7 Projective Techniques for Discovering Hidden Customer Goals

In today’s rapidly evolving marketing landscape, market research professionals are increasingly confronted with a significant challenge: How do we authentically capture the "full voice of the customer" to enable our brands to make well-informed, consumer-centric decisions? This is a daunting task, considering the multifaceted nature of consumer behavior and the lack of tools and expertise in behavioral science today.

While market researchers have a plethora of tech-enabled tools and methods at their disposal, there's a critical aspect of every research study that often gets overlooked in our quest for speed and efficiency.  Simply collecting data on customer attitudes and opinions doesn't suffice. We need to delve deeper into customer goals to drive their attitudes and opinions so that these insights can be used for meaningful marketing and innovation.

Why goals, you ask? 

Well, because goals are arguably the most important behavioral factor driving people’s decisions and our ability to influence them. Not biases. Not motivations. Not social influence. No… not even mindstates. 

Customer goals are most critical for market research professionals to identify because NO customer purchase or decision (outside of a reflex) happens without a goal in mind.  This doesn’t mean that your customers are aware of these goals. In fact, most often, they are not aware of them at all! However, their subconscious knows these goals well… and always has them “in mind” when shopping.    

Therefore, identifying your customers' functional, higher-order, and aspirational goals, also known as jobs-to-be-done, isn't a luxury in market research studies—these insights are paramount. They empower brand teams to create products and messages that deeply connect with their customers on a profound, often subconscious, level.

Here’s why each is so essential.

• Exploring functional goals (aka jobs to be done) provides brands with clear insights into what attributes and features customers value most and how to build future messaging and innovations against them.
• Uncovering higher-order goals (aka emotional jobs to be done) unlocks the emotional "why" behind these desired features, providing a foundation for understanding how to talk about your product or service. 
• Lastly, identifying aspirational goals (aka aspirational jobs to be done) allows you to align your brand messaging and experiences to your customers' aspirations. This guides how to talk about your brand to form deep emotional connections and foster loyalty.

Incorporating the activities outlined below into qualitative and quantitative research can uncover these non-conscious goals in ways that traditional research and AI often miss.

Here are seven of my favorite projective-based techniques you can utilize in your next market research initiative to identify these vital goals and provide you with deep, actionable, human insights.

My Top 7 Projective Techniques

1. Storytelling: Leverage the intrinsic power of narrative by inviting customers to share their experiences. For instance, ask them, "Tell me about the first time you bought that product." Stories can unlock the emotional undercurrents influencing purchasing behaviors, offering you a view of the world through your consumers' eyes.
2. Image Sorting: This approach helps gather insights into what really matters to consumers. Ask participants to sort images into different categories and then discuss their choices. This method not only reveals their values but also illuminates how they perceive various aspects of your brand.
3. Collage Building: Collages are more than just art projects—they can uncover deep insights into consumer aspirations. Encourage respondents to create a collage representing their ultimate goals related to your product category. Through discussions, examine the themes and feelings that emerge. This can clarify how these desires translate to your brand.
4. Third-Party Role-Playing: Ask consumers to take on an “observer” role, analyzing their behaviors from an outsider's perspective. This can help break down personal biases and expose insights into ritualistic behaviors and deep-seated thoughts.
5. Personification: Engage respondents in envisioning your brand as a character. Ask them, "If your brand were a superhero, who would it be?" This imaginative approach can shed light on the qualities they value most in your brand, aiding in the crafting of resonant marketing messages.
6. Deprivation: Use the concept that "absence makes the heart grow fonder." Prompt participants to consider how their lives would change without your brand. Alternatively, request that customers go without using your brand for several days. This exercise can underscore the significance—or lack thereof—that your brand holds in their lives, helping you grasp its broader context.
7. Word Association: Supplement traditional storytelling techniques with word associations to probe even deeper life objectives. This method helps marketers understand how customers' mental models of a brand align with their overarching goals. This holistic approach equips you with the insights necessary to construct emotionally engaging messages.

Application

Once you’ve collected and synthesized these insights, the next step involves pinpointing the functional, higher-order, and aspirational goals that your research has revealed. Share these findings with your marketing teams to aid them in crafting products and messages that resonate on a truly human level.

Remember to use functional goals to list features and benefits around which to build your offerings. Leverage higher-order goal insights to guide the narrative on how to talk about your products. Lastly, utilize the understanding derived from aspirational goals activities to refine how you articulate your brand.

By embracing and implementing these projective techniques, market research professionals can uncover the deeper layers of consumer motivations, allowing for richer, more informed insights. These insights drive strategies that create profound connections with your audience, fostering loyalty and advancing your brand in the competitive marketplace.