NEWS4 October 2012

TNS ‘re-engineers’ Conversion Model

UK

UK— TNS has today launched a “re-engineered” version of its Conversion Model tool for analysing customer commitment and loyalty.

In updating the 26-year-old original, TNS said it now focuses on two factors that are critical to the consumer decision-making process, ‘power in the mind’ and ‘power in the market’ – the former based on how people feel about a brand and the later based on the external factors that may prevent people buying the brands they want to.

Jan Hofmeyr (pictured), TNS’s head of behaviour change (and the main architect of the 1986 original Conversion Model) says: “When we look at the way in which people actually choose a brand, we see a number of factors at play which are never normally captured in brand tracking. With Conversion Model we can combine our insight into sliding customer spending within a category and the market factors that result in that slide, enabling our clients to fine-tune their marketing strategies for greater success.”


Case study: Waitrose

A TNS Conversion Model report prepared for Waitrose found the supermarket could see revenues reach £7.1bn by addressing the needs of consumers who would love to shop at a better-quality retailer, but who are unable to currently because of location and prices. If the brand adjusted its strategy to realise this, its market share could increase by a further 4.9% and take customers away from the four major rivals – Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons.

This report is based on an analysis of the difference between the commitment that people have to each retailer and its market share. To estimate commitment to each retailer at respondent level, TNS asked two brand rating questions, one looking at performance relative to needs and the other looking at emotional impact relative to goals and values. In this case, Waitrose currently has a 2.5% market share, while the average commitment to Waitrose is 7.3%. The fact that commitment is above market share means that there is a positive equity gap.

The latest Conversion Model identifies the core strengths that consumers identify in the brand. For Waitrose, these are: “Worth paying a bit more to shop there”, “Excellent customer service”, and “Cares about the environment”. When TNS sends its findings to the client, it will emphasise that a consumer’s commitment to Waitrose will increase if these attributes can be made more relevant to them.

It will then work with the client to think of messaging that could sell these attributes. Rosie Hawkins, global head of brand and communications at TNS, says: “Given what we now know about how the brain works, the most effective way to do this is to link these attributes to things that are important to people. If you’re going to win the brand share battle, you need to understand exactly where the opportunities exist and how to leverage them. Traditional approaches just don’t provide this level of precision. We’re not trying to be creatives, we’re just working with the client to identify what needs to change.”

Joe Fernandez

Brian Tarran

UK

@RESEARCH LIVE

1 Comment

Chris Robinson

12 years ago

This is no breakthrough. The old Stochastic Tracking Model back in the 80's postulated a different between Preference Share and Actual Share based on distribution and price issues. Also at any point in time in-store promotions will divert intended purchase. Don't see what this has added to the body of knowledge about consumer behaviour?

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