Market Research for Student Designers

AbstractThis article examines the role of marketresearch in design and technology as part of thedesign process. Moreover, a sample structure isgiven to help shape the content of what isrequired when one is conducting marketresearch. The intention is to help staff andstudents to develop a better understanding onthe role of market research when designingnew products.

IntroductionThe primary intention of this article is tobroaden and intensify the role of marketresearch in design and technology by drawingattention to the following issues. The article isdivided into five phases. The first phasedefines market research and how students canutilise it in their research. The second partexamines the importance of doing marketresearch. The third phase investigates thepossible variables affecting human needs andwants, whereas the forth phase explores thecriteria used for market selection when astudent designer intends to develop a newproduct. The fifth part focuses on a series ofpossible reasons on why products fail in themarket. This article concludes by arguing thatmarket research is a component of the designprocess and if it is omitted, the process wouldbe incomplete and it could lead to a product,which might not sell in the market.

If market research is treated as part of thedesign process, obviously students would becompelled to carry out research. Designproblems should be posed as themes, forexample, 'storage'. This gives studentdesigners greater flexibility to research onmany areas of interest. Before any meaningfuldesign work can be done, student designersshould be encouraged to go out and meet theirprospective customers so that they get firsthand information about their needs. Thisobviously leaves no room for assumptionsduring the design stage. In all however, marketresearch should be treated as the nextimmediate stage after the design problem hasbeen identified in the design process.

Defining market researchPerhaps the marketing concept can be seen inthe writings of Adam Smith when he echoedthat, 'the consumer has sovereignty or theconswner is king'. (Leader and Kyritsis, 1992:2) In other words, a student designer shouldfirst discover what potential customers wish topurchase and how much they are willing to payfor a particular product. The student designercan then determine if the desired product canbe produced and sold at a price customers willpay and at a profit to him or her. It is inessence a simple concept. For one to be an

effective student designer, the design processmust start off in the right direction, otherwisethe design will finish badly or at leastchaotically. To achieve this, the real voice ofthe customer must be established. In support ofthe previous statement, Whiteley (1993: 67)noted that, 'the designer needs to place thecustomer centrally in the company's thinking'.

'For the outcomes (product) to besuccessful they must address the voice ofthe customer, whenever or whoever he orshe may be. And they must do this beforethe research commences and continue tointerface and communicate \\ ith the voiceof the customer during the evolution of theresearch: (Pugh, 1997: 29)

The real voice of the customer becomes visibleand established only by these two ways:

I. Student designers in the course of theireveryday duties can gather informationinformally and subconsciously, byobserving, listening to discussion, andtalking to colleagues in industry andreading trade or other journals and papers.Bicknell and Mc Quiston suggested this tostudent designers:

'Go and live with the people. Work withthem and then see what you can do to help.If you try to help from outside you areunlikely to succeed and may inadvertentlydo more harm than good: (1997: 93)

To sum up the above sentiments using Hung'swords,

'You havc to go out and take a careful.analytic look at where the product will bcused and what the user normally does there.That means going into people's homes orplaces of work. Quietly observing, but alsoactively questioning, about habits,problems, expectations and wishes:

2. The above process should be supported bymore formal procedures carried out in asystematic and scientific way. This couldbe achieved by market research. Leaderand Kyritsis have equated market researchto 'the planned and systematic gatheringand collation of data and the analysis ofinformation relating to all aspects ofmarketing and the final consumption.'(1989: 69)

On the other hand, Chisnall quoted theMarket Research Society by saying,'Market research is the means used bythose who provide goods and services tokeep themselves in touch with the needsand wants of those who buy and use thosegoods and services.' (1992: 6)

Staff DevelopmentFellow, University ofBotswana and PostGraduate Student,University ofWolverhampton

These definitions have much in common:market research is essentially about thedisciplined collation and evaluation of specificdata in order to help student designers tounderstand their customers' needs better. Thisdata may include economic, psychological,sociological, functional and culturalinformation. This information will enabledesigners to develop raw products, and alsoimprove existing ones or try to create value-satisfYing goods and services that consumerswill want to buy. Decision making at this stageinvolves some element of risk and marketresearch data should be used to reduce, and tosome degree control, the parameters of risksurrounding particular marketing proposals.

