Marketers need to understand consumer decision making at a deeper emotional level to create persuasive messages. Laddering is a technique that can uncover underlying emotions, consequences, and personal values that drive consumer choice. It involves qualitative research to explore decision processes followed by a survey to quantify the results. While commonly used, laddering remains one of the best kept secrets in the industry for giving marketers insights to connect with consumers and influence their choices.

1. Final Exam (Green)
Laura Fleury
MBA 2A

2. One of the most important aspects of marketing is understanding why
consumers make decisions. Why does a teenager drink Coke instead of Pepsi? In
these examples, product features rarely drive consumer choice. Consumer
decision making goes much deeper than that. Marketers need to know what
moves consumers at an emotional level in order to create a persuasive message.
Market researchers have a powerful technique that can be used to dissect
consumer choice, yet most don’t know enough about it to use it effectively. The
technique is laddering and has been around for decades, but may be one of the
best kept secrets in the industry. Laddering can give marketers the information
they need to connect with consumers and persuade them to buy their product or
service.
The Traditional Research Paradigm. To understand why consumers make
product choices, researchers usually conduct qualitative research to explore
consumers’ decision processes, and then quantify the results in a long attribute
laden survey with a large statistically precise sample. Sometimes this approach
is effective, but other times, managers are left scratching their heads and asking
the researcher, so what will finally get consumers to stop wavering and buy our
product?

3. The Means-end Approach Using Laddering. Means-end is a rigorous research
method that employs the laddering interviewing technique. It is used to uncover
the underlying emotions, consequences, and personal values that drive
consumer choice. Market researchers use the approach to understand consumer
choices, and design advertising and communications messaging to influence
them to choose their product or brand.
Customers have different engagements points:
* Booking: through bookin App
* Discovery: Official website, Hotel and Group informations , Tripadvisor
comments...
* Inspiration: Social Media, word of mouth, search (google) (SEO)

4. Customer Engagement for the Morgan Hotel Group:
If the customer is searching to book a room he will make several steps before the
booking and finding the good site
• Get informed
• Book Online
• Online videos
• Online Calendar
• Social Media information (Facebook, Google +, Twitter, Youtube,
Instragram…)
• Newsletter
• Google search (for example hotel Boston)
- If The Morgan Hotels Group is well referenced, the customer may find quickly
the website and if he likes the web design, he is able to book a room on this site
- The website have a lot of information’s for the customers (Hotel events,
Culture, situation, Hotel and group story…)

6. Decision making process
• Planning
Possibility to consult the online calendar
Possibility to have a lot of information’s

Possibility also to upload the Hotel and group brochures
• Inspiration
Possibility to be inform about the Hotel by Social Media
Possibility to compare and see comments
• Discovery
It is a very attractive website and very colorful
Possibility to watch videos
And the possibility to subscribe to the newsletters
• Booking
Possibility to book online
Possibility to make booking by telephone
• During the stay
Conciergerie service
Possibility to check internet, mail and Social Media to share some photos or some comments
• After the stay
If the customer have subscribed to the newsletter, he can have the news by mail for a potential next stay
Possibility to join the Social Media like Facebook or twitter If it is not made yet