Laddering: Unlocking the Potential of Consumer Behavior

Contents

Preface

Chapter 1: History

Edward Bernays

The Problems of Production

The Opportunity

The Rise of Mass Media

Keeping Up with the Joneses

Product Was Tangible; Information Was Scarce

Population Was on the Rise

Customization and the “Experience Economy”

Chapter 2: The Need for Laddering

The Answer: Laddering Your Consumer

Laddering Is Continual Learning

Laddering Uncovers Relationship

Laddering Is Long Lasting

Laddering Establishes a Common Language

Laddering Uncovers Influence

The Need for Laddering the Consumer

Chapter 3: Laddering Defined

Laddering in a User-Centered World

Laddering Understands the Consumer’s Context

The Inadequacy of Focus Groups

You Cannot Use Online Surveys to Conduct True Laddering

Start with What You Already Know

Chapter 4: The Steps to Laddering

Step 1: Have a Broad Conversation

Step 2: Document Their Environment

Step 3: Talk to Enough Consumers Until You Have Talked to Enough Consumers

Step 4: Make Sure You Are Talking to the Right Person (or People)

Step 5: Keep Your Data and Your Information Clean

Step 6: Keep the Conversation on the Topic at Hand; Avoid Distractions

Step 7: Your Results Should Make Sense at a High Level

Chapter 5: Confirming and Fine-Tuning Your Ladders

Blue-Sky Brainstorming

Talk to the Expert—the Consumer—to Confirm the Clusters

Create Targeted Questions

Quantifying the Clusters

Listening to and Learning from the Clusters

The Importance of Transitional Clusters for Reach

Chapter 6: Latticing: Finding the Overlap in Ladders ...