Steps in the market research processObviously, the systematic collation of datacannot be achieved by cutting and pastingpictures of old catalogues of which moststudents do. Student designers should beencouraged to conduct in-house marketintelligence as a starting point and that is, usingtheir fellow classmates as end-users of productsor 'focus groups'. After gaining someconfidence in research, students can now startconducting external research in the communityand below is a proposed structure, which canhelp them in this endeavour. This structureshould not be viewed as a rigid process butrather, a starting point for continuousimprovement and refinement.

I. Define the market problem to be solved,together with a specification of theresearch objectives. Usually, this can beformalised as a mission statement or designbrief.

2. Select data collection methodes) to be used.Basically, data can be obtained fromsecondary and primary sources. Secondarydata helps define the background but itdoes not help solve the specific problem athand. Library research can help byproviding some form of publishedinformation e.g. published reports. On theother hand, primary data is collected tosolve a specific problem at hand. Datacollection techniques cover: surveyresearch, interviews, observational researchand experimentation. Our scope would nowbe narrowed to customer survey research.There are two types:

(a) Qualitative research is exploratory andlargely judgemental. One seeks to find outcustomers' judgements and opinions ontheir needs and how current productssatisfY these needs. It identifies the mainfeatures of customer needs andexpectations. It gives coverage to a widebreadth of issues and can study in-depth

customers' perceptions of products in amarket. Qualitative research is, however,limited to small sample sizes andconsequently provides only a 'snapshot' oflikely market response. Qualitative researchcan be conducted on either a one-to-onebasis or in small groups (focused groups)comprising of about 5-10 people.

(b) Quantitative research is more specific,precise and a more quantified estimate ofhow customers are likely to respond to aproposed new product. This method asks asmall number of specific questions to alarge number of people. It seeksquantitative estimates of market response;what proposition of the market perceive aparticular market need? What percentagewould pay extra for added features and howmuch extra? Either face-to-face interviews,e-mail, telephone etc. can be used to elicitinformation from customers and this sticksrigidly to a carefully devised questionnaire.

Both methods often use questions, which arephrased in leading ways, and offer a range ofalternative answers. This helps to structure thedata analysis and interpret the results. Closedquestions are also used to get the opinion ofcustomers. Another alternative is to use theAttitude scaling method e.g. the Likert scale.This asks customers to express their attitude ona scale provided to them either verbally or onpaper.

3. Select sampling method to be used-identifY targets market sector (age, sex,income, occupation etc.) and sample size.

4. Develop an analysis plan - this involvesspecifYing the data that will be reportedtogether with selection of statisticalprocedures that will be employed inanalysing the results.

5. Data collection.

6. Data analysis - how the collected data willbe processed. This can involve simpletabulation, calculation of summarising andcross tabulation.

7. Research reporting - how results are to beinterpreted and translated into decisions.

Why market research?Holloway and Plant said, 'unless we know whatour customers want, we cannot be certain thatthe products we produce will appeal to them.'(1989: 53) If the products are not selling, adesigner needs to know whether this could be aresult of economic slow down affecting allproducts or if customers are switching theirattention to other competitors' products. Ineach case, a designer should have a differentmarketing plan to respond to the challenge. It

is important that the student designer fullyunderstands the customers' behaviour, that is,who buys what, when, where and why? Wright(1989: 19) classified the customer behaviour asfollows, 'what the customer wants now, howthese requirements are likely to change infuture; and what can be done to influencecurrent future customer perceptions.'

Market research helps to determine howdesigners' products compare with those of theircompetitors. That is, it assesses thecompetitor's product vis-a-vis the customersi.e. perceptions about it and against their ownproduct. The student designer would have theopportunity to find out the competitor pricesand this will help him determine how much hecould sell his product for. Furthermore,research is designed to help the studentdesigner to understand the nature of themarketplace in which he operates, includingunderstanding his suppliers, retailers,competitors and customers. This provides thestudent designer with factual data about what ishappening in the marketplace and its size.

It can actually reduce costs by first determiningthe number of people who want to purchase aproduct at a certain price level, studentdesigners can plan their efforts toaccommodate that demand. In doing so, theyeliminate as much waste as possible thusbecoming cost effective and making largerprofits (or compete more effectively againstcompetitors). It is better for a student designerto do this than to produce what he hopes willbe the demand and then find that there aremassive surpluses of unsold items. Ifstudentdesigners manufacture products whichmismatch the market, then, the resources willhave been wasted.

