Infiniti: Laddering Up to New Product Success Using Familiar Tools to Meet New Challenges Presented by Rachel Nguyen: Nissan North America Director of Advanced Planning.
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Infiniti: Laddering Up to New Product Success Using Familiar Tools to Meet New Challenges Presented by Rachel Nguyen: Nissan North America Director of Advanced Planning & Strategy Michele Zwillinger, Chief Explorer, SnoopPro Research QRCA Symposium on Excellence in Qualitative Research May 7, 2009 Research Objective • The overall purpose of this research was to determine which technology features currently in or being considered for the development pipeline supported the Infiniti brand Infiniti Brand Pillars Brand R&D Peace of Mind Driving Pleasure Hospitality Infiniti Advanced Feature Adoption Plan Rachel Nguyen: Nissan North America, Director of Advanced Planning & Strategy Michele Zwillinger: SnoopPro Research, 818-906-7562, [email protected] 2 Why Laddering? • We wanted to understand if the customer values inherent in the advanced technology features were consistent with Infiniti Brand values • We commissioned a study using laddering with our key target, Passionate Curators Rachel Nguyen: Nissan North America, Director of Advanced Planning & Strategy Michele Zwillinger: SnoopPro Research, 818-906-7562, [email protected] 3 Passionate Curator Mindset Cultural Creatives 26% Traditionals 25% Passionate Curators 9% C re a tive & re be llio us F ee lings Brand Personality Graceful Strength Client Values Cle ve r & daring Whim s ic a l, impuls ive Indulge nc e Adm ire int uit ive , Indulgenc e s pont ane o us , pa ss io na t e Unus ua l, diffe re nt & une xplo re d Va c a tio n Moderns 49% Embraces the promise of the future Uncompromising Actively engaged Creative Nurturers 11% Romantic Competitive Sophisticates Jet Setters 13% 7% Benevolent Realists Hi-tech 13% Aspirationals Humble Responsible Homebodies 12% Missionaries 16% 9% Unders ta te d, unique Indulge nc e B a s ic , he lpful c a use Va c a tion Cra fte d, he rita ge Co mple te & Indulge nc e individua lis tic F e e lings Ca refre e & re la xe d F e e lings Admire s e lf-ma de , e ve ryda y heroe s E xc ite d & e ne rgize d Spo nta ne o us, F e e lings pa mpe red, a c t ivities Va c a tion P hys ic a l, ris ky, onc e in a E le ga nt & e xc lus ive lifet im e Va c at io n Indulge nc e A dm ire prive le ge d, fa mous Ext ra va ga nt ho t s pot A dmire a ggre s s ive Va c a tio n pe rfec t io nis t s A dm ire e a s ygo ing nurture rs Ca s ua l, a t ta ina ble , na t ura l Indulge nc e Re la xing, c ultura l, Int ellige nt, intrigue dis c ove ring Va c a tio n fe e lings Lega c y, he lpful, Att e ntio n-ge t ting, Longing & c o nne c te d re ligio us Vac a t io n ma gne tic Indulge nc e F e e lings Hi-te c h Indulge nc e T ra nquil, s e re ne , ba la nc e d F e e lings Emotional Rewards Invigoration and serenity Personalized exclusivity for me H ome , a lo ne, be e n be fo re Va c a tion Adm ire ra tio na l, c o nfo rming, pla nning Tho ughtful & func tiona l Indulge nce P re dic t a ble & C o nve nt io na l Indulge nc e The artful expression of refined power and state-of-the-art responsiveness Anticipatory, fine-tuned product & ownership experience Functional Benefits Infiniti Brand Identity 2000 Mindset for Infiniti Level-headed Conformists 9% S e c ure & c onforming Fe e lings Emergence of New Consumer Values Affluent Market Segmentation 2001 Rachel Nguyen: Nissan North America, Director of Advanced Planning & Strategy Michele Zwillinger: SnoopPro Research, 818-906-7562, [email protected] Passionate Curators 2003 4 Adapting the Laddering Technique to Infiniti Automotive Product Planning Process Automotive Consumers Recruit for Passionate Curators Laddering Interview Analyze each interview until obtain Core Value for each feature laddered by each person Align each Core Value with Infiniti Pillars & Present to Nissan Rachel Nguyen: Nissan North America, Director of Advanced Planning & Strategy Michele Zwillinger: SnoopPro Research, 818-906-7562, [email protected] 6 Recruiting Requirements Luxury Vehicle Market • Drive competitive brands • Quotas established for car type • Range of ages; upper income • Proprietary screen for Passionate Curators Rachel Nguyen: Nissan North America, Director of Advanced Planning & Strategy Michele Zwillinger: SnoopPro Research, 818-906-7562, [email protected] 7 Effectively Communicating All New Automotive Features Rachel Nguyen: Nissan North America, Director of Advanced Planning & Strategy Michele Zwillinger: SnoopPro Research, 818-906-7562, [email protected] 8 Around View Monitor Four independent video images One overhead image of vehicle’s parking position Rachel Nguyen: Nissan North America, Director of Advanced Planning & Strategy Michele Zwillinger: SnoopPro Research, 818-906-7562, [email protected] 9 The Interview Describe Automotive Features? Interest? Physical/Actual Consequences/Benefits? Emotional Consequences/Core Benefits? Rachel Nguyen: Nissan North America, Director of Advanced Planning & Strategy Michele Zwillinger: SnoopPro Research, 818-906-7562, [email protected] 10 Data Collection • 25 automotive features + • 100 respondents = • 100 hours of interviews (8 cities in 3 weeks) • >2000 pages of notes! Rachel Nguyen: Nissan North America, Director of Advanced