Hanging With the Locals - Regional Tastes and Market ResearchPosted by Wollesen Ross on June 7th, 2021 Sometimes nothing is better than hanging with the locals. They know every one of the right places, they know what you should avoid, they could provide you with tips... the "insiders" view, and they know how to you could make your visit great. Every time I travel I try to acquire some "taste" in the local scene all the as a two day conference or client visit will allow. Many times this becomes a simple look for a truly local restaurant... a quest, if you'll, for the tastes from the region. I have a very confession to create and I'll confess it the following... I'm a food addict. I have NOT been clean of my food addiction EVER. And, in fact, I actually binged the other day (no purging). The Food Network on tv is one from the best inventions that you can buy (or woman), specifically the Iron Chef. For having a real girlish figure, I can eat like a horse. Though market research companies perth love to watch the chefs for the food channel create artistic dishes, and like the idea of eating them, my real love is the cheap stuff. In my book, comfort food doesn't result from seven different foo-foo courses comprising variations of Caviar, Basil, Hawaiian Moi, Lamb, Red Peppers, and Bacon though the "hard" items that kicks trash on your stomach and making you feel being a stuffed turkey (... mmm... stuffed turkey). You just got a chance to like it. My food addiction has become both a pleasure and a curse at different travel points in my life. Here are a few memorable food examples for me: I was recently in New York, NY with my children. We were there for around per week chilling out and finding activities to do. One in the most memorable parts of this visit was time we took to take a seat and have a slice (of pizza) and dessert at the local shops and delis. Some of these shops and delis are horrible, many of them are heaven that is known... the very best on the planet. The hunt for your good ones was part and parcel of our New York experience. Cincinnati, OH includes a very unique concept on the is considered good food... their chili. Have you ever gone to the restaurant "Skyline Chili"? Whoever imagined semi-bland chili on Spaghetti noodles... it genuinely type of works. The locals seem to adore it. Though the experience was memorable, the thought unique, and also the "restaurant" was packed, this is not a craving I get with any form of regularity. The dogs were good. Their "3-way chili" must have a very back-story. I think I'll ask about it next time. One of the most memorable eating experiences I've had while traveling would have been a holiday to Austin, TX for a conference. Get the facts and excellent market researcher lined up a dinner for any number of us with a BBQ joint called "The Salt Lick" located with regards to a half an hour outside of Austin in Driftwood, TX. I love BBQ, considered one of my top picks, this also restaurant didn't disappoint. We had a great time even as we sat at a picnic table, ate family style, had great conversation, and pigged out. This was an awesome dining experience, given to friends and colleagues in our industry, that I'll remember for that rest of my entire life... (you're arriving at see the true extent of my addiction.) I took a vacation in India quite a while back. I spent about a week there planing a trip to different cities, residing in different hotels, visiting local businesses, and seeing local sites. After about five days for being in country, some associates and I made a decision to truly "go local" which has a meal and visited a neighborhood Indian restaurant. The food and environment was wonderful. We sat and chatted with a few locals, watched a Bollywood movie, and ate just as much Indian food as we could stomach. The results on this experience, however, nearly destroyed me internally. Up until that period, I thought I could eat almost everything. I've never been more food poisoned during my life. We ate Chinese food from hotel restaurants for that remainder from the trip and I haven't eaten Indian food since. Sometimes there's official source as "too local". "Thank you for telling us your story of food addiction. What's the point? How does this connect with market research?" In a condensing world market (world is getting smaller - not flatter), and an increasingly competitive general market trends business landscape that is apparently losing its borders increasingly more as a consequence of new developments in technology, will there be still room for regional tastes and local experts conducting local researching the market successfully? And, will there be a strong help to using them in some cases? I'd say yes. I believe that the globalization and specialization of interests we've experienced due to new technological advances like high bandwidth enabled streaming, social networking exchange according to segmented topics, and cloud computing... supplying the gateway to pulling information sources together, has produced really a benefit along with a positive effect on these lenders than you'd guess. If a company inside Ukraine wants to perform a study in Laramie, WY it is less difficult to allow them to get it done seamlessly and enhances the probability that they could use the services of a local expert, rather than building a feeble try and conduct this research through the Ukraine themselves. I have a very number of friends and business associates who have made their careers from conducting market research in numerous cities in Texas. They are adept in technology, they understand their market and current market research trends and methods, and so they've adapted their businesses to meet client evolution. These locals fully realize their stuff. Salt Lake is an additional example. Salt Lakers can be a strange lot (not inside a bad way). The further you will get from Utah and Idaho, the greater misconception abounds by what Utah is or isn't about. The state has been built on very specific religious and cultural mores, conservative ideologies, and operational "norms". I'd venture a reckon that even their "Liberals" will be considered semi-conservative in most other places of the country. Because Utah is not very representative with the rest in the US, people appear to care in what they think, however, if YOU do... your research program demands it, will it sound right to use a nearby company? When does it make sense to use an area provider for your researching the market (both US or Internationally)? Consider a nearby vendor when you are researching specialized local issues or products or when doing research for the local company marketing targeting local respondents. Utah has a wide selection of products targeted at Utahans, or directed at Mormons. It is the single largest consumer of Jello. It has many locally aimed items that can't be found with any frequency outside of the west. Local companies are best at managing these types of issues and products. Consider a local vendor when cultural concerns are prevalent to the subject matter. Have you ever done research in Hawaii? It's an interesting process doing telephone surveys with respondents in Hawaii. Many with the locals can pinpoint a "mainlander" within their first sentence. If you are coping with issues that are of strong interest on the Hawaiians or another strong culturally driven locations, consider utilising locals to conduct this research. When you are bidding on research for town, quasi-government organizations like utility companies, or universities, consider using a neