We study beauty

The word "marketing" is heard by everyone, but few people know what "marketing research" is. It is understandable: the first marketing research began to be carried out in Russia recently, in the early 1990s; By that time, in the West, not a single large company dared to launch a new product to the market, change packaging, and remove an advertising video without preliminary marketing research. Now this "industry" is growing rapidly with us; Agencies and companies that make marketing research are littered with orders and practically do not compete with each other: the market is not enough.

The purpose of marketing research is to find out from the consumer why and what he loves, and then use this information when promoting goods. Everything is simple, almost cynical, but in reality it is found that through the prism of marketing research, the most unexpected things about a modern person, his prejudices, internal barriers, and ideals are clarified. The director of the Moscow Marketing Research company Atelier Market Research Larisa Sidorova told Maya Kucheskaya about this, at the same time amazing her with information about what the beauty is in the perception of Russian women and how the cow can prevent you from enjoying a delicious curd.

Do I understand correctly that the purpose of marketing research is feedback with the consumer?

Yes, and this is done to promote goods. The ultimate goal of the study is still this. But in order for the promotion of the goods to be successful, it is important to understand that the consumer needs, how to interest it, intrigue in this product, what correct information to convey to the consumer.

Is it not without any time: the car should go quickly and not break, the chair should be soft, the food is delicious, the powder should wash, and show the TV. In a word, are the desires and preferences of the consumer not obvious without marketing research?

No. Because all people are different. People have a different consciousness, therefore, the ideas about what is fast, what is tasty or beautiful, everyone has different. The consumer comes into resonance with products only under certain conditions. He responds to the goods only if the correct button is pressed in it. This is impossible if you do not tell about the product correctly

And what does it mean to tell about the product correctly?

You can come up with a lot of different stories about the same product. Young guys have their own values, adults have their own. Each product has its own target audience. For example, Coca-Cola. Everyone knows that initially it was a classic drink aimed at a very wide target audience. Then Pepsi appeared, which began to sell itself as a fashionable drink for young people. Here, Coca -Cola also realized that young people are a more promising audience for her drinks. The company investigated the lives of young people, their values, found out that young people especially appreciate communication with friends. It remains to understand what corresponds to this value in the product. They decided that it was a sweet, invigorating taste, the bubbles are funny, which just enhance the joy of communicating with friends. And the company began to say: "" Coca-Cola "exists to make you feel good with your friends." These changes are obvious to any outside observer.

So, marketing research is also a study of psychology ...

Psychology and people's ideas about beauty, for example. We study beauty (smiles ) ... Recently, one brand asked us to conduct a study that finds out what beauty is for Russian women. This brand exists in many markets, and it was very important to understand how Russian women differ from the Western. And so we talked with ordinary women, took an active average age, talked with experts: people working in glossy magazines who also form ideas about beauty, with cosmetologists, with sellers in stores that sell these products. And it turned out that for Russian women, beauty is not self -sufficient. It’s just that no one needs to possess it. Because you yourself can judge whether you are beautiful, you cannot. Someone from the outside must appreciate your beauty. For the sake of this, everything is done from the outside.

Therefore, you need to work for the public all the time?

Therefore, Russian women love to paint so much. Makeup consumption in our country is many times higher than the consumption of decorative cosmetics in other countries. Russian women generally decorate themselves much more in comparison with European ones. European women think much more about their "I", about self -realization. They are much more confident in themselves. Self -confidence is a key concept that determines the attitude of Russian women to beauty.

The current ideas of Russian women about beauty are drawn from the Soviet past?

Yes, it was from there, and the beauty standard was then unified. On the one hand, this is a business type woman, like the heroine of Vera Alentova in the film “Moscow does not believe in tears” - a classic suit, strict appearance, and correct facial features. On the other hand, beauty like Svetlana Svetlichnaya. Often women existed in two guns. At work, they were the faith of Alentova, and at home, if lucky, they were also light.

How did you manage to understand what an ideal woman is in the eyes of Russian women?

In our focus groups, we said: Imagine that an alien flew to the ground, who definitely needs to marry a beautiful woman. Help him! Our women unanimously and unanimously married him to a blonde with blue almond -shaped eyes. Moreover, with a very feminine figure, feminine forms. Our ideas about female beauty did not touch any feminism.

Does this mean that a Russian woman does not think of herself without a man?

Still as it means. Until he approved you, it is useless to be beautiful. Russian women admit it quite calmly, the Western woman will not achieve this in principle. In the West, it is simply indecent to recognize the dominant role of a man, moreover, this is really completely wrong. For a Western woman, a man is good, but this is not the most important thing. There for a long time, self -realization, the implementation of a woman as a person. And our woman is considered unrealized if there is no man next to her.

Obviously, just Russia is a more patriarchal country ...

