The Consumer Insights Handbook : Using Audience Research to Make Smart Decisions.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Coombs, Danielle Sarver.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Marketing research.

Consumer behavior.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (305 pages)

Edition:

2nd ed.

Place of Publication:

New York : Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2026.

Summary:

Researching audiences is a dynamic and intellectually challenging process that celebrates innovative approaches to consumer desires, needs, and behaviors. Whether you are working on a brand, product, or a strategic campaign, successfully reaching your target audience and meeting your objectives requires good research.

Contents:

Cover

Contents

List of Figures and Tables

Acknowledgments

Preface

Part I Preparation

1 Introduction and Overview

What Is Research?

How We See the World

Academic versus Applied Research

Planning for Research Design

Who Is Your Target Audience? And How Many People Do You Need?

What Do You Need to Learn? And How Long Do You Have?

What Does This Look Like?

Working on Teams

How to Use This Book

Key Terms

2 Working with Clients

General Best Practices

Looking Good (and by Good, I Mean Professional)

Confidence Is Key

So Is Humility

Getting Work Started

Responding to RFPs

What Does an RFP Look Like?

What Do You Do Once You Get the RFP?

Pitching New Business

Understanding and Assessing Needs

Business Objectives and Research Objectives

Developing Actionable Research Questions

Remain Open to Possibility

Stay Focused on the Big Picture

Scope Appropriately

Establishing and Working with Budgets

Best Practices and Key Takeaways

3 Using Emerging Technologies in Consumer Insights Research

Introduction

Artificial Intelligence

Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Large Language Models (LLMs)

Generative AI

Using AI Tools When Working with Clients

Case Study: Mid-Career Women Research

Ethics and Using Emerging Technologies in Research

Using Publicly Posted Material as Data

Inherent Biases

Automation Bias

Environmental Impact

What Comes Next? Best Guesses

Multimodal Data Integration (MMDI)

The Rise of AI-Driven Ethnography

The Creation of Synthetic Data

4 Secondary Research and Analysis

Conducting Secondary Research

What Are You Looking For?

Secondary Research Sources

Nonpublic Sources

Internal Client Materials

Academic Resources.

Proprietary Resources

Centralized Information and Data

Trend Analysis

Audience/Market Analytics

Social Media Listening

Public Sources

Government Resources

Other Publicly Available Datasets and Reports

Media Coverage and Content

5 Applied Research Ethics

Why This Matters

Key Ethical Principles

Applied Research Ethics

Gaining Consent

Anonymity versus Confidentiality

Privacy Laws and Legal Implications

Research Ethics and AI

Conducting Research Online

Accurate Representation of Ideas, or How to Avoid Plagiarism

Part II Qualitative Research

6 Qualitative Research Design and Considerations

Why Do Qualitative Research?

Benefits and Limitations

Benefits

Limitations

Qualitative Methods

Interviews

Ethnographies

Participant Observation

Focus Groups

Online Communities

Using Technologies

Ensuring Rigor

Ways to Ensure Rigor

7 Qualitative Data Collection

Writing an Effective Instrument

Guide Structure

Tips for Writing

Record, Record, Record

Data Collection: In the Field

Conducting Interviews

Conducting Ethnographies

Conducting Focus Groups

Starting the Group

Maintaining Good Discussion

Managing Difficult Participants

Wrapping Up

Conducting Qualitative Research Online

8 Using Creative Exercises for Deeper Insights

Generating Good Data

Process

"Selling" Creative Exercises

Types of Creative Exercises

Collage

Drawings and Storytelling

Bring Brands to Life

Fill-in-the-Blank

"Magic Wand"

Creating Lists and Organizing Data

Card Sorts

Marketing Exec.

Best Practices and Key Takeaways

9 Qualitative Data Analysis and Reporting

General Best Practices: During Fielding

General Best Practices: Post-Collection Data Analysis

Preparing for the Debrief

In the Debrief

Debrief Roles

Physical Space

Debriefing

Topline Research Reports

Part III Quantitative Research

10 Quantitative Research Design and Considerations

Why Do Quantitative Research?

Basic Principles and Characteristics

Correlation Is Not Causation

Standardization

Hypotheses versus Research Questions

Sampling and Samples

Probability Sampling

Cluster Sampling

Nonprobability Sampling

Error, Margin of Error, and Confidence Level

Margin of Error and Confidence Level

Quantitative Research for Academics

11 Quantitative Data Collection

Preparing to Write Your Survey

Structuring Your Survey

Screener

The Body

Demographics

Editing Your Survey

Writing Good Questions

Different Types of Questions

Basic Rules for Writing Questions

Writing Good Responses

Trend Studies

12 Quantitative Data Analysis and Reporting

Good Preparation, Good Data

Ensuring Data Accuracy

Descriptive Statistics

Weighting

Checking on What Happens in the "Black Box"

Statistical Models for the Non-Statistician

Conjoint Analysis

Maximum-Difference Scaling (MaxDiff)

Discrete Choice Modeling

Factor Analysis

Cluster Analysis

Data Reports and Banners

Debriefing and Data Analysis

Preparing for Your Debrief

Reporting Quantitative Research

Part IV Reporting Findings.

13 Writing Your Report

Goal and Purpose

Develop Your "Elevator Pitch"

Organizing Your Thoughts

Preparing Your Outline

Integrate and Synthesize Insights into Themes

Plan Your Signposting

Bake in Transitions

Flesh Out Your Recommendations

Always Come Back to Your Story

Telling a Story

Keep the Story Moving

Share Data Strategically

Focus on Your Flow

Stay Focused

Report Sections

Report Formats

14 Developing (and Designing) Your Deliverable

Designing Your Deliverable

Make Sure Your Story Is Clear

Text-Based Programs

Design Programs

Make Signposts Clear

Headlines

Consistency

Metaphors Matter

Deliverable Formats

Design Basics (Very Basics)

Readability

Hierarchy

Effective Use of Color and Contrast

Images

Presenting Data

Forms of Data Presentation

Charts and Graphs

Axis Mapping

Qualitative Quotes

Creative Exercises

Guidelines for Presenting Data

15 The Client Presentation

Preparation

Know Your Audience

Know Your Material

Internalizing

During the Presentation

Wrapping Up the Project

Back in the Office

Final Thoughts

Glossary

References

Index

About the Author.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Part of the metadata in this record was created by AI, based on the text of the resource.

ISBN:

9798765165133

979-88-8180-748-1