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It may be freezing in Moscow but I am feeling pretty happy right now. We are doing a pan European project on bathrooms and so I am here to listen to bathroom customers and suppliers. Not a subject I knew much about before but one in which I am rapidly becoming more expert.
The thing I so enjoy and about research, and why I have stuck with it, is you get these opportunities to explore new categories, places and people. As ever I am struck by how much more binds us than separates us as I listen to bathroom buyers across Europe talk about themselves and their homes and tell their bathroom purchase stories. It reminds me, sorry to get sentimental but it is 20 years since the wall came down, of the old Sting line “I hope the Russians love their children too” which I can assure you they do!
It is always good to get these moments, especially in tough times, when you can honestly say that our industry is both fun and interesting. For anyone with a basic curiosity about the people and the world around them, there is not another profession to rival it!
Steve Phillips
Steve is the Chief Happiness Officer of Spring Research. His work focuses on understanding consumer motivation and behaviour and he was instrumental in developing the Snakes & Ladders approach to exploring the purchase journey. This work won the ‘Best New Thinking’ award at the MRS Conference and also led to Spring winning the industries Innovation award. As part of the 38th Floor Group, Steve is also a partner in both MESH Planning and Tuned In Research.Recent Posts
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What a to-do about DIY
2-Sep-2010
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6% of people will say anything!
12-Jul-2010
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A nasty year in the US
17-Jun-2010
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So how is the upturn for you?
20-May-2010
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Poll Shock: 100% of Grandsons Talented
20-Apr-2010
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TNS and MESH win big!
30-Mar-2010
Readers' comments (5)
Shirish | 11-Nov-2009 8:14 pm
Hi
I had done a market research for sanitary ware and tiles 20 years ago of the similar kind in India so I know how you feel.
Shirish
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Steve Phillips | 12-Nov-2009 7:16 am
Shirish, isn't it great how interested you can get in a market you had never thought about before!
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Marc Staniford | 16-Nov-2009 8:39 pm
This reminds me of segmentation research I did on users of steam irons. A random household product I had never thought much about but ended up becoming very familiar with and learning so much about the ways people use them and think about them.
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Marketest | 25-Nov-2009 2:46 pm
Great quality of research, i wish I could travel for any of the project we run.
But online market research exists now...
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Salline | 2-Feb-2010 11:12 am
I hear you on the excitement that Research is - nothing opens your mind more than research....and to think how much little product features impacts the bottomline!
If anyone every thinks they are going to succeed without knowing what their target audiences think, they couldnt be more wrong - this is why research is growing this fast; and Thank goodness it is interesting...for what would we do with a boring yet growing industry!
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