Mapping Out Marketing

ENTRY #32    How can you better predict future consumer preferences when consumers often have trouble doing so?

Rebecca Hamilton

Michael G. and Robin Psaros Chair in Business Administration and Professor of Marketing, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University

Marketing researchers often ask consumers to predict what they will want at a later time. For example, before introducing a new product, they seek input on which features to include, where to sell the product and how much to charge. A fundamental assumption of this approach is that consumers will be able to accurately predict their preferences at some time in the future for ...