@tns_global Less Data, More Insight, Says Research Expert

TNS Insights Span Over 300,000 Consumer Conversations

Marketers are being urged to optimise their survey design in order to deliver better insights into what people do, according to Steve Hamilton-Clark, CEO of TNS MENA, one of the world’s largest custom market research organisations.

“Recent research by TNS aims to reveal the reasons behind the mismatch between what people say and what they do, and how these insights can support our clients in their decision-making geared to growth,” explained Hamilton-Clark.

TNS MENA’s syndicated benchmark program ‘TNS Brand Health Tracking Norms’ focuses on consumer decision-making with regards to Middle Eastern brands. This unique benchmark programme uses more than 300,000 consumer conversations spanning more than 120 brands, over 45 FMCG, durable and financial categories across the GCC region.

“These conversations have given us key behavioural and attitudinal metrics on which marketing strategies can be based,” said Hamilton-Clark.

He noted that one such insight is known as the Rule of Four which explains the cognitive limits humans are challenged with when faced with complex choices, irrespective of the market category and its size

“Both marketers and researchers need to appreciate the fact that we are born with a unique fingerprint, constrained by bounded rationality, and employ quick decision-making aids to optimise our choices. In fact we can on average only hold about four brands in our mind.

“Our study reveals why traditional research approaches sometimes fail to provide true direction, and why advances in psychology, neuroscience, and most recently, behavioural economics, help in understanding human decision making behaviour more accurately,” concluded Hamilton-Clark.