Do you pay much attention to what you consume each day? Are you conscious of your typical consumption patterns? Or are you like the many who mindlessly stuff their bodies, minds and homes with things without regard to their effect?

“Aware of suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I vow to cultivate good health, both physical and mental, for myself my family and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking and consuming”, advocates the Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh. Let’s become aware of our consumption. Let’s better understand consumption patterns — ours, and those of our customers — and use the insights to bring more meaningful products to market.

1. Map consumption habits

At Thinkergy, one of the techniques we use is called Value Consumption Map. This tool allows our clients to discover how and when customers consume products, and to capture emotional responses to the available and desired products.

When we look at the products in a category, we take a broad view of what constitutes value. This can help expand your thinking into new areas. For instance, if you sell creams and lotions, you should look at consumption of personal hygiene, grooming, nurturing & wellness products during both a typical weekday and the weekend. If you sell bottled water, we ask you to consider consumers’ entire food & beverages intake. If our client were the Bangkok Post, we would expand their thinking to all news and media consumption.

Value Consumption Map lets you understand customers’ consumption habits and their emotional responses to actual consumption choices. It enables you to identify commonalities and patterns among various customers and consumers. It helps you spot gaps based on unsatisfied needs and wants — and each of those gaps represents an innovation opportunity for your firm.

2. Become aware of your consumption habits

Before you map your customers’ consumption, start by looking at your own consumption habits. Imagine you’re a brand manager for a whitening body lotion. Map out your daily hygiene and grooming routines and consumption patterns:

• How often, and when, do you groom and freshen up on a typical day? Which specific products do you use? What hygiene and wellness services do you use, if any?

• How do you feel about your consumption? How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your consumption habits? Why?

• How would you label each consumption decision? For example, labels affixed to a hygiene and grooming consumption map might read “nurturing”, “easy to use”, “pampering”, “takes too much time” or “a luxury”.

• Is there something else you would rather consume? Why aren’t you?

Check if your consumption patterns differ between a typical workday and the weekend. If so, then also keep track of your weekend consumption.

Once your daily consumption habits are mapped out, take a moment to think about what’s on your Value Consumption Map. Ask: am I satisfied with my daily consumption? What’s missing? Do I consume what we produce? How satisfied am I with our products compared to others that I consume? What have I learned from looking at my own consumption habits? What could I do differently to enhance my well-being and become a more mindful consumer?

3. Understand your customers’ consumption habits

After you’ve become aware of your consumption, and how satisfied you are with what you consume, you’re ready to explore your customers’ consumption. First, identify typical customers in your category. At Thinkergy we have found that each category has at least three current customer archetypes, as well as 2–3 archetypes of potential future customers. Find individuals who fit these archetypes, and create Value Consumption Maps from their consumption habits. Finally, look at all the consumption maps and extract information, insights and ideas by answering the following questions:

• What’s common to the daily consumption patterns of your customer archetypes? How do those patterns differ?

• What unsatisfied wants and needs are there? What gaps exist between current consumption and desired consumption?

• What blind spots do those in your category have? Which of these blind spots represent opportunities for you?

• What insights can you gain from your value consumption map? What ideas do these insights prompt?

Conclusion: “No one has a right to consume happiness without producing it”, said Helen Keller. Make a commitment today to seek a better understanding of the consumption patterns of yourself and of your key customers, and to become more aware of consumption patterns. The insights that you gain from this will enable you to detect unsatisfied needs and gaps between reality and desire, which you can fill by producing more meaningful, satisfying products for your customers and yourself.

© Dr. Detlef Reis 2012. This article was published in parallel in the Bangkok Post under the same title on 15 March 2012.