to establish baseline perceptions. With this benchmark established, we switched to monthly tracking and social intelligence monitoring. Now we knew what was being absorbed and acted upon as well as what was being seen, heard and said.
Finally, we began three new research initiatives to force everything into the light. We identified the hot topics on consumers’ minds and scenario-tested to find the best approach to communications and messaging. We used thematic clustering analysis to reveal five distinct clusters of issues. And we built up profiles for seven consumer segments, opening the door for effective microtargeting and communications.
What buttons to push, and when to push them
Our research told us something incredibly important: what concerned consumers the most was actually what they were hearing about the least. This meant that proactive messaging wouldn’t always be the best route. Animal diseases, like e. Coli, listeria or H5N1, were a top concern for consumers. But proactive communication wasn’t needed as these issues rarely broke through to customers.
Our data told us what to do when top-ranking issues did reach the ears of consumers. For animal diseases, reassurance from medical and agricultural experts worked best. Pre/post testing continued to reveal which language drove stronger confidence and purchase intent. For example, language around disease prevention was far more impactful than the language used in response to outbreaks.
Steadying the ship
With consumer concerns and perceptions illuminated by comprehensive research, the client is prepared to respond to any threat. With cohesive consumer profiles, the team was able to roll out the segmentation organization-wide. Since its inception, the research program has reached more than 40,000 meat consumers in the U.S. and is refreshed by over 8,000 every year.
The resulting insights are distributed to key partners across sales, marketing, media and academia. Now, every member of the network can navigate crises with confidence.