Market research also establishes whatcustomers need or want in the new product andthe student designer will be in a good positionto draw down the product specifications, thusestablishing unique features for the customer.Using this information, the student designercould come up with a unique superior product:a differentiated product that delivers benefitsand superior value to the customer. Productsuperiority - delivering unique benefits andproduct value to users - separates winners fromlosers. That product advantage, superiority, ordifferentiation is the key determinant ofsuccess. Obviously the product would meetcustomer needs better than the competitor'sproducts.

Cooper said,

'A strong market orientation - a marketdriven and customer-focused new productprocesses - IS critical to success. Athorough undcrstanding of customers'

necds and wants, the competition situation,and the nature of the market is an essentialcomponent of new product success.' (1993:77)

In support of the above-echoed sentiments,Friedman quoted Moller saying,

'In design, as in any problem-solvingprocess, it pays to analyse the problembcfore creating the solution. It is better touse 10% of the resources to find out how touse the remaining 90% properly than to use100% of the rcsources thc wrong way.'(1997: 9)

Another point worth noting is that awareness ofthe competition is another good aspect ofmarketing. Knowing the competition can helpto identifY market gaps and enter the market atthe right time with superior or unique products.Axion Group (2000) confirm that marketresearch 'defines key strategic focus tocapitalise on competitive weakness, emergingmarket trends, and unmet customer needs.'

To conclude the section, the DetermineTechnology Needs group (2000) identified thefollowing as some of the areas, which wouldlead to a customer satisfaction if marketresearch has been undertaken;

'Lower prices, bettcr quality, faster dclivery.new featurcs, easier to use, moreacsthetically pleasing, better service, easierto purchasc, bcttcr upgrades, more customertraining, more cconomical to operate, moreenvironmentally friendly and great energyefficiency.'

Variables affecting human needsand wantsWe live in a society orientated to increasingmaterial consumption. We tend to discover newwants or needs as soon as the existing ones aresatisfied. Need is defined as 'that is essential tolife' whereas want is defined 'indicatessomething we would like but which is oftenoutside our current purchasing power.' (Leaderand Kyritsis, 1990: 23) However, there is acomplex set of motives influencing most of theproducts we buy. Obviously, there are variableswhich affect human needs and wants. It is oftenimpossible to develop a product, which will beequally appealing or satisfYing to all consumerswithin a large market. In support of the latterstatement, Whiteley cautions that, 'a productbroadly aimed at an undefined mass is likely tofail because it does not satisfY any particulargroup or segment of the market.' (1993: 19)This is due to the fact that consumers may buydifferent goods according to their sex, age,group, income, occupation or even geographiclocation. It should, therefore, be evident thatstudent designers should attempt to develop

products to satisfy specific groups ofcustomers or a specific but large enough groupof people showing similar characteristics andexpectations may therefore be selected as the'target market.' A series of criteria are neededwhich would enable the student designer todivide the market into small groups. Thisprocess brings forward the concept of marketsegmentation. Wright defined marketsegmentation as 'splitting of the total marketinto identifiable groups that behave differentlyin regard to the product.' (1998: 54) Inadvocating for the latter statement, Cooper(1993: 236) described market segmentation as'the delineation of groups or clusters of groupsor clusters of people within a market such thatthere is relative homogeneity within each groupand heterogeneity between groups'.

However, knowledge of market segmentationcan be invaluable to student designers onidentifying ways of improving existingproducts or in enabling them to designcompletely new or modified products. Marketsegmentation can be classified as follows:

I. Demographic segmentationThis method of segmentation uses people'scharacteristics or sociological variables such assex (male/female), age, income, occupation,race, social class, religion, size of the familyand the stage of family life cycle i.e. youngsingle, adult single, married with no children,married with children.

