--

303
Consumer panels
302 Denis Delmas, Dominique Levy

represents on average 86.4% of their milk purchases. It is also noted that this To illustrate these different situations, let us imagine three consumers, each of
loyal customer group is composed of light buyers of the category. them making six purchases within a given category and sharing their three
purchases equally between two brands (A and B).
Figure 12 Their buying patterns are as follows:
BRAND OF MILK -
1 A/A/A/B/B/B
BREAKDOWN OF CUSTOMERS BY SHARE OF REQUIREMENTS
2 A/B/B/A/A/B
50
NAP100
Share
Share
21.7
154.1
78.4
90.2
OAiNA
119.7
5.3
31.0
30
=ofof
50.4OAiNA
requirements
average
quantities
(100"10 28 Brand
"10
LLC) L in L 26 Lin L
Category 3 A+B / A+B / A+B / A+B / A+B / A+B
3320
52 8.1
67.7 L L
loyal
(10.0)
(25.2)
(15.3)
Share of

June 1996 to May 1997
Through this example we measure how relative the notion of loyalty is.
Depending on the richness of the universe of competitors considered, the
share of requirements recorded for the same brand will vary enormously and,
with it, the reading that will be obtained of the loyalty of its consumers. Take
the case of a brand of chocolate biscuits. The share of requirements varies
from 5% to 25% according to whether it is calculated on the basis of the whole
category of biscuits or on the basis of the category of chocolate biscuits. A
poor definition of the universe of competition (overmuch or insufficiently
large) can lead to important errors of interpretation of the performance of the
brand.
The first consumer may be considered as a lost consumer for A: he has chosen
B. The last does not see the necessity to choose between A and B, both of
which he is buying regularly. Only the second buyer seems to make a genuine
choice between the two brands at every purchase and he really puts them in a
competitive situation. It can be seen here that the concept of mixture or share
of requirements cannot be sufficient to distinguish between those three buyers.
To do this, we have to analyse their purchasing patterns.
This is the objective of competition studies, also referred to as studies of brand
switching, which analyse the purchasing patterns of each household to
measure the intensity of exchanges between brands and to arrive at a
representation of the categories (usually in the form of a map) which showS in
visual form the proximities thus measured.
Figure 13 is about the toothpaste market in France, where most brands (A, B,
e, D, E, F, G) present several varieties corresponding to consumers' needs
(anti-tartar, special gums, 2 in 1, etc.). The question here is to find out if the
consumers go from one brand to another choosing the same variety or if they
circulate between varieties within the same brand.
Figure 13
PROXIMITY OF PURCHASES OF VARIETIES

Who are my competitors?

The definition of the universe of competition for a brand is a decisive element
for understanding that brand and the formation of its strategy.
An initial idea of the nature of a product's competitors can be obtained
through studying the 'Ylixture of purchases (cf our earlier discussion about the
category). But a high degree of mixture may signify either an alternation of
purchases between two brands (i.e. at each purchase ~he consumer decides
between two products), or a radical conversion from one brand to another one,
or again a strong coincidence of purchasing between two products (which will
suggest complementary purchasing rather than competition). 1996
304 Denis Delmas, Dominique Levy

The competition study shows that this universe is more organised by brand
(since there are strong proximities between varieties of the same brand), with
--- - Consumer panels

By combining competition and transfer studies, we can start to determine a

referential universe in which (with the help of the transfer measures), the most
305

