Live from #TMRE13: Trend Spotting: Trends that Define a More Discerning Consumerism

How awesome would it be to work in the liquor industry and have the word "Vodka" in your job title? Well Janu Lakshmanan, Head of Global Vodka Consumer Insights for Beam, does exactly that. 

Based on her presentation, it was easy to see how passionate she is about her job (and who wouldn't be?) and how hard her team has worked on figuring out the 5 current trends in the vodka industry. 

1) Think Global, Get Local - People have started to care about where their food/drink comes from. Chipotle is a company that does a great job with emphasizing that it only uses local ingredients.

2) Maximized Moments - This is all about taking things to the next level and enhancing the overall experience. Heineken put a chip in their beer bottles that would light up based on the energy in the room (for example, it would light up to the beat of the music).

3) Collaborative Lifestyles - There is something special about sharing and making the world a better place. Lyft is a car service program where people offer rides in their personal cars to create an interactive experience of helping out others, while getting the chance to meet new people. 

4) Synthesthesia - Engaging all of your senses to make the overall experience better. Salta is a beer company that wanted to tie together Rugby and beer by having vending machines that men have to tackle, and based on the strength, the machine gives out bottles of Salta beer. 

5) Made for One - Customized just for you. CustomMade is a company that can make anything (from tables to toothbrushes) custom made.

I loved the presentation! Her passion and energy, as well as her use of creative examples, made this one of my favorites! 

Mayuri Joshi isResearch Magician at April Bell Research Group, a boutique, full-service marketing research firm, committed to delivering fresh insights you can act on! Learn more at aprilbellresearch.com.

Live from #TMRE13 - Experience Design: Key Steps to Delivering Customer Delight and Business Results

Lesley Mottia, Executive Vice President of Product & Experience at Zipcar, gave an extremely interesting presentation on the key steps companies should take to improve overall customer experience. Companies can follow these steps in order to find out what makes their customers happy and drive business results.

1) Be with your Customers - You get a completely different experience by actually being in person with your customers and observing their actions. Ethnographic experiences are much more valuable because you can see consumers' actions first-hand. CustomMade spent time with its customers in order to better connect with them. 

2) Imagine the Ideal - Instead of focusing on solving today's problems, imagine the overall picture of where you want to be years from now. Moo disrupted the business card segment by creating customized business cards to better suit the needs of small businesses. They came out with Printinfinity, which allows companies to print different images on the back of each card.

3) Design the Whole Experience - It is important to look at the overall user experience, instead of focusing on just one aspect of it. Zipcar had a problem with consumers being unable to locate their cars, so they added guides and location photos to make the overall process easier. 

4) Humanize the Details - Find a meaningful way to connect with consumers to make it a great personal interaction, whether it is online or offline. Warby Parker personalizes the experience of buying glasses online by sending you multiple frames to try on and giving you the opportunity to consult with their "social team" to receive input.

5) Recovery as Opportunity - When something goes wrong, make sure you act, and use it as an opportunity for a spotlight moment. Customers like when companies are able to bounce back quickly and treat it as a way to improve their business. 

6) Measure, Rinse, Repeat - Need to quantify how well the process is doing and decide what areas need improvement. This is the most important step of the process, in my mind, because companies should continuously be looking to improve their programs.

Mayuri Joshi isResearch Magician at April Bell Research Group, a boutique, full-service marketing research firm, committed to delivering fresh insights you can act on! Learn more at aprilbellresearch.com.