A Knowledge Management System for Bringing Consumers

into the Hearts and Minds of our People

K.S.Srinivasa Murty- Head of Knowledge Management

& B.V. Pradeep - Head of Market Research Hindustan Lever Limited , India

CONSUMER WINDOWSAn Overview

• A program to bring consumers into the hearts & minds of our people

What ?

How ?

Why ?• Changing consumers, so a need for a continuous &

stronger connect with them

• Increasing competition, hence the need for discovering & stimulating latent needs for enabling growth through innovations

• Provide many windows to explore all dimensions of change and their implications

• Develop insightful managers thru consumer immersion

CONSUMER WINDOWSThe Program Outline

Getting to know & understand our consumers

Getting sensitive to what makes consumers tick.

Getting a feel for our consumers

Getting to work alongwith our consumers

GETTING TO KNOW & UNDERSTAND OUR CONSUMERS

• Building Consumer Insights– Strategic Category Consumer

Understanding – Holistic Consumer Understanding

• Leveraging Consumer Insight– CAMERA : Consumer Research KM system– Consumer Connections Workshops

STRATEGIC MR STUDIES - HLL FRAMEWORKCATEGORY CONSUMER UNDERSTANDING

BARRIERS & TRIGGERS

HABITS & ATTITUDES

UNDERSTANDINGTHE

CONSUMER

CURRENTCONSUMER

NEEDS

UNDERSTANDING THE

PRODUCT

NEEDS SEGMENTATION

BRAND EQUITY / ARCHITECTURE

STUDIES

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION STUDIES

DELIGHTING THE CONSUMER

"IDEAL" "NEW DIMENSION'

OBSERVATION STUDIES

SENSORY LINKAGES

WHATS GOOD ___?

SENSORY & CONSUMERPREFERENCE MAPPING

STRATEGIC MR STUDIES - HLL FRAMEWORKHOLISTIC CONSUMER UNDERSTANDING

MEGATRENDS

YOUTH POWER

CONSUMEREMERGING

KINGEMPOWER-MENT OF URBANWOMAN

KIDSPESTER POWER TO DECISION MAKING

PARALLEL / SURROGATECATEGORY STUDIES

CROSS - CATEGORY STUDIES

DISCOVERING UNSTATED NEEDS

NAIVE OBSERVATION STUDIES

Proj 1: SHARE OF TIMEProj 2: SHOPPER STUDY

Proj 3: URBAN YOUNG WOMANProj 4: URBAN WORKING WOMANProj 5: URBAN ELITE

Proect : 6

* U/S KIDS * KID SIGHT PANEL

Project : 7

YOUTH TRENDS

Project : 8

LOW INCOME CONSUMER

RURALEL DORADO

EMERGINGCONSUMER NEEDS

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN MR

It is Sharing Consumer information, learnings & best practices across relevant teams / networks.

By developing, implementing & maintaining infrastructure in the area of following aspects

Systems - Hardware & Software : Enabler

Organisational Structures : Who will do it ?

Processes : How will it be done ?

STAGE 2 : CONSOLIDATION OF KEY FINDINGS

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN MR

STAGE 1 : SHARING INFORMATION

- Capturing electronically-all consumer information (MR Reports / Summaries )

- "How to do" guidelines-Structured database & network for quick access.

STAGE 3 : DISTILLING LEARNINGS & RELATIONSHIPS

-Codify & classify knowledge to draw insights

Two approaches

- Case Studies based approach : What works & what does not

( E.g. Ad Case Studies, LUP etc )-Quantifying relationships : What drives what ?

( E.g. Product test database )

- DOCKETS : Capture Summarized learning

Type 1 : CATEGORY DOCKETSType 2 : THEME DOCKETS (Health & hygiene, packaging

etc.)Type 3 : CONSUMER SEGMENT DOCKETS ( Youth, kids, rural

etc.)

CAMERAWhat is it ?

A Market Research website which allows users to

access every single piece of Consumer Research

data available to Hindustan Lever Limited through

a single window. This access to the information is

provided quickly and in a structured manner.

PRINCIPLES

• Help build knowledge and expertise among those involved in market research , marketing and research

• Build successful communication across conventional boundaries

• Provide resource for learning about MR methodologies

• Develop a richer corporate knowledge of consumer understanding

Better understand and assimilate the company’s knowledge of the Consumer

THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

• All MR researches since 1998 (1760) have been summarised and structured in standard sections allowing for consistency in presentation across researches

• All category knowledge synthesized into a structured DOCKET– Covers 12 categories across HPC & F&B– Key learning's from strategic category researches of the

past years incorporated– Continuous updation to keep it up-to-date

• Database of research instruments used in all MR projects collated and compiled in easy to read formats

• Strategic and Holistic researches for all categories conducted according to the HLL FRAMEWORK

Not simply an IT project , but a new way of working for MR

MR ORGANISATION STRUCTURE FOR KM

STAGES OF OUTPUT RESPONSIBILITY KNOWLEDGE MGT

1. Sharing Information - Reports MR Mgr. + 3P Agency

- Summaries - Guidelines

2. Consolidation of Findings - DOCKETS

* Category Category MR Manager * Theme Theme Champions * Segment Consumer Segment Mgrs.

3.Distilling Learnings * Analysis of Technique Custodians Case Studies

Syntheses Learning - now a part of MR Mangers Work Plan

GETTING A FEEL FOR OUR CONSUMERS

• One-to-One– Each manager specifies the type of

consumer he is interested in and gets to meet them at the consumer homes

• Soap-box– Managers can participate in regular

theme-based consumer focus group discussions at the five “Consumer Centres”

• Consumer Empathy – Listening and talking to consumers, as

part of regular Market Research studies

Objectives

• Verify & refine understanding of consumer

– Habits & practices– Product usage conditions– Use & abuse of products– Beliefs & attitudes– Barriers to change

• Understand their lifestyle, aspirations & concerns

• To pick-up consumer vocabulary

• To understand reasons for using Competition Products

DIRECT CONSUMER CONTACT : PROJECT CONSUMER ACCESS

SUPPORT

SOAP BOX • Guidelines for the ProcessConsumer Centre

with one way • Process Facilitator mirror

ONE TO ONE • Guidelines for Consumer Audio, Video Dialogue recording Photography

• A Consumer Interface Contact

EMPATHY• Programme Schedule Project details

THE INITIATION PROCESS

VISIT PROTOCOLA “Researcher” IdentityDo’s & Don’ts - unspoken boundaries

SHARPEN OBSERVATIONHabitual unconscious behaviour patternThe typically “A TYPICAL”

SKILL ENHANCEMENTNon-threatening presenceListening modeInquisitive conversational style

CONSUMER ACCESS

ONE TO ONEHom e/shopping visits

SOAP BOXParticipative

Consum er Groups

EMPATHYOn-going MR

CONSUMER

CLINICS

TO BUSINESSDEVELOP CONCEPTS

DATABASE

FEEDBACKConsum er Contact: PAD

Consum er Interface TeamOrganise visits/participation

Consum er Contact: Brief

Feel The Pulse

A. Observing “First time” Reactions to Products• Soap usage for a non-soap user• Observe Relaunch ‘Brand’ trial by target respondents• Understanding ‘Beauty’ using on the spot experience cues

B. Understanding through Observation• Tea making : vessel, ingredients, tea leaves addition vis-à-vis

water, liquid condition, manner of serving• On the spot oral care early morning routine observation• Hygiene/cleanliness factor : extent of ‘hands’ cleaning pre-meals

C. Understanding Context & Actual Products Used• Washing + personal care product storage condition checks• “Bathing” area, in-home / community centres, water handling &

usage• Pick up of prepared ‘tea’ for analysis

D. Firsthand Experiencing of Demo Impact• Glow-germ demo evaluation

DIRECT CONSUMER CONTACT“Enriching Consumer Understanding”

GETTING TO WORK ALONG WITH OUR CONSUMERS

• Marketing, R&D and MR Manager, talk and work with consumers to build and evaluate concepts, advertising and product ideas

• Useful for fine-tuning and refining existing products

• Key techniques– Consumer clinics– Sequential recycling.

GETTING SENSITIVE TO WHAT MAKES CONSUMERS TICK

• Program for facilitating interaction of our managers with practitioners who are in touch with consumers and have successfully applied it in businesses to drive growth

• Will enable our managers to look at new ways of developing & leveraging Consumer Insight

Consumer Sensitivity through Experts - SENSEX

How do we get

Competitive Advantage

from

Consumer Insight ?

Competitive Advantagecomesonly by

Delighting / surprisingthe consumer

WHAT IS “CONSUMER CONNECTIONS” ?

* An approach to build bridges between : Consumer Insights & Business ambitions

* PROCESS : - Typically, a 5 stage process - 30 Multifunctional & cross-categories

participants (Marketing, Market Research, advertising

Agencies, R&D & Supply Chain

Stage 1 : Defining the Task - The Business / Marketing head identifies 3

specific task / goods to be achieved in next 2/3 years

Stage 2 : Access Consumer Knowledge - Sharing of coherent dockets (& or presentations

) on distilled “Consumer Understanding”

Stage 3 : Obtaining “Consumer feel” “Consumer home visits” are organized for all

participants

Stage 4 : Catching up on Technology trends - Presentations on : State of the play” in technology

and supply side variables

Stage 5 : Building the bridges - Groups ideate, to : link consumer & technical

insights” to the “Business Problems

OUTPUT : A short list of CONSUMER RELEVANT IDEAS

WHAT IS “CONSUMER CONNECTIONS” ?

CAMERA ACCESS IN-TOUCH SENSEX

Strategic Direct Consumer Working with SensitivityResearches Contact Consumer Experts

Insightful Observations

Consumer connections Workshops

Innovation Communication Activation Ideas Ideas Ideas

KM IN CONSUMER UNDERSTANDINGCompetitive Advantage from Consumer Insight

AREA 1 : Price - Value Delivery

Consumer Insights Business Response

1. 51% of Consumers use a bathing

soap for hairwash, as well (Habit is both in Urban &

Rural areas)

A "Hair & body" soap which woulddeliver superior hair wash

benefits, as well.

2. Low Income Consumer are infrequent users of soap due

to high unit price

A low unit price soap pellet (1 Re for 8

gms) -"One pellet for one bath"

conceptAimed at enhancing no. of

bathingoccasions facilitated by

affordability

3. Consumers of popular / Discount brand aspire for better

aesthetics but large apparent

size is still a key preference driver

Better appearance (Colour & Texture)

with bigger apparent size( at nearly

the same price)

CONSUMER INSIGHTS - SKIN CARE

AREA 1 : Delivering Price - Value

Consumer Insights Business Response

1. "Neem" - a natural ingredient

seen as strong on "germ-kill &

health" benefits (especially strong in lower SEC)

A low cost emollient cream with Neem, positioned on health

benefitfor family protection

2. Incidence of sweat problems

very high. However current deodorant solutions not within reach

Low cost Deo mix for converting non-users developed

5 gm stick launched.

CONSUMER INSIGHTS - SKIN CARE

AREA 2 : Enhancing Quality of Life

Consumer Insights Business Response

1. The top three areas of High Concern & High incidence that emerged from the Skin Care H & A study - Fairness - Dry Skin - Oily skin

* A Toilet soap which provides the

higher order benefits of

- Sun Screen - Moisturising benefits.

CONSUMER INSIGHTS - SKIN CARE

AREA 3 : Anticipating Consumer Needs

Consumer Insights Business Response

1. Dark wrinkles under the eyes

- High incidence (22%) & High concern(50%) - No real solutions available

Launched "under-eye cream"

2. Facial treatment a key activity (31% of beauty parlour

visitors)

3. Oily facial skin, high incidence (25%) & concern (40%)

4. Pimples : - High incidence (25%)

- High concern (45%)

Self healing mask for a weekly facial at home

Oil control : Cleaning Pads

Acne pads

CONSUMER INSIGHTS - SKIN CARE

INDICATORS OF SUCCESS

* Consumer Understanding & Assimilation

(a) CAMERA Usage - No. of Managers accessing CAMERA each month

- No. of visits to a site per Manager - Time spent on CAMERA - No. of Mgrs / visits to cross-category

information on site

(b) Learning & Synthesis - No. of DOCKETS created.

* Leveraging Consumer Understanding

- No. of Categories / Brands for which “Consumer Connections” workshops have been held

* Enhancing “Consumer feel” - Direct Consumer Contact Program

* No. of Managers participating in DCC * No. of Consumer Home Visits * No. of Managers repeating visits * No. of Managers who are “First timers” * No. & quality of feedback from DCC * Sensex program - (Expert talks) - Sessions Feedback - No. of Managers attending.

INDICATORS OF SUCCESS

Getting to know &

understand our

consumers

STATUS AS OF DEC 2001

• 21 CC workshops• 141 category/theme

DOCKETS created

Getting a feel for

our consumers

• 1668 managers have visited 7746 homes

• 556 Soap Boxes with 445 managers involved

Getting to work

alongwith our

consumers

• 26 Consumer Clinics

• 54 Sequential Recycling Sessions

• 7 Sessions conducted. (“Youth” through the eyes of MTV, RURAL Consumer - Experiential Learning etc.)

Getting sensitive to what makes

consumers tick

KNOWLEDGE PROCESSES IN OUR CONSUMER WINDOWS PROGRAM

Focus on new knowledge

Focus on existing knowledge

Process focus

Content focus

1. L

ocat

ing

and

Captu

ring

2.

Shar

ing

3. Cre

atin

g

CAM

ERA

CONSU

MER

CONNEC

TION

WORKSH

OPS

New insights about the market are generated by combining the result of different market studies

KNOWLEDGE PROCESSES IN OUR CONSUMER WINDOWS PROGRAM

Marketing

Process

Examples

An experienced marketer increases the group knowledge by giving a speech to young members about his wealth of experience

A young marketer learns the Unilever marketing procedures and starts to improve his way of working

A team of marketers works closely together with a group of consumer to gain knowledge about their buying behaviour

Combination InternalizationSocializationExternalization

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENTOUR LEARNINGS

People issues need addressing

• Need to communicate KM benefits to all involved & specify their role

• Create clear organisational structure to address each element of the KM cycle (creation, distillation, & sharing)– Clearly identify champions for each section

• KM doesn't come free, demand resources & time : Plan for it up front

• Formal recognition & reward system required (E.g. Docket on MR Manager’s MBOs, ”Best Docket” award etc)

• People hate leaving behind dockets which reveal all the sins they committed - Unless encouraged to do so

• KM - not seen as “Value adding” - as it adds value to somebody else

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENTOUR LEARNINGS

Systems & Processes

• Build KM Systems around business processes & day to day activities (E.g. “Impact Model” used in CAMERA)

• Don’t wait for all elements to be perfect & ready- Improve as you go along

• Obtain regular feedback from users to ensure system improvements are in line with expectations

• Useful to Brand KM initiatives

• IT is a powerful enabler - leverage IT !

• KM - at times may be seen as bureaucratic - watch out