the exception of the two in one varieties, which seem to be a segment in dangerous competitors can be identified.
themselves.
Customer and competition studies enable us to place the brand within its
A competition study will enable us to understand which products in the category, to understand who the consumers are and how the purchases are
category the brand is compared with by its buyers. The study focuses on the organised. They allow us to identify a number of marketing activities (policies
process of choice between brands, but it does not quantify the volumes lost or for range, price, promotional activity) of which we will try to understand the
gained by one brand to the loss or profit of another one. operation and to measure the impact.
If we wish to quantify exchanges between brands in terms of volume, we will
The variations of the mix
use a study of transfer. This study will separate out, household by household,
the trend of the volumes of a brand consumed between two periods. This The first objective of analysing the variables of the mix is to adapt the offer to
decomposition will be in terms of: consumers. Once it is understood who our consumer is and what he is buying,
the next task is to try to find out how he is buying.
o 'retained' volumes, that is where identical volumes are consumed by the
household during period 1 and period 2 Is the formulation especially important for him? Is he particularly sensitive to
o purchase variations: increase or decrease of the consumption of a brand promotions? How important is the price in his selection process?
without any modification of the consumption of the other brands in the The analysis of the panel will permit us to:
UnIverse
o identify the problems (failure of recruitment, insufficient share of
o gains and losses from the competition: from which will be identified the requirements among heavy buyers, weakness of penetration among
transfers (positive or negative) to each brand in the universe. households with children, insufficient frequency, strong competition with
The example in Figure 14 refers to a brand of mayonnaise, for which the gain low priced brands, etc.)
in volume between two years (+2,500 litres) arises 20% from a positive o improve our understanding of the mechanisms which bring this situation
change in its consumption, and 80% (= 2,000 litres) from transfers from about (the heavy buyers are essentially buyers of large pack sizes, and my
competitive brands. These 2,000 litres are the balance of gains from other brand does not offer any; on the other hand, the failure in recruitment can
national brands, and moderate losses to distributors' and premium price come from the lack of a trial pack in the range)
brands. It can be seen that 60% of the volumes gained are at the expense of o propose actions
brand B, the market leader. o me~sure their impact.
Figure 14 The establishment of a formulation policy proceeds through the analysis of the
COLD SAUCES AND MAYONNAISES: BRAND A
customer base (penetration, profiles) of the different existing formats and of
the buying behaviour related to them (comparative frequency of purchase of
Bdcnceof Duetoc:hcng3s in Duetocomr:Bition
trens fers t:etv.een oonsumpion
the different formats). This procedure next concentrates on the analysis of
T 1 a'dT 2
2800 QA/purchase occasion (quantities bought per purchase). Depending on the
2500
60%Bra'dB problem identified and the targeted population, one will look for the most
40%Bra'dC
suitable format to propose: trial format, format adapted for heavy consumers,
format adapted to the socio-demographic characteristics of the population
500
targeted.
65%MDD The analysis of QA/purchase occasion is also useful for defining promotional
36% Other B rmet
packages. If we offer a 'three for two', what is the duration of consumption of
-800
an average household in relation to it? What proportion of consumers do we
exclude with a quantity that is too large?
T1: November 1992 - October 1993; T2 November 1993 - October 1994; volume in tons
r-~...----------------"'--'r
306 Denis Delmas, Dominique Levy
----
With the introduction of a promotional activity, the buying frequencies and
their distributions are also analysed, whether to fix an optimal promotional
cycle or to fix the number of 'eligible' purchases in the case of a promotional
mechanism based on repetition.
It is also common practice to produce information on the promotional
conditions in which a purchase is made. We can capture certain types of
promotion (coupons, game gifts) in the records of the panel members. We can
also note special formats (bonus packs, 'giraffe', sets, three for two, etc.). In
these two cases, we have the ability to isolate purchases made under
promotional conditions. This information is used mainly in two ways.
o The record of purchases made under promotional conditions is used
primarily to measure the impact of these activities. If these are effectively
