Advanced methods for measuring customer attitudes and behaviours

Consumer attitudes are the beliefs, feelings and intentions that influence how people engage with your products and services. Shaped by past experiences and interactions, these attitudes affect decisions and perceptions.

Capturing consumer attitudes through surveys or other techniques uncovers insights into customer motivations. This information enables businesses to make informed decisions, tailor their offerings and improve the customer experience.

By tracking and analysing these attitudes, companies can refine their strategies, boost customer loyalty and achieve better market positioning. Let's explore the methods and importance of measuring consumer attitudes and behaviours.

Consumer attitudes include a person’s beliefs, feelings and behavioural intentions towards your business. Consumers develop these attitudes from a range of factors, including previous experiences and interactions with products or services.

"Self-experiences" are particularly influential direct encounters with a product or service that shape a consumer's perception. These positive and negative experiences leave a lasting impression and are crucial in shaping consumer attitudes. As customers continue to engage with your business, these self-experiences evolve, impacting their overall perception and future behaviours.

Consumer attitudes consist of three components:

Favourable consumer attitudes can be a valuable asset, encouraging repeat purchases and generating positive word-of-mouth marketing. On the other hand, unfavourable attitudes can be a risk, potentially discouraging others from engaging with your brand.

Changing consumer attitudes can be challenging, often requiring a deep understanding of existing perceptions and behaviours. However, addressing these insights can influence and shift these attitudes through new information or experiences.

Consumer behaviour refers to people's actions and decisions regarding your products and services. It covers the entire product lifecycle: awareness, evaluation, purchase, use and disposal.

Key aspects of consumer behaviour include:

Understanding consumer behaviour means studying the thoughts, actions and habits that drive each stage of the customer journey. This insight helps maintain high customer satisfaction and attract new customers with similar behaviours.

Consumer attitudes directly impact behaviour by shaping how customers interact with products and services, influencing decisions at every stage. 

Attitudes consist of beliefs, feelings and behavioural intentions. These elements guide consumers in their decision-making processes.

For example, a customer might believe (cognitive) that a car brand is reliable. Their cognition may lead to feelings of trust and satisfaction (affective) when considering a purchase. Ultimately, these positive attitudes drive the customer to choose this brand over others (behavioural).

A 2019 Journal of Housing and the Built Environment study found that consumers with a positive attitude toward sustainability would likely purchase green products. Their beliefs about the environmental benefits (cognitive) and concern for the planet (affective) led to eco-friendly purchases (behavioural)​.

Another study by McKinsey highlighted that understanding consumer behaviour allows companies to align their marketing strategies with consumer attitudes. Aligning business strategies with consumer attitudes increased sales and customer loyalty​.

Understanding these links enables businesses to tailor their strategies more effectively. Addressing negative attitudes and reinforcing positive ones can encourage more favourable consumer behaviours, improving overall business performance.

Customer attitude is vital because it directly affects purchasing decisions, brand loyalty and word-of-mouth marketing. Positive attitudes drive repeat purchases and brand advocacy, while negative attitudes can deter potential customers and damage your brand.

Understanding customer attitudes enables more effective marketing. Companies can design targeted campaigns that truly resonate with their audience.

A Journal of Retail & Leisure Property study found that perceived value and customer attitude influence loyalty across retail sectors​​. This research suggests that improving perceived value components, such as emotional and product quality, can boost customer attitudes and loyalty.

Positive customer attitudes build loyalty, leading to repeat purchases and referrals. 2020 Research by Emerald Insight found that customer satisfaction and loyalty are closely linked through attitudes towards the brand​​. This connection emphasises the importance of fostering positive attitudes in driving customer loyalty and retention.

Understanding customer attitudes helps businesses determine their market position relative to competitors. A 2023 study published in MDPI Computers describes using artificial intelligence and sentiment analysis in competitive research.

By analysing customer sentiments about competitors, businesses can identify strengths and weaknesses in various factors such as pricing, customer service and product features. This information helps companies position themselves more favourably against their competitors​.

Three primary factors shape consumer attitudes, impacting their decisions and behaviours:

Personal factors are individual characteristics that shape attitudes. These include age, occupation, lifestyle and economic status.

For instance, a high-earning professional may develop a positive attitude towards luxury brands given their financial means. On the other hand, a student might prefer brands and retailers that are more budget-friendly.

Social factors refer to the influence of family, friends and social groups. Cultural norms and societal trends are also highly significant.

For example, if a person's social circle values sustainable living, they may positively view eco-friendly products. Peer pressure and family traditions can heavily influence these attitudes.

Psychological factors arise from an individual’s internal experiences and mental state. These include motivation, perception, learning and beliefs.

For example, someone who values health might be motivated to purchase organic food and avoid processed products. Their perception of a brand’s health benefits can influence their attitude and subsequent buying decisions.

Understanding these three critical factors enables businesses to tailor their marketing strategies to align with consumer attitudes. This way, you can influence purchasing behaviour and improve customer satisfaction.

Understanding consumer attitudes is crucial for businesses to meet and exceed customer expectations. You can measure attitudes in various ways, providing insights into overall satisfaction, specific product factors and the alignment between importance and satisfaction. The following are key examples to illustrate these concepts.

