The Zmet Technique

by Olga Kazakova on Sep 07, 2009

9,130 views

This presentation was created in a graduate course, Advanced Account Planning, to serve as a reference for teaching the basics of the Zmet technique.

More…

This presentation was created in a graduate course, Advanced Account Planning, to serve as a reference for teaching the basics of the Zmet technique.

Less

3 Embeds 55

http://www.slideshare.net	49
http://olgakazakova.com	4
http://olgakazakova.wordpress.com	2

Statistics

Favorites: 9
Downloads: 371
Comments: 0
Embed Views: 55
Views on SlideShare: 9,075
Total Views: 9,130

The Zmet Technique — Presentation Transcript

"A lot goes on in our minds that we're not aware of. Most of what influences what we say and do occurs below the level of awareness. That's why we need new techniques: to get at hidden knowledge - to get at what people don't know they know.” - Zaltman The Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique

Professor at Harvard Business School

Member of the Executive Committee of Harvard University's Mind, Brain, and Behavior Interfaculty Initiative.

Co-founder and senior partner in the research based consulting firm of Olson Zaltman Associates

Ph.D in sociology, MBA from University of Chicago

Wrote - How Customers

Think: Essential Insights into

the Mind of the Market and

Marketing Metaphoria:

What Deep Metaphors Reveal

about the Minds of Consumers

The Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique Patent Issued: July 25, 1995

W What do you see?

What do you see?

Average of 30,000 items on shelves of American supermarkets

Introduction of 17,000 new products a year*

We do not think rationally about what we buy

“ The knowledge of what we need lies so deeply embedded in our brains that is rarely surfaces” – Zaltman

How do we attract customers who see everything differently?

Research A Brief History

1990 vacation in Nepal

Asked village residents to take pictures

Assignment: assume you’re going to leave this village and move somewhere else. You want to tell people about the life that was here, what pictures would you take to show them?

Feet cut off

Marketing through pictures

Words, but also visual metaphors

The Creation of the ZMET Technique

Class Activity

Time

Pre-interview

Sensory, visual and non-verbal

Steps

The ZMET Technique

Story Telling

Missing Pictures

Triad Task

Metaphor Probe/Expand the Frame

Sensory (Non-Visual) Metaphors

Vignette

Digital Imaging

The Seven-step Process

Time

Software

Constructs

Create consensus maps

Analysis of the ZMET

Women: The Panty hose Haters

First question: What are your thoughts and feelings about buying and wearing panty hose?”

Next: Photo collection

Then: Two-hour discussion

Women: The Panty hose Haters Feeling of being thin and tall Embarrassment caused by stocking runs Feeling strangled Luxury

Zaltman introduces several concepts:

Mental model – a set of thoughts formed when neural clusters influence each other; used to process information from and respond to an abstract event.

A road map that identifies communities and their connecting routes.

Consumers encounter this when they need to contemplate a decision.

The Power Of Metaphor

Humans think in images, not words. Most research tools, according to Zaltman, are “verbocentrics.”

Conscious thought – thoughts that we can articulate because we are fully aware of our own existence, sensations and cognition.

Unconscious thought – thinking outcomes of which we are unaware or vaguely aware and struggle to articulate, mental activity outside conscious awareness.

Metaphors stimulate the workings of the human mind.

The Power Of Metaphor

Speaking time

Multiple steps, reduces chance of missing key ideas

Dominant participant in focus groups

Socially acceptable answers

Beyond the focus group and survey

What companies are taking advantage of this research technique?

Application: Account Planning 200 studies @ $75,000 each

Why the ZMET?

The consumer is in control, not the researcher (unlike focus groups, gather own pics, develop own insights).

Use of metaphor helps uncover the importance of non-visual sensory images

Reduces problem of consistency

Pays attention to cognitive and emotional sides of the brain

Application: Account Planning

The downsides

Respondent fatigue

Interviewer must be very experiences

Cost, time

Matter of opinion

Can not change perception

No key insight into media channels or different sets of buyers

Does not offer perceptions on brands relative to competitors

Application: Account Planning

Effective form, but costly and time-consuming

Limited to amount of data collection

Companies are starting to see the importance of visual over verbal stimulants

Takeaways

As an account planner, would you suggest the ZMET technique to your team over a focus group?

Are there any products or services you can think of that would not benefit from the ZMET?

Discussion

The Zmet Technique

by Olga Kazakova on Sep 07, 2009

Accessibility

Categories

Tags

Upload Details

Usage Rights

3 Embeds 55

Statistics

The Zmet Technique — Presentation Transcript