identifiable, and sufficiently widespread, or of long enough duration, to
obtain a satisfactory number of observations, we will be able to treat the
promotional format as a new 'product'. If we apply to it the investigative
methods used for the analysis of new products, it will be possible to identify
the buyers of the offer (are they already buyers of the brand? From which
competitive brand are they coming?) and we will be able to follow their
behaviour beyond the promotional purchase (do they go back to their
original brand? Does their loyalty to the brand increase? Where there are
combinations or bonus packs, how does the interval between two purchases
of the category develop?). This type of analysis is only possible if the
method of collection is appropriate, and if the penetration and frequency of
purchasing are sufficiently high to permit robust analysis.
o Apart from this, we will try to validate the existence of a specific customer
base for promotional offers and, should we find one, to characterise it. The
logic of this analysis is to consider the promotional offer as a whole and to
treat it as a brand, observing its penetration (what percentage of buyers of
the market are making at least one promotional purchase), its QAlNA and
QA/purchasing occasion, the frequency of promotional purchases made and
the share of requirements of the promotion. It is this last indicator which
will enable us to validate whether there really exists a customer base loyal to
the promotion, which can be studied in terms of profile and consumption
(are they heavy or light buyers of the category, what brand(s) do they
prefer?).
Some categories are subjected to particularly intense promotional support
(especially food or household product categories). In these cases, it is essential
to discover if the purchases made under a promotion are so made by all the
buyers in equivalent proportions, or if we can discern a special population of
buyers 'in promotion', which goes from one brand to another depending on
the promotional offers. If this is the case, it means that the diminution or
ending of promotional support for a brand is highly likely to show itself in an
important loss of buyers and/or a significant fall in loyalty. The evaluation of
Consumer panels · 307
this risk is improved by studying the proportion of buyers attached to the
promotion within the customer base of the brand and its development.
Another essential variable in the mix of which consumer panels permit us to
improve our understanding is the price. When devel?ping a pri~ing policy, it
is essential to understand how consumers perceIve the pnce. Do they
systematically buy products located around the same price range, or, on the
contrary, do they go from one price level to another depending on the segment
of the market considered or on the occasion of buying? Does the price of a
product or a type of products change from one store to another?
To answer this question, consumer behaviour is analysed in terms of price
paid during a year. To do this, the purchases of a category, segment or brand
are segmented according to their price level. The behaviour of consumers is
then analysed in terms of their mixture of purchases in accordance with price
levels. The objective of this analysis is to draw a distinction among customers
between 'expensive buyers' (most of whose purchases are in the highest range
of prices), 'low price' buyers (most of whose purchases in the lowest range of
prices) and mixed buyers (who spread their purchasing across all price
ranges). If the market offer requires it, the population can be segmented into
more tightly defined groups (that is, defining a larger number of price ranges).
Where does this analysis lead?
First, we need to know how many and who are the 'expensive' buyers or
'cheap' buyers of a category, and what are their differences in terms of
characteristics or behaviour.
Next, if we wish to evaluate, for example, the potential of an up-market
positioning, it will be possible to analyse the proportion of 'expensive' buyers.
If this proportion is high, that means that a customer base for such an offer
(capable of buying it and being loyal to it) exists. If the proportion is low, that
means that it will be possible to reach a large number of buyers (expensive
and mix buyers), but it will be difficult to establish a loyal core of buyers if we
keep a mix at the top end of the price range, because the brand will only affect
a small part of the consumption of its buyers (an occasional and festive
consumption for example).
Depending on the category considered, the price will constitute an axis of
segmentation of the customers, and therefore of the market, which is more or
less relevant. If the price is a determining element in the buying behaviour of
consumers, the competitive universe of a brand will be mal up or bramb
with the same price level. In this case, a modification of the f '" p••..:.ewill