Overall satisfaction gauges a customer’s general contentment with a company’s products or services. It’s a broad measure, often collected through surveys after a purchase or service experience.

Satisfied customers will likely say good things about your company, leading to loyalty and repeat purchases. Conversely, dissatisfied customers are likely to share their negative experiences, which can deter potential customers.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many first-time users tried grocery delivery services. According to a McKinsey study conducted in the US, 80% of these users were satisfied with the ease and safety of the service. Additionally, 40% intended to continue using it post-pandemic. This high overall satisfaction indicates that the service effectively met their needs and encouraged repeat use.

Product- and factor-level satisfaction delves into specific product or service elements. It helps identify what works well and what needs improvement.

Companies often gauge product satisfaction with post-purchase surveys that ask customers to rate their satisfaction with specific product features. For example, customers might rate their satisfaction with a laptop's speed, screen quality and battery life. If the screen quality is excellent but the speed is poor, the company can address this to improve satisfaction.

Beyond Meat provided free, professionally prepared meals to hospitals during the early days of the COVID-19 crisis. This allowed consumers to experience the product in a positive setting. As a result, consumers reported high satisfaction with specific factors such as taste and convenience.

The success of this initiative demonstrated that concentrating on product quality and the customer experience can increase satisfaction with specific product factors​​.

This metric compares the importance of specific product or service aspects to customers' satisfaction. It highlights areas where a company meets or falls short of expectations.

Companies like NordicTrack have seen significant growth in the online fitness market. Initially sceptical about at-home exercise, many consumers came to see it as essential during the pandemic.

McKinsey reported that 65% of users of digital exercise machines intended to continue post-pandemic. This research shows strong alignment between the importance of home fitness and satisfaction with the products.

You can measure this by surveying customers to rate the importance of features or services and their satisfaction.

For example, customers might rate timely delivery as very important but rate their satisfaction with delivery times lower. If satisfaction is low despite high importance, it indicates a critical area for improvement.

Understanding these consumer attitudes enables businesses to focus on key areas to improve customer experiences and build stronger customer relationships.

Measuring consumer attitudes helps businesses understand customer perceptions and improve their offerings. They can identify industry benchmarks and set goals and KPIs to improve. Here are four standard methods for measuring consumer attitudes.

Focus groups gather a small group of customers to discuss their attitudes and feelings about a product or service. A moderator guides the conversation, asking open-ended questions to elicit detailed responses.

Focus groups provide in-depth qualitative data and can uncover deep insights into customer perceptions. However, this method can be time-consuming and may not represent the broader customer base.

In interviews, a researcher conducts one-on-one conversations with a customer. These can be structured with predetermined questions or more flexible and unstructured.

Interviews offer an in-depth exploration of attitudes and can be conducted in person, by phone or via video calls. They provide detailed qualitative data but require significant resources and may be affected by interviewer bias.

Observation involves watching customers interact with a product or service in their natural environment. This method can be direct, where the observer is present, or indirect, using cameras or software to track behaviour.

Observation provides unbiased insights into actual behaviour rather than reported attitudes. It is particularly useful for understanding how customers use a product but can be limited in scope and time.

Consumer surveys are a common method for measuring attitudes. You can distribute them online, via email or through mobile apps, quickly reaching a large audience. Surveys typically include multiple-choice questions, Likert scales and open-ended questions. They provide quantitative data that companies can analyse to identify trends and patterns.

However, response rates can vary, and poorly designed surveys may yield unreliable data. SurveyMonkey has 400+ expert-designed templates and advanced features to simplify the survey process from creation to final analysis.

There are two types of surveys we recommend for gauging consumer attitudes:

Feedback surveys deliver real-time insights and draw attention to specific areas for improvement. The data collected can be quantitative, giving you metrics to track over time, or qualitative, offering detailed customer comments and suggestions.

Companies can use these methods to collect data on consumer attitudes, identify strengths and weaknesses, and improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Surveys are a powerful way to measure consumer attitudes and behaviours, capturing both quantitative data and qualitative insights. This section will guide you on how to use surveys effectively.

A consumer behaviour survey collects data on how and why customers make purchasing decisions. These surveys identify buyer personas and track behaviour throughout the customer journey. They gather information on factors influencing buying behaviour, such as preferences, motivations and decision-making processes.

Example questions for consumer behaviour surveys:

These questions help uncover both rational and emotional drivers behind purchase decisions. SurveyMonkey has a vast, growing question bank that researchers can use to quickly create insightful consumer behaviour surveys.

Use consumer attitude surveys when you need to understand customer perceptions and preferences. They are particularly useful:

Deploying surveys at key points in the customer journey provides critical insights for product development, marketing and customer service.

Interpreting survey data involves analysing responses to identify trends and insights. Here's how to approach the analysis:

Potential outcomes of consumer attitude and behaviour data:

Companies can use surveys combined with these methods to comprehensively understand consumer attitudes and behaviours. Ultimately, this tactic leads to more effective business strategies and improved customer satisfaction.

Understanding consumer attitudes and behaviours is essential for driving your company's success. By measuring these factors, you can gain insights into customer views, improve product offerings and enhance the customer experience. Choose from hundreds of expert-designed surveys to collect valuable customer feedback and turn insights into action with SurveyMonkey.