When it comes to creating compelling insight, we are often limited by the information we have access to. You want to create a great story for your brand, but you just don’t have the data!
I’m here to tell you that there are plenty of places to get free information, which can help you bring your story to life.
Whether your insights budget is getting squeezed or you don’t have much to begin with, here are 8 free tools you should be using to create consumer insight on a budget:
1. Google Trends (trends.google.com)
Google Trends is a web-based tool to compare how often certain topics are being searched on Google. It’s a worldwide data set but you can filter it by country and find further insight on regional differences.
Ever since discovering Google Trends, I’ve experimented with so many ways to use it. Not only has it been useful as a tool to show brands or ingredients gaining popularity over time, but it’s been fun to see how often certain celebrities have been googled in line with TV appearances or news events.
Example: Looking at the interest over time of 'Veganism', you can see an unsurprising peak in searches in January.
Google Trends also tells us that the fastest rising topics related to 'veganism' are the fast-food launches such as KFC, Burger King and Greggs. However, the top related searches are for vegan recipes, vegan cake or vegan chocolate. If you have a brand or product that caters to any of these needs, you can see how the data could be utilised. Have a play yourself.
2. Office of National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)
The ONS has a wealth of information about the UK economy, trade and people. In addition to publishing key national facts including GDP, employment rates and census data, they also share the results of interesting ad-hoc surveys on topics that impact the lives of people across the UK.
Example: An article on one-person households was published in April 2019. This showed that the number of people living alone has increased by 16% between 1997 and 2017. Those living alone are less likely to own their own home and are typically spending a higher proportion of their income on housing costs including rent.
Given single-person households have a lower disposable income – are you providing them with suitable pack sizes that meet their needs and budgets?
3. Fullfact (fullfact.org)
You might be tempted to use a statistic you saw in the news or on social media to support your brand story. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with doing that, especially if you run it past Full Fact first.
Full Fact is the UK's independent fact checking charity, not only are they here to keep the papers using credible data sources, but their website can be used as a source for helpful data aswell.
Examples:
"There are more food banks in the UK than McDonalds restaurants" – Full Fact tells us this is true, and it's quite an alarming statistic for us to consider how to make groceries more affordable for struggling families.
"Health of poor British adults is now worse than it was for those who grew up in the Great Depression" - Full Fact tells us this is somewhat of a misleading headline. Whilst many people within the lower income brackets are suffering with ill health, it's important not to misuse information like this as it might weaken your argument rather than strengthen it.
4. GfK (gfk.com/insights)
Ever since the Brexit vote in 2016, GfK’s Consumer Confidence tracker has been reminding us that as a nation our spending confidence may be low, but it has remained above the levels it saw between 2008-2013.
Example: When Brexit day arrived in January 2020, people were feeling more positive about their own personal finances, however we were still anxious about the country’s wider economy.
5. Kantar Worldpanel (kantarworldpanel.com)
As the UK’s leading consumer panel, Kantar have become the most reliable indicator of the UK Grocery Market’s performance. Every four weeks Kantar update their free-to-access interactive Grocery Market Share charts and we can see the evolution as Aldi and Lidl creep up the chart.
It’s also worth taking a look at Kantar’s free-to-download insight reports, the latest of which include The UK’s most valuable new FMCG brands of 2019 and a useful overview of Online FMCG.
6. Mintel (mintel.com)
With a focus on global consumer and industry news and trends, there is so much useful information available from Mintel. Although many of their more detailed reports are available to purchase, Mintel also have a number of free articles and reports available on their site.
Example: In Mintel’s Global Household Trends 2030 report, they claim that “by 2025, products that do not claim to do better for the world in some way will fall by the wayside” and offer a few tips on the future of Sustainable Household products.
There are similar forward looking reports available for Food & Drink and Beauty & Personal Care.
7. Chat to people from different walks of life (anywhere, any time)
If you work in FMCG, there’s a good chance you’re in London or the South-East of England. You’re likely to be mixing with people of a similar income level and lifestyle to yourself, so when you ask people you know for feedback on your latest product idea, you’re not always getting the full picture.
Talking to people outside of your immediate social circle is a great way to get out of that bubble. Write down the questions you’d love to know the answer to and ask the people who can answer them. Think outside the box on where you can find the right people, and definitely step outside of London!
Example: I recently ran some research with value conscious shoppers in the Midlands. The topic of eco-friendly packaging came up and for many plastic pollution wasn’t even on their radar. Even recyclable packaging was a 'low priority' when shopping.
It’s not to say we shouldn’t try and be more environmentally conscious in our packaging choices, but it’s certainly a reminder that some people aren’t on that journey yet so we need to consider that when communicating to consumers.
8. If all else fails – Google is your friend! (Or Ask Jeeves, Bing or Duck Duck Go if you prefer)
Sometimes you’re looking for that perfect stat to include in a presentation, but you don’t know where to look. It might seem like an obvious solution; however, you can be pleasantly surprised by what is available in the public domain. Google is always a good starting point.
Not everything you read online is true, so be conscious of the source and don’t forget to include this wherever you use the information for future reference.
Example: When working on a pet food project, I wanted to find out the number of people likely to be in the category so I googled “how many households in the UK have a cat”…
As you can see, there’s a plethora of information available to you at no cost! If you don’t know where to start, make a list of the questions you’d like answered and see where these tools fit in.
Anything I’ve missed? I’d love to hear about the free tools and information you’ve been using to create great insight.
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