In today’s world, competition is all around us. Consumers have their pick at many similar brands, products, and services. How can you be sure you stand out in a crowd? With customer confusion research.
Customer or consumer confusion research is an effective methodology in answering this question that is asked by hundreds of organizations around the world. Whether you are a new or existing business, a consumer confusion study can help measure how your brand is recognized by your target audience.
Take for example a recent project completed by our national market research company. A restaurant located in Arizona has a direct competitor, both located across the street from one another. The restaurant partnered with Drive Research to interview consumers.
The consumer confusion interview asked questions such as:
- Are these restaurants affiliated with one another? (Shown logos of 6 restaurants)
- If yes, which brands do you think are affiliated with one another?
- Do you think [NAME OF SPONSOR] and [NAME OF COMPETITOR] are similar or different concepts?
- If you were looking to visit [NAME OF SPONSOR] for food and drinks, how likely would you be to mistakenly end up at [NAME OF COMPETITOR]?
- How do you make the decision on which restaurant(s) to visit?
Drive Research can complete a consumer confusion study for organizations in any industry. This type of methodology is not limited to restaurants. Learn more about this specific project background, methodology, approach, and results below.
Consumers have their pick at many similar brands, products, and services. How can you be sure you stand out in a crowd? With customer confusion research.
Project Background
Drive Research, who specializes in many industries including restaurant market research, was hired to conduct a consumer confusion study. The market research focused on whether there is confusion around the brand names of two restaurants in close proximity to one another. The consumer research measured and identified levels of confusion with the brand names of the restaurant sponsoring the study and their competitor located directly across the street.
Project Methodology
After understanding the restaurant’s main objectives for requesting a consumer confusion study, our market research company recommended conducting intercept interviews to collect feedback. Intercept interviews, also known as intercept surveys, are a great methodology for collecting in-the-moment feedback directly from target consumers.
Specifically for this consumer confusion study, intercept interviews were beneficial to help aid with participants understanding the setting, location, and atmosphere of both restaurants.
Learn more about the intercept interviewing process.
Approach to Consumer Confusion Research
The consumer confusion research was conducted on-site near both competing restaurant locations. Restaurant intercept surveys were completed via tablets using 4G connections to the survey link. Fieldwork for the survey began on Thursday, December 12, and lasted until Sunday, December 15, 2019.
The offline intercept surveys were conducted over four consecutive days during peak hours identified by the restaurant.
Utilizing two interviewers over the four days, the interviewing hours totaled 48. The shifts identified by the client were:
- Thursday 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- Friday 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.
- Saturday 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.
- Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The survey was administered through interviewing, rather than self-administration in which the consumer takes the tablet and completes the survey individually. Our customer confusion research company recommended this approach to ensure all questions and response options were thoroughly read and answered.
Intercept interviewers were thoroughly trained prior to fieldwork to ensure they were familiar with the script and adhered to industry best practices such as not revealing the research sponsor, reading questions and responses verbatim, and avoiding interview bias by not sharing personal opinions or comments outside of the language in the survey script.
Interviewers mentioned they worked for an independent market research company (Drive Research) to eliminate any affiliation with any restaurant or brand which might produce bias results.
Consumer Confusion Study Logistics
Typically with restaurant intercept surveys, there are a few characteristics of a consumer that would disqualify him or her from participating in the confusion research. For this project, respondents under age 18 were disqualified from participating in the intercept interviews.
Additionally, respondents who work or have someone in their household who works in an applicable industry as the client such as restaurants, advertising, marketing, PR, legal services, market research, and polling were also disqualified.
The consumer confusion intercept interview took an average of 3 minutes to complete and included 14 questions. The survey received 209 responses. With a probabilistic sample, a total of 209 responses at the 95% confidence level offers a 7% margin of error.
If the survey was conducted with another random pool of 209 consumers in this location, results would yield within +7% or -7% of the stated totals in the reports.
No reward or incentive was offered for respondents who completed in the intercept survey to avoid any likeability or reward-driven bias.
Results of the Consumer Confusion Research
After fieldwork for the consumer confusion research was completed at the restaurant, Drive Research delivered a topline summary of the findings and an online report link as requested by the client. Consumer confusion research reports can range from a brief overview of the findings to a more in-depth deliverable such as an executive summary, an infographic, a question-by-question appendix, and more.
The topline executive summary of findings from the intercept interviews provided an overview of consumer feedback to reveal key findings from the surveys. This feedback will help the restaurant understand how their brand and food is viewed from the minds of customers vs. the competing restaurant across the street.
In addition to the PDF report, the online report link was sent to the client. The online report link provided by our market research company is interactive. For example, by hovering over data in a chart, it will provide more detail. The user can also expand the open-ended responses to read each comment.
The data and information will ultimately assist the restaurant in creating marketing messaging to differentiate their brand and increase consumers choosing their eatery instead of the restaurant located directly across the street.
The exact results and findings from the consumer confusion research remain confidential with the restaurant. For more information regarding this study or how our consumer confusion research company can help your establishment, contact us today.
Drive Research is a national market research company located in New York. Our team has the knowledge and tools to design a robust consumer confusion study for organizations in any industry, serving any audience.
Interested in receiving a proposal or estimate for consumer confusion research? Reach out through any of the four ways below.
- Message us on our website
- Email us at [email protected]
- Call us at 888-725-DATA
- Text us at 315-303-2040