Not so simple. From this, for example, it does not follow at all that a woman feels below a man. Meanwhile, foreigners interpret this and love to compare us with Latin America. Which is completely wrong. Our woman needs a man to put a checkmark in the self -realization program. The man is not what determines the meaning of her life, but that without which she feels unrealized. Therefore, the first part of life is devoted to the search for its second half. And the second-its retention or conquest of someone else.

Everything is clear with the pursuit of men, here we are different, but the orientation towards stereotypes seems to be characteristic of the West? It's just that there are its own standards of beauty.

With stereotypes in the West, too, everything began to change. Recently, Western women rebel against the image of a beautiful woman who is imposed on him by the media and advertising. For example, when a aunt appears on an advertising poster in underwear or with a huge nose, which are so confident in themselves that they are ready to love themselves as they are. It is clear that this is not suitable for our women.

And what should a woman in our advertisement look like?

It is clear that it is not like in the West. The advertising should contain the idea of ​​self -confidence and attractiveness - first of all, for men.

In order to find out that advertising is working, effective, also marketing research?

Yes, and there is also a lot of curious. For example, recently, one company needed to convince buyers that the dairy product that they eat is not just something tasty, but also very natural. A proven symbol of naturalness is a cow. And they made an advertisement into which they put a cow in different types. As a result, the idea of ​​taste was supplanted. Because either naturalness, it is also good, or taste. Especially for our people, this is divorced in different directions: we are all focused on sweet, fat, saturating. Therefore, all these light yogurts, the frames do not take root in our country - we are not tasty, not natural, not oily. Products on which 0 % fat are written have a very sad fate. We are not delicious. And the taste is zero there.

It turns out that you are dealing with a collective unconscious in the bare form?

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to get to this collective unconscious. This requires special skill. People are very disturbed by civilization, ideas about how and not necessary. We collect focus groups, and in groups people often show off each other. Now I have groups in which one half is playing sports, and the other sometimes. And those who are engaged, crush and score those who do not. Indeed, the people are believed that they need to play sports, so those who are not particularly engaged in sports are shy about to admit it.

Does this mean that the information received as a result of marketing research may be inaccurate?

Maybe. In general, this is the most difficult question that can only be. Often it all depends on the experience of the one who conducts the focus group and the interview and then analyzes all this. After all, there are special techniques that help to understand what a person really thinks. For example, when the question is asked not on the forehead. The more direct the question is, the more inaccurate the answer you get. Therefore, it is good to put a person before a choice. For example, we were engaged in a product of a product for young people. The global idea of ​​this brand is that it helps to conquer girls. And it was necessary to come up with the most relevant communication for Russia. Three ideas were tested, three methods of conquering. Rough seduction, understanding of female psychology and the third way is to find the second half. This was checked with Russian guys. It turned out that this is definitely not a rude seduction. Our Western clients went out and said that they were very ashamed of themselves. And our youths turned out to be very romantic and hesitated between the second and the last, while they bowed to the second half.

There are cases of marketing failure? When did marketing research directed the company in the false direction, in the opposite side of the success?

Of course, there are. It often happens that everything is done correctly, but for some external reasons, everything is suddenly overturned. Something terrible happens, a terrorist attack, and the product advertising is suddenly associated with this terrible. In addition, the moderator who leads these focus groups is still a person, and the subjectivity of assessments is still present. And sometimes the client himself does not want to follow our recommendations. It turns out that he has other business centers.

How much on average cost marketing research?

It depends on what type of research is. It is one thing to test packaging, another - ideas about beauty, and where research is carried out geographically. It is also significantly with which audience we are talking to. If this is a highly profitable audience, then the cost will be higher, since it is more difficult to get to these people, time is expensive for them. We, of course, stimulate all participants in the focus groups, pay them money.

And how much can you earn like that?

The conversation with the focus group lasts from an hour and a half to three. Each participant receives from five hundred to two, sometimes three thousand rubles, if it is an elite audience.

And how much does the client pay for marketing research?

In general, an average project of six groups costs about 10 thousand dollars. All costs are also paid from this amount - rent, organizational affairs. Although this business is profitable, because its cost is not so high and is 40-50 percent.

Is it true that your company is littered with work?

Now just such a period. The market is growing, and the need of customers exceeds what research companies can give. It will not last forever. The strongest competition will begin. Now even the quality of research has fallen because there are a lot of proposals, but in the end the one who works well will win.

Are there universities who prepare marketing research specialists?

Sociological faculties are preparing marketers, there is such a profession, and a marketer can also conduct marketing research.

But the employees of your company by education are by no means marketers?

We all have a philological Background. In the end, this profession is involved in common sense. What we started. This analysis of what we see is built on common sense. Plus the ability to communicate with people. Well, and you need to love it.