NeedScope Philosophy

At work, I'm not working much. It's pretty cool, actually. Instead of pushing me to work hard, my directors are committed to my training and integration into the team. They make me read books, do exercises and give me lectures that remind me of uni.

Business plan
It makes sense, once you understand our business. Our NeedScope model is a psychological framework that is used in 80 countries around the world by our much larger mother company, TNS. We are experts on the use of NeedScope and spend most of our time helping TNS offices do better research for their clients and promoting best practice NeedScope use.

We do project work ourselves too, but that is not our main source of revenue. In fact, we do it mostly to become better consultants and to innovate the Needscope model and software.

Training
So I need training. A lot of training. I must become an expert researcher, with the ability to advise other professionals. All of that appeals to me, so I am doing my best to learn fast and well. As a part of that, I will refresh my own memory by telling you about what I learn.

History of market research
I started learning about NeedScope from the beginning and that's how I will tell it to you too:
In the beginning of the 20th century research was about measuring product characteristics. People were viewed as rational agents, who would optimise the benefits they could get for their money. In such a market, the best product at the best price always wins.
Later, it was discovered that the market is not that perfect. A lot of good, cheap products never become popular, while some inferior, expensive products do well. Researchers learned, that they could explain some of this phenomenon if they took the social identity of consumers into account. They learned that a businessman will buy more expensive clothes than a farmer, not because he is richer, but because expensive clothes are what businessmen wear. That was the birth of market research.
With this new knowledge business started making products to suit smaller groups of consumers. The companies grew and became more efficient and by the end of the 20th century cheap products of good quality were available in almost any category, made to many different customer groups.
But these were not the only products doing well. Some products were clearly overpriced, but still they did well in the market. These products did not give the consumer unrivalled quality or a uniquely desirable social identity. They did something else. They appealed to the deep emotional needs that we all share and that made them irresistible to some consumers.
A Rolex watch does not just make you part of an exclusive, elite group of rich people, it makes you feel like a king. A Ferrari car makes you feel bold and masculine. Dove shampoo makes you feel warm and genuine.

We believe
Any great product today must fulfil customer needs in all three categories: functional needs, social identity needs and emotive needs. That is our belief. That is our philosophy.

See you next week
Tonight I am flying to Brisbane, Australia, for a week of vacation. I will stay with my Danish friends Tilde and Louise, we will rent a car and it will be awesome. That is all I know and all I need to know.

All packed and ready