Behavioral, Non-Conscious, Implicit & Emotion

Deep Thoughts humorist Jack Handey once noted “The face of a child can say it all, especially the mouth part of the face.”

Of course, he probably didn’t have access to methodologies and tools that recognize and interpret patterns in facial expressions, eye movements, physiological reactions, brain activity, intonation, and more complex behaviors, like online activity or shopping and purchasing. A researcher who misses these cues is like a detective who focuses on depositions without considering physical evidence: you might get lucky and find the whole truth and nothing but the truth, but probably not.

For marketers and designers, this “truth gap” is critically important. If you can accurately predict how people will feel and what they will do under certain conditions, you can optimize customer and user experiences and nudge them toward behaviors that result in sales. Do they really like the taste or are they just being polite? Are they really going to vote for the more socially acceptable candidate or do they think that’s what you want to hear? Do the images in your ad or on your website create excitement or is that anxiety you detect? Can people accurately recall each step they took on their last journey or do they tend to overlook potentially pivotal details?

Behavioral research, including biometrics and neuroscience, can fill these gaps, and advances in technology make it more accessible than ever. The latest GRIT Report shows that non-conscious methods remain among the least adopted by individual insights professionals. However, overall interest is strong, and usage is rising among those who specialize in data and analytics and, perhaps most tellingly, technology providers. Barriers to using these methods are falling because the industry recognizes more opportunities to apply them and technology providers are addressing more use cases while reducing the learning curve.

For example, some providers have solved the issue of getting devices such as eye trackers or wearables into the hands of research participants by creating their own panels furnished with proprietary equipment; others leverage the participants’ own webcams or smartphones. Some offer DIY platforms that integrate different methods, such as eye tracking and facial coding, as well as data collection and analysis. Other platforms let you import data and analyze it from a behavioral perspective, such as CRM, social media, or call center activity. Perhaps most importantly, years of experience and advances in analytics such as emotion AI bridge the gap between observing behavior and empathizing with the participant.

Technology for behavioral research may be more appropriate for you and more accessible than you think. Of course, if you are responsible for activities that depend on visual appeal, such as advertising, packaging, or web design, behavioral research is a necessity. In fact, if your work touches any aspect of CX or UX, you’ll want to know exactly how the various minds and bodies in your market respond to your work and how it makes them feel.

If you are involved with guiding prospects along their paths to purchase, you’ll definitely want to see the latest in how to track and interpret these activities and experiences. Actually, anyone involved in insights work should be interested because new opportunities to apply behavioral methods emerge whenever technology knocks down a barrier to using them!

The latest GRIT Report also suggests that biometrics, neuroscience, facial coding, and eye tracking are becoming more integrated into qualitative work and adopted by more physical research facilities. If you are a research supplier or a buyer-side qualitative researcher, you’ll want to learn more about how to leverage behavioral methods within focus groups, IDIs, IHUTs, taste tests, and more.