2. State of mindThis variable is also called psycho-graphic orpersonality segmentation. According toCooper, it 'describes potential customers'attitudes, values and lifestyles.' (1993: 37) Itfocuses much on psychological measurements.Leader and Kyritsis observed that,

'Using such personality variables asautonomy, compulsiveness, gregariousness,conservation and ambition segments themarket. This form of segmentation arose asa result of discovering that buyers' needsmay often be differentiated along life-styleor personality lines. Thus, there are buyerswho arc fast livers seeking up to date and'orlatest trend purchases; and buyers who seekordinary, unfrilled goods that do their job.'(1990: 53)

Each type is a different segment, to which adifferent product can be targeted.

3. Buyer behaviourAlso referred to as product usage. This variableinvolves some of the following:

loyalty - some customers are loyal to one'sdesigns, some are loyal to a competitors'and some move back and forth - they need

three different strategies to capture theirinterest to the product

usage - the amount that different peoplebuy and use the product.

Wright summarised these variables as follows:

purchase occasion - regular, special

benefits sought - quality, service, economy

user status - non-user, ex-user, potentialuser, first time user, regular user

usage rate - quantified or light, medium,heavy

awareness - unaware, aware, informed,interested, desirous, intending to buy

attitude to product - enthusiastic, positive,indifferent, negative, hostile. (1998: 55)

4. GeographicThis is the method that uses geographiclocations such as countries, regions, counties,cities, suburbs, rural areas, population densityetc. as a means of division. Climate may alsobe used where there are distinct differences inclimate within a market. Climate also affectswhat customers purchase.

5. Benefit segmentationPerhaps the most useful method ofsegmentation for use with a new product isbenefit segmentation. It recognises that peoplehave different reasons and motivations forbuying a product, and therefore they seekdifferent packages of benefits. For example,when purchasing a new car, some people arelooking for basic transportation - a reliable,practical, low cost, safe car. Others seek aprestigious high performance car loaded withcreative comforts. Using this approach, thetarget market defines the benefits that must bebuilt into the new product. Usually, thesebenefits can be translated into specific productfeatures, which aid the product design process.

When formulating questionnaires orconducting interviews, the student designershould know what kind of information theywant from the customer/user. The followingsection attempts to shape the content ofquestionnaires to be designed.

Criteria for market selectionWhat are the criteria for selecting the targetmarket and product concept from among thelist of options discussed above? The followingare some of the criterion a student designer canuse when developing a product.

1. Segment attractiveness - A studentdesigner should consider which segment isthe most attractive in terms of its marketsize, growth and future potential.

2. Competitive situation - In which segmentis the competition the least, the weakest orthe most vulnerable?

3. Fit - Where is the best fit between theneeds, wants and preferences of eachsegment and the benefits, features, andtechnological possibilities to the designer'sproduct?

4. Ease of access - Which of the segments isthe easiest for the student designer to reachin his selling effort, distribution channelsetc.

5. Relative advantage - In which segmentdoes the student designer have the greatestadvantage over competitors in terms ofproduct features and benefits, as well asother facets of his entry strategy? A studentdesigner should note that 'fit' and 'easeaccess' are not enough, they suggest mereadequacy. They must also look for areas inwhich there is a strong likelihood ofoutdoing competitors.

6. Profitability - It all boils down to profits!In which segment is the student designermost likely to meet sales and profitsobjectively?

Information from the above section can beanalysed and subsequently a concrete designbrief can be drawn up. Data can also besummarised and presented in graphs, chartsetc.

Why do products fail in the market place?The following are some of the reasons whyproducts fail in the market:

I. Lack of market research, most studentdesigners often move directly from an ideainto full-fledged development effort. In thiscase Whiteley quoted Lippincott explainingthat,

, ... no product. however well its aestheticfunctions arc fulfilled may be termed agood example of industrial design unless itmeets the acid test of high sales throughpublic acceptance. Good industrial designmeans mass acceptance. No matter howbeautiful a product may be, if it does notmeet this test, the designer has failed of hispurpose.' (1993: 17)

2. Inadequate market analysis.

3. Failure to spend time and money on the up-front steps (market research).

4. This situation in point number 3 is madeworse by generally poor knowledge ofdesigners concerning the broadcircumstances of life and work outside thenarrow frame of design. This is rooted inthe lack of education for the theoretical

complexity of the design task. The result isthat many design projects fail to achieveappropriate goals.

5. Poor marketing research - a lack ofthoroughness in identifying real needs inthe market place or spotting early signs ofcompetitors girding up to take theoffensive, are often the findings of a newproduct post-mortem. (Cooper, 1993: 20)

6. Technical problems - the most commoncause of new product failure is technicalproblems in the design and production.Failure to conduct thorough technicalresearch sometimes stems from failure tounderstand the customer requirements.Some designers term this a 'technical dog',that is, the product simply doesn't work orfalls short of performance requirements.The product is a replete with deficiencies:errors of omission (poor quality ofexecution) etc.

7. The better 'mousetrap' that nobodywanted. This is a technology drivenproduct and the product is conceived anddeveloped internally with little attentionpaid to the real needs and wants of themarket place. It is carried away in thebelief that they have a better mousetrap andthat the world will beat a path to their door,without checking their assumption aboutthe market and the customer's needs. Goodexamples of such products include theintroduction of the IBM's first homecomputer the PC Junior in the 1980s. Itwas wrong for the market, and this misfirecost IBM $100 million. Another example isthe Sinclair C5 electric car; its failureoriginated from complete lack ofinvestigation and understanding of the userneed situation.

8. The 'me too' product meets a competitivebrick wall. The project is usually initiatedwhen a successful competitive product isobserved. The cry goes out 'we have tohave one too.' The strategy is to develop aproduct remarkably similar (copycatproduct) to the competitor's in the mistakenbelief that simply being in the market willbring a 'fair share' of sales. Once a producthits the market, sales fall belowexpectations. Designers suddenly discoverthat their own offering is identical infeatures and prices to that of an entrenchedcompetitor and thus the product hits thecompetitor brick wall. The customer has noreason to switch. Student designers need tolearn that gaining a fair share of the marketmust be earned and the product must bethere and be better (productdifferentiation).

9. Price crunch - The new product's price istoo high. Then very few customers wouldmanage to buy such a product.

All in all, if these deficiencies are corrected, itdoes not stand to reason that success will bethe result. For example, if WolverhamptonFootball Club fixes everything it does wrong, itdoesn't necessarily mean they will win thegame! That is, market research cannotguarantee success, but it does help reduce therisk and offer better prospects of success.

ConclusionAs already highlighted in this paper, it isimportant for student designers to carry outmarket research to find out the needs andwants of the customers before engaging in anymeaningful product development. If this stageis omitted, it could lead to a productperforming chaotically in the market place.This does not guarantee success but iteliminates and controls the risk that the studentdesigner could run into. Manufacturingproducts, which mismatch the market, is awaste of resources which could have been usedin a more productive manner. It is importantfor student designers to target a certain marketwhen designing their products becauseindividuals have different interests and motivesfor buying products. For example, there mightbe differences in buying behaviour of men ascompared to women in relation to a certainproduct. To find out such buyer behaviour, it isnecessary for student designers to undertake asystematic market research of which aproposed structure has been discussed in thisarticle.

In contrast, a former leading figure in designAkio Morita (Sony Chairman) believed marketresearch is the enemy of successful design.Morita produced the Sony Walkman cassetteplayer and it became a phenomenal successdespite objections from the marketingdepartment that the product would fail. It is nottrue that market research is an enemy ofsuccess; Morita relied very much on vagueneeds. These are unexpressed, undefined needs.These are needs we know there are there, butcannot define or pin down because the need isso variable. The products, which are inventedto fulfil vague needs such as the Walkmancassette player, rely very much on inspirationand intuition. Furthermore, Sony invented thevideocassette recorder using the same strategyand it too was a success. At the other end ofthe scale, the Sinclair C5 electric car originatedfrom a lack of investigation and understandingof the user need situation, and consequently itfailed.

Many designers now think market researchshould never be allowed to become a decisionsubstitute. The best it can do is to provide

decision support. In the final analysis, the keyfactor must be the adventurous studentdesigner's judgement.

In conclusion, market research is not only apart of the design process, it also helps developbroad life skills, and benefits students inwhatever area they would subsequently operate.Not all students are gifted in both practical andintellectual skills, if a student conducts his/hermarket research well and produces a poorproduct, that student should be rewarded wellfor the research part. As part of the general lifeskill, that student might end up being asuccessful market researcher. The currentassessment methods inadequately address thisarea. This obviously, calls for new assessmentmethods.

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