Planning & Strategy Michele Zwillinger: SnoopPro Research, 818-906-7562, [email protected] 11 Ladder Example AVP Around View Monitor_______ Feature Code: ______________Video cameras make blind spots more visible Level 1 Benefit:_______________________________________ Level 2: Won’t back into something_________ Level 3: Won’t destroy something _______________________________________ Level 4: _________________________________ Damage to car is stressful Peace of Mind Level 5 Core Value: ____________________________________ Rachel Nguyen: Nissan North America, Director of Advanced Planning & Strategy Michele Zwillinger: SnoopPro Research, 818-906-7562, [email protected] 12 Data Analysis • Laddered each feature individually for each person • Collected ladders for each feature and combined into an Excel Spreadsheet Rachel Nguyen: Nissan North America, Director of Advanced Planning & Strategy Michele Zwillinger: SnoopPro Research, 818-906-7562, [email protected] 13 AVP Example Partial Spreadsheet # Perceived Benefits Physical Consequences Emotional Consequences Core Values 11 Camera more accurate than sensor Avoid hitting or running into something Easier to park Concern about other’s safety Concern about repair costs Peace of mind 13 Video cameras making blind spots more visible Won’t back into something Won’t destroy something Driving/parking easier/safer Bad back; hard to turn neck Damage to car is stressful Concerned about harming someone Peace of mind Eliminates blind spot Relieves pain in neck No worry No restrictions Safety, etc. Be happy Relaxed Live life to the fullest Peace of mind+ Pleasure- 5 Rachel Nguyen: Nissan North America, Director of Advanced Planning & Strategy Michele Zwillinger: SnoopPro Research, 818-906-7562, [email protected] 14 Core Value System Emerging from the Analysis • Accomplishment • Freedom/Independence • Peace of Mind • Pleasure • Emotional Security • Self-esteem • Hedonistic Compassion Rachel Nguyen: Nissan North America, Director of Advanced Planning & Strategy Michele Zwillinger: SnoopPro Research, 818-906-7562, [email protected] 15 Presenting the Findings • First, created a template to make it easy to understand the respondents’ reactions to each of the 25 new automotive features, including the Core Values developed from the laddering exercise • Fit each of the 7 Core Values into the Infiniti model of the three pillars • Then fit each individual feature into the appropriate Infiniti Pillar based on the Core Value(s) of the feature. Rachel Nguyen: Nissan North America, Director of Advanced Planning & Strategy Michele Zwillinger: SnoopPro Research, 818-906-7562, [email protected] 16 AVP Benefits & Core Values Core Value Peace of Mind (21) Emotional Consequences Safety Less stress No injury to kids/people Concern about property damage Concern about monetary loss Physical Consequences Avoid hitting someone or something Avoid damage to own car or other car Easier/better parking - Easier/safer backing up Fewer accidents Eliminates blind spots See someone lurking around car/security in surroundings Perceived Benefits Monitor vehicle surroundings/perimeter of car Exterior cameras show blind spots 360 degree vision Overhead image Rachel Nguyen: Nissan North America, Director of Advanced Planning & Strategy Michele Zwillinger: SnoopPro Research, 818-906-7562, [email protected] 17 Relationship of Core Values to Infiniti Pillars Hospitality Peace of Mind Driving Pleasure Hedonistic Compassion Peace of Mind Pleasure Emotional Security Accomplishment Emotional Security Self-esteem Self-esteem Freedom/ Independence Rachel Nguyen: Nissan North America, Director of Advanced Planning & Strategy Michele Zwillinger: SnoopPro Research, 818-906-7562, [email protected] 18 Relating Features to Infiniti Pillars Hospitality PKH CAH ADH Peace of Mind Driving Pleasure PSH ROD ASP COD CAH CTH PCH ADH ASP GLH PCP NTD PCH CTH SOD NOD IOD CVP HDP AAP PSH ITD NTD ITD NTD MAH GLH SSH AVP COD LSH PKH Rachel Nguyen: Nissan North America, Director of Advanced Planning & Strategy Michele Zwillinger: SnoopPro Research, 818-906-7562, [email protected] RTD 19 Research Implementation Feature Prioritization Process Step 1: Review of each Feature Summary Ladder from the Research Step 2: Weighted Evaluation Breadth of Support of Core Customer Values Breadth of Emotional Consequences Clarity of Feature’s Benefit to the Consumer Appeal to Respondent (i.e. like or dislike) Result: Three Tiers of Features Emerged Rachel Nguyen: Nissan North America, Director of Advanced Planning & Strategy Michele Zwillinger: SnoopPro Research, 818-906-7562, [email protected] 20 Impact on Feature Adoption Plan Research provided to Nissan Motor Limited on Infiniti Advanced Features Features in development were evaluated based on the research results, competitor assessment, feasibility and investment costs Features included in Infiniti vehicles sold in the US Rachel Nguyen: Nissan North America, Director of Advanced Planning & Strategy Michele Zwillinger: SnoopPro Research, 818-906-7562, [email protected] 21 Success! Popular Mechanics 2008 Breakthrough Award-Around View Monitor Popular Science 2008 “Best of What’s New”-Around View Monitor Rachel Nguyen: Nissan North America, Director of Advanced Planning & Strategy Michele Zwillinger: SnoopPro Research, 818-906-7562, [email protected] 22 <End> Thank you.