lead to an important disturba~ce for the C(~-.:;umcrand his cor lllive choice
Tt.!s means beth thqT we w:ll ut: "ble to us~ a s!fategy oased 0, -dce, but aha
that every repositioning of prices will generate a real risk of lo~ : ~)'.1~lers.
308
Denis Delmas, Dominique Levy
On the contrary, a market not, or not fully, segmented by price allows a
greater freedom in pricing, but requires positioning of the brand on
characteristics of the product other than the level of the price range.
Another important variable in the mix whose impact consumer panels can
contribute to evaluating is advertising.
The first approach to advertising effectiveness consists of looking at the
development of penetration and repeat buying against the investment in
advertising. This simple analysis aims to qualify the result of the advertising in
loyalty.of gaining buyers or of reinforcement of repeat buying and eventually
terms
Other more refined methodologies have been developed by numerous
institutes. Their objective is to establish the existence of an individual link (at
the household level) between exposure to advertising and buying behaviour.
Two types of methods exist.
The first consists of giving a questionnaire to the panel members targeting
their media habits (what newspapers they read, what are their habits in
listening to radio stations or TV channels). These questionnaires are
sufficiently detailed to allow the establishment, for each household in the
panel, of a probability of exposure to an advertising campaign. Groups of the
population are then set up according to their probable level of exposure, and
changes in their buying behaviour after the campaign are observed.
The second method, more sophisticated, consists of the fusion of the sample of
the consumer panel with an audience measurement panel. Each household of
the panel is matched with its 'twin' (in terms of characteristics) in the sample
of audience measurement (see Chapters 13.1 and 22). From this fusion, its
exposure to advertising is measured in terms of number of contacts. As
previously, groups are formed characterised by their level of exposure, and the
development of their consumption patterns is followed.
The example in Figure 15 shows the impact (measured after a fusion of
samples) of the level of TV exposure of the consumers (more or less than ten
contacts) on the development of the penetration of the advertised brand. It can
be seen that this recruitment was affected by the level of exposure.
These are some of the ways in which consumer panels can be used in the
management of a brand. Depending on the specific problems of each market
or product, numerous other possibilities for analysis exist. These which we
have chosen to mention are representative of the various types of investigation
and methodological options.
The case of new products
In the first months of the life of a product, we try to assess the situation, to
understand how the consumers reacted to its launch and to deduce predictive
elements of its future development.
- Consumer panels
Figure 15
TV EFFECTS
309
BRAND B: CUMULATIVE PENETRATIONS
5
4
3
2
o
December January February March April May
The upper line represents heavily exposed (more than ten TV contacts);
the lower line represents little or no exposure (none or one TV contact)
The initial procedure is to try to understand the formation of the customer base
and the sales volumes of our product, both in terms of quantities (how many
buyers did I reach? How many purchases did they make?) and in more
qualitative terms (who are they? What brand were they buying before? Which
competitor have I taken most sales from?).
Let us start with the customer study. We will use the classic indicators for
quantifying it (penetration per period, cumulated penetration), and the concept
of profiles to start to qualify it. Later repeat buying will be of interest, as soon
as the product has 'lived' long enough for this concept to be significant. If the
penetration (or trial rate) is an indicator of the capacity of the product to attract
consumers (on their faith in its mix), the repeat buying rate measures the
satisfaction of its consumers after usage.
A low trial rate can reveal a problem of distribution (if the consumer does not
find the product in the store, he cannot try it) of positioning, or of the mix
(product too expensive, vague promise, format ill adapted to trial) or of
visibility, (not enough advertising support compared with competitors,
insufficient space on the shelves).
If the trial rate is satisfactory and the repeat buying is still low , this is because
the product is failing to convince the buyers. This failure can result from a
discrepancy between the promise of the product and its actual reality, from a
problem of quality (which will cause the product to be disappointing), but also
from a lack of promotional support, or from a competitive launch.
 --
311
Consumer panels
310 Denis Delmas, Dominique Levy

To illustrate product launches, let us use the example of a brand of a packaged

sauce: in this case a new type of sauce, proposing a traditional recipe in a new
and upmarket version.
The first graph (Figure 16) shows us that the brand is benefiting from a
satisfactory and regular development of penetration, (the absolute level is
evaluated by comparison with the performances of established brands in the
- NEW SAUCE: PROPORTIONS

1%
Figure 17

OF TRIALISTS AND REPEAT BUYERS

1.5%

1.3%
1.1%

1%
1.4%

category in question), and a repeat buying rate that is good and rapidly 0.6%
0.5%
stabilised.
0.4%

Figure 16
NEW SAUCE
PENETRATION AND REPEAT BUYING CURVES
9505 9506 9507 9508 9509 9510 9511 9512 9513 9601 9602
% Rpt buyers 4. t% 31.5% 30.5% 40.9% 63.5% 54.4% 59.7% 79.5%
6 o Newbuyers 0 Repeatbuyers
5.6
5

11.2
4 NEW SAUCE: VOLUME SHARES DUE TO REPEAT BUYING
3

.3
o
9503 9504 9505 9506 9507 9508 9509 9510 9511 9512 9513 9601 9602
Repeat buying 2.4% 2.5% 23.4% 25.1% 28.4% 32.8% 31.7% 33.3%

I ~netration --Rpt pch

The upper line represents penetration; the lower line represents repeat purchases 9505 9506 9507 9508 9509 9510 9511 9512 9513 9601 9602
5.0% 3.7% 38.7% 30.6% 39.4% 61.0% 54.9% 66.1% 78.9%
% Rptpch

l
The proportion of repeat buyers in the total customer base is a sign of OQA Trial o QA Repeat Purchase

customer satisfaction, and as shown by the two graphs in Figure 17, this
reaches nearly 80% less than a month after the launch. The brand seems to
have a promising future.
To diagnose the situation of a brand that has just been launched, it is necessary
to understand how it establishes a position in the market, that is, how the
consumption of this new brand changes, for its buyers, their consumption of
the category and/or the brands composing the category. In the case of our
sauce, we can ask, for example, whether its innovative character has managed
to attract households which were not consumers of the category. It can also be
asked what proportion of the purchases devoted to this sauce are made in
addition to previous household consumption, and what proportion have been
made replacing purchases of other brands. If the purchases are replacements
for other brands, who are the competitors on whom the launch has had the
most impact?
Most of these questions can be answered by analysing the behaviour of the
new brand trialists before and after the trial. The method of this study is to
isolate the consumers trying the brand, and to observe their purchases of the
category during a certain period before the trial, and during the same period
after. The length of this period is determined according to the buying cycle of
the category, selecting a period long enough for the consumers to make (on
average) a significant number of purchases.
The objective of this study is to compare the purchases made by the
consumers before the trial with those they made after, so as to be able to
deduce the changes brought about by the introduction of the new brand. To
avoid attributing to the new product phenomena which have nothing to do
with it, a control group is established consisting of buyers of the category who
 313
Consumer panels
312 Denis Delmas, Dominique Levy

--
Figure 19
have not tried the new product, which is monitored in the same way. The
WHERE THE NEW SAUCE TRIALISTS COME FROM
results of the study will be read through the comparison of the developments
recorded between the two periods (before/after) in the two groups. 19.7
17.6
Let us return to the example of our new sauce (Figure 18). The first
conclusion is that only 57% of the consumers trying the new sauce had bought 25.7 34.6
another sauce during the sixteen weeks before the trial. Our new product
therefore manages to recruit new consumers for the category. The graph also 15
shows that 35% of the trialist consumers repeat the purchase, and that 40% of 22.4
them will buy a competitor's sauce in the sixteen weeks following the trial. 22.6
17.5
Figure 18 19.1 ::>.\:1

PURCHASE CHARACTERISTICS OF TRIALISTS OF NEW SAUCE BuyerS of New

Non buyerS of

57 -
5.5
QA/NA
7.3
7.1-
40
63 57
-
35 (.:3 - New Sauce
Sauce Before Trial

6.3 THE TRADE

The manufacturer's point of view

0% of households
buying per 100 Distribution, and advertiser/distributor relations, are becoming more and more
lrialisls of new
sauce important in the life of hrands and products. With its control of source of
purchase, the consumer panel is a precious tool in the solution of this prohlem.
Before After Before After Before After From this perspective, the principal contribution of the consumer panel is to
Total Category New Sauce Competition make possihle a good knowledge and nnderstanding of the characteristics of
the distrihntinn channels. What is the profile of the cnstomers of traditional
ontlets compared with ontlets of maSS distrihntion? What portion of the
The other part of this study consists of comparing the market shares of
competitive brands before and after the trial in the population of the trialist population huys io hoth channels at the same time? Which products are
buyers with the same market shares in the population of consumers who did purchased more io one type of outlet rather than the other? What is the
average frequency of the visit of a consumer to a hyperrnarket? A perfnme
not try the brand.
shop? A department store?
Figure 19 compares the market shares before the trial. It can be seen that our
When prodncts of masS consumption have their distrihotion concentrated in
new product seems particularly to harm brand B, from which come 35% of
mass-distribution outlets, the panel is a unique source of information about
our volumes, whereas its market share among the non-trying consumers is
named retail outlets, their customers, their potential for a brand or a product
only 26%. To confirm this hypothesis of a strong recruitment from brand B by
category, their areas of excellence (in terms of ranges or families of prodocts)
our product, we will make the same comparison for the period following the and their own label brands.
trial.
The analysis of customers of named retailers needs the same indicators and
The 'before' study tells us that the buyers of B have been seduced by our
investigative methods also used to understand customers of categories or
offer, in above average proportions. The 'after' study will show us whether, brands. We will refer to the penetration of a named store, the profile of its
after trial, they become consumers of the new product or whether they go back customers, their average spend in the named store (total, or on a specific
to brand B. In the absence of these last results, one could infer a strong
product category or hrand), the frequency of their visits or purchases of this or
provenance and therefore a closely similar perception of the two brands, but
that category, etc. In the same way, we will analyse the loyalty of customers to
one would not be able to prove cannibalisation and therefore a real closeness the named store, the mix between named stores, etc.
between the two brands.
 -
j14
Denis Delmas, Dominique Levy
Consumer panels 315
- .. - - - - - -- - - ------------..

The interest of a study of Customers of named retaders is two-fold. It allows Us

performance of the category in the store. This is known as category
to understand the specific features of named stores compared with others management.
(especially in terms of the potential number of coosumers attracted hy a
particular store) as well as identifying particular affiuities hetween the buyers If the distributor can be a partner with the manufacturer, he can also be his
similarity of profile). competitor, particularly through his activity of own label brands. In many
of a product or brand and the customers of a named retailer (that is, a
countries, the consumer panel is the only tool permitting a reading of the
performances of retailers' own brands. We are concerned here with
The second objective of 'retailer' analysis is to study the comparative information which is all the more important because it has contributed to the
performance of a brand betweeu one retailer and another. To s<art with, of strong development of retailers' brands over several years, and to the regular
course, the market share achieved by the product in each of the named
improvement of the quality of their mix. They are indeed becoming, in certain
retailers can he ohserved. The main use of this reading is to measure the cases, one of the principal competitors of national brands, and the
contribution of each store to the development of a brand, to observe relative understanding of their performance, retailer by retailer, is essential for
failures and to analyse them by decomposition according to the methods advertisers.
vary from
already one named
outlined. retailer
We can to another
see in Figure 20 how the performance of a brand can
Actually, and within the limits of acceptable significance, it is possible to
restrict the field of study to purchases made in a particular retailer or retail
Figure 20
type and to practice on these all the analyses of brands, their performance,
GROCERY MARKET their competitors, their mix, etc. In a perspective of increasing concentration
MARKET SHARE OF BRANDS BY RETAILER of the retail trade, already largely developed in certain countries, this
14 I , 13 possibility of working with the named retailer as a market on its own becomes
18 12
7 7' 17 a decisive tool for managing brands.
10 19
11 10 12
8 7' 12 17 o Variety 8 . The retailer's point of view
12 17
o Variety C
20

8
19

10
"7

17
8

18
11

11
(3
12
10 Variety DA I
o V,,;'"
o Variety E
I If, for a manufacturer, the knowledge and understanding of distribution are
becoming more and more essential aspects of the development of marketing
strategy, the retailer must also manage the marketing of his brand name. It is
8 I why he is often a buyer of consumer panels.
7 20 21
32 34 I°Others
OMDD+AM j
In this perspective, his use of the consumer panel will substantially resemble
27 32 9 11 (more and more) th({ use made of it by the manufacturer, but regarding the
15 store name as a brand. He will therefore use analyses very similar to those
-I -- -t- 14
1996 1997 -f-- ---..... -+----- ---+-- applied to products in order to improve his understanding of his customers and
1996 1997 '-j their behaviour.
Total France 1996 1997
Retailer A
Retailer 8 To manage his store brand, the retailer will follow the trend of its market
share, take an interest in its customer base, in their buying behaviour and its
competition with other stores. But whilst a manufacturer works with only a
The inforIrultion will enahle us to ,"entify priorities in terms of commercial few products in, at most, a few categories, the retailer's problem is essentially
and promotional activities. On the basis of these analyses are established the the management of the entire offering within his stores. His questions concern
operations kuown as retaU marketing, which consist of adapting the mix of a the whole of his product range together, or else tens of families of products
product (in tenus of range, formulations, prices, promotions) to the Particular grouped in ranges.
behaviour nf the Customers of a named retailer. It is also true that this
understanding of the particular situation of a category within a specific retailer The first objective of the retailer is to observe those families of products where
(enriched, if Possihle, with information provided from other sources such as he excels and, on the other hand, those in which his performance is low. The
performance of a named retailer is usually measured for a class of product by
the internal databases of the distrihutor or the results of store panels), Iruly
enable a manufacturer and a distributor to set up a partnership to optimise the the ratio: market share of the retailer in the class of product/market share of
'all products' of the retailer.
 317
316 Denis Delmas, Dominique Levy

Here is an example (Figure 21) of a French hypermarket chain for which the
-- Consumer panels

In this context, we can refer to the integration of information concerning

performance is different from one product range to another. advertising deliveries or media audiences, so as to arrive at an evaluation of
the impact of advertising campaigns. We are also seeing a collation and
Figure 21 integration of information coming from consumer panels and the databases
MARKET SHARE BY RETAILER A BY PRODUCT GROUP used in direct marketing (manufacturers' bases or mega databases). There too,
(VALUE) the objective is to optimise the effectiveness of direct marketing campaigns
and to measure their impact.
1$tweek 1997 Market share by 11/dexof
value Market share If these two examples lead to enrichment of the analyses bearing on the
1" wk.97 vs all products 97 behaviour and the reactions to the marketing activities of manufacturers,
All products
17.2 100.0 another approach is to explore consumers' attitudes, so as to understand better
PGC
17.6 102.3 the links existing between what they think of the markets and brands and their
Grocery
17.5 101.7 purchasing behavio~r.
Liquid
~ To do so, we must add to the panel a study similar to attitudes tracking.
Household 107.6
Hygienelbeauty 109.3
Consumers are questioned at regular intervals about brands (are they aware of
Fresh produce
95.3
them, do they like them, how do they judge them on a set of criteria, do they
Dairy
97.1 plan to buy them, etc.?) and these attitudinal elements are analysed together
Frozen 95.3 with their behaviour.
Catering
Delicatessen
In the same line of thinking, some institutes offer a characterisation of the
83.1
Butchers
households according to life style criteria, also used in the development of
90.7
Cheese
advertising positioning. The interest of this cross-analysis is to permit the
knowledge of the actual consumption of population groups qualified in terms
of attitudes, values, etc.
Once the retailer has identified the classes of 'problem' products, he will try to This continued enrichment of marketing information gives rise to an
understand his poor performance using, once again, the classical analysis increasing need for combining and synthesising the information. A certain
mechanisms: does my poor market share come from the 'quality' of my number of trials have already been conducted in this way, but are still
customers (are they light buyers of the category) or from an insufficient level incomplete. Total integration of the data about distribution, audience,
of loyalty? If this last point is decisive, one will try to discover which other measures of behaviour and of attitudes has never been realised. All hopes are
retailers the consumers are going to, whether they are buying other products in therefore permitted.
the category (which may not be on offer in the store concerned) or the same
products? If they are buying the same products, are they buying at the same
prices, under the same promotional conditions, etc. The answer to these
questions will lead the retailer to change his offer policy, in terms of range,
prices, promotions etc.

CONCLUSION
Consumer panels are, as we have seen, complete tools that permit a variety of
intelligent and relevant analyses. In the years to come, we expect to see the
further spread of their geographical coverage (especially in Asia and Eastern
Europe).
From a methodological point of view, the future lies in the enrichment of
consumer panels by the integration of other information, allowing cross-
analyses or new fields of application.