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Imagination methods
Marketing Imagination refers to the ways a company can learn more about specific customer segments, with the goal to find meaningful ways to differentiate oneself from competitors. In the section ‘Understanding customers’ we outline several ways to employ Marketing Imagination.
First of all, organizations should realize that they are in the business of finding solutions for consumer- and human problems. This requires organizations to take a more fundamental look at the value they provide. Such an attitude also implies that identifying clear and meaningful problems automatically sets up the company for finding meaningful solutions.
Secondly, both the popular marketing theories of buyer personas and customer journey provide great starting points for envisioning the customer experience more in-depth. Current buyer personas reveal what the company already knows about particular customer segments (e.g. demographics, spending and behavioral patterns) and where it would benefit from a deeper understanding (e.g. motivations, frustrations and values). Likewise, the current customer journey map probably captures the service experience but could be made more valuable by zooming in on certain stages, products, customer segments, or mapping the overall brand experience.
Based on the current strategic position of the company (as identified in the SWOT) and current state of customer knowledge (as captured by the buyer persona and customer journey), additional imagination methods can be selected to delve deeper in the psyche of the customer:
- Laddering technique: Applying a semi-structured interview approach, ask the customer multiple times why he or she makes certain decisions, thereby relating product attributes to underlying motivations and even more fundamental values.
- Association networks: This creative exercise asks the customer to come up with a list of mental associations related to a product or company. These associations could include a wide range of metaphors, archetypes, stories and sensual information.
- Design thinking workshops: These workshops often build upon the untapped knowledge and creativity of employees from different departments, to emphasize with the customer’s problems and brainstorm about innovative solutions.
- Trend analysis: Studying a (social) trend or counter-trend in-depth will help organizations to find or refine their vision, marketing concept and brand positioning, which consequently will resonate on a deeper level with the customer.
