RESEARCH METHOD • SYNTHESIS / ANALYSIS TECHNIQUE

52 LadderingImage

Use laddering to reveal the connection between a product’s obvious physical characteristics and the deeper, more profound personal values that it reinforces in a customer’s life.1

Laddering is a one-on-one interviewing technique that helps researchers make explicit connections between product attributes, the benefits and consequences of using a product, and the personal values the product reinforces.2 Laddering builds on Means–End Theory, which posits that people make purchasing decisions based on consequences afforded by using the product, and that each consequence reinforces an underlying ...

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