Drivers & barriers survey. Expand your brand’s market penetration.

Drivers & barriers surveys have become increasingly popular in recent years. Since the publication of Byron Sharp’s How Brands Grow, we have become much more aware that the fastest way to grow a brand is by gaining penetration, that is, by expanding the number of buyers of the product. But what happens if we are not able to attract new buyers? The time has come to look for solutions. And to find them, it is essential to carry out a study of motivations and barriers that shows the way to return to growth.

What is a drivers & barriers survey?

A drivers & barriers survey is marketing research designed to understand the factors that drive consumers to make purchasing decisions (motivations) and the obstacles that prevent them from doing so (barriers).

Motivations

Motivations are the factors that drive consumers to buy a brand. These can include:

• Functional needs: practical benefits about the product (e.g. its durability, its thirst quenching ability…).
• Emotional benefits: feelings and emotions associated with the product (e.g. happiness, trust, confidence, security, etc.).
• Social requirements: social and group influences (e.g. prestige, belonging, recognition, etc.).
• Personal values: alignment with the consumer’s values and beliefs (e.g. sustainable products, non-animal products, etc.).
  Barriers

Barriers

Barriers are the obstacles that make it difficult or impossible for consumers to buy a product or service. These can include:

• Lack of awareness. The customer or consumer is not aware of the product, so it is difficult for them to value it as an option when making a purchasing decision.
• Lack of relevance. The consumer does not see value in what the brand is offering. Why should they buy it?
• Complexity or difficulty of use: the product is perceived as complicated to use.
• Lack of credibility: the potential buyer does not believe in the messages that the brand is communicating. Is the product really capable of delivering what it promises?
• Sub-par product compared to competitors. There are other brands on the market that consumers perceive as a better option to meet their needs.
• Physical availability: the product is difficult to find or difficult to purchase.
• Fear of change: reluctance to give up a known product and go for a new one that the consumer has no experience of using.
• Price: perception that the brand is too expensive and either does not enter the purchase set, or only makes it in very special situations.

The motivations and barriers used in the home study must be tailored specifically to the category and brand to be relevant.

What is a drivers & barriers survey for?

Drivers and barriers surveys are used to find ways to increase the customer or consumer base. They are essential in many innovation processes, when a new product is to be launched. In these cases, they are used to identify the perceptions of potential buyers and define the details of its formulation, packaging design or communication. But drivers & barriers surveys are also very useful at other points in the life cycle, for example when the product is struggling to continue to grow at the expected rate.

The data from the study can easily be used to make immediate decisions. If the brand knows the main reasons for attracting new buyers, it can emphasise them and thus increase the likelihood that buyers will choose it. At the same time, if the brand knows the barriers to further increasing penetration, it can modify elements of the marketing mix to reduce them. For example, by modifying the product, its communication, increasing its distribution or using opinion leaders to help them transmit confidence.

However, each customer or consumer may identify more than one barrier, so raising one barrier does not necessarily mean that it will attract the full volume of consumers that have mentioned it. You need to analyse the impact of each and prioritise the barriers with the greatest potential to clear the way for new buyers.

How is a drivers & barriers survey conducted?

Identification of drivers and barriers

The first part is to define what are the drivers and barriers that the product faces. Perhaps the brand has information from previous studies and knows what they are. If not, a qualitative study through focus groups or in-depth interviews can help to identify them.

Quantifying motivators and barriers

Once you have a list you are comfortable with, ask potential buyers to tell you whether or not they buy the brand. Buyers are asked about their reasons for choosing the brand, and non-buyers are asked about barriers. It is important to use multiple choice questions in the questionnaire so that respondents can give you as many motivators or barriers as they are able to identify.

Action roadmap

Once you have the data, it will be important to assess the relative importance of each motivator or barrier. Particularly for barriers, it is critical to look not only at the volume of people who identify a barrier, but also the number who identify a barrier as the only one that separates them from a potential purchase. You will then need to contrast the volume of new buyers you could acquire with each action. For example, let’s assume that lack of awareness of the product is the most relevant factor. You will need to invest in advertising to increase awareness. How much budget would you need? And if you compare the costs and benefits of the first barrier with the second one, which one helps you more to achieve your objectives?

Drivers & barriers surveys with We are testers

With the We are testers research platform you can cover all phases of the study. You can conduct online focus groups and get a good list of the main drivers and barriers. And then you can organise an online survey to interview a representative sample of consumers to help you quantify the size of each opportunity. Thanks to our panel of 130,000 consumers and users, we can provide you with the sample of consumers or shoppers in the category you are interested in. And our team of research experts will work with you to tailor the online survey questionnaire to your situation and needs. With us you are never alone and we will support you as much or as little as you need. You decide how much.

Contact our experts to set up your Drivers & Barriers survey and accelerate your customer and consumer acquisition.