Can your Customer Really Tell You What They Like?

How do we understand what people truly enjoy? Especially when it comes to taste.  

When we ask people to self-report taste preferences, we run into issues. For example, you certainly would be able to tell that you cannot keep your hands off of a chocolate bar and would rather not be in a room that smells of fish. But can you really explain the nuances of preference from one chocolate bar to the next when the differences are subtle?

Diageo (a category leader in alcoholic beverages such as Guinness, Johnny Walker and Baileys) has set out on a mission to find which flavor of whiskey people enjoy and to bring those tastes to the die-hard whiskey-lovers and those yet to be convinced.

Using Vivanda's AI technology to analyze peoples’ taste preferences through an online, self-reported survey, customers get access to a personalized “FlavorPrint,” which is basically a taste palate overview. 

AdWeek explains how the AI works in their article: 

“The[se] answers are assessed against a huge proprietary database of foods and aromas, and the data is then used to give a digital representation of a person’s taste palate. Based on the findings, the company can recommend the exact flavors, or brands, that might appeal to someone.” – Rebecca Stewart, AdWeek

Diageo's acquired technology is innovative in our digital age where building a relationship with your customer has been put to the test as we navigate virtual socializing. In addition, personalized experiences for your customer are now the norm for companies trying to connect with their customer to drive future action with their brand.

“According to McKinsey, more than 70% of people now consider such tailored branded experiences as a basic expectation” - Rebecca Stewart for AdWeek. 

It’s easy to understand why brands believe they need technologies like Diageo's “What's Your Whiskey.” But marketers continue to struggle with example how to build a personalized experience to ingratiate their customers to their brand.  

To get closer to the answer here, we must understand what is going on with consumers psychologically. 

"What [people] consciously think and say about a specific product or content often conflicts with what their physiological data tells us," says Dr. Jorge Barraza in his new article about neuro forecasting for Psychology Today. 

Many behavioral studies show that people don't really know whether they are truly and thoroughly enjoying a product or piece of content. So can marketers really trust consumers’ opinion on taste preferences?

Surely, humans have been evolutionarily adapted to identify a taste or smell that might indicate edibility. But should we expect a person to accurately tell if they like the taste of cinnamon apple pie to the extent of “Yes Please” or “I Love It?” And what do these levels of enjoyment even mean for individuals? 

Considering that the psychological data often conflicts with people's self-reported opinions, can a few online questions accurately help the booze lovers and businesses to understand the person's taste palate better, and can we then consider the extensive database of people's responses as a reliable source? 

The many scientific studies about consumer behavior seem to disagree. 

So, wouldn't it be cool if we could have a look inside people's brains? Because brains don't lie. 

Thankfully, Immersion allows you to do just that! 

Through the Immersion platform, brands can connect directly with their customers to get deeper understanding than a self-reported survey. With Immersion, brands can understand what their customer truly values instead of what they say they like.

Immersion’s software measures customers' brains in real-time using only a smartwatch while they complete an experience imagining the taste of various foods or trying different flavors of Johnnie Walker whiskey at the visitor center in Edinburgh.

Immersion measurements can be conducted anywhere at any time with the portable app and smartwatch technology, allowing a seamless measurement experience with your customer.

Immersion allows marketers to understand their customers' true preferences. That is the secret to customer satisfaction and acing the “match-a-whiskey-to-customer” game. 

So, instead of asking your customer whether they like orange juice at the level of “Mmm Fresh!” or “Who Doesn't Love OJ?!” why don't we just see what their brains have to say about it? 

Ready to try it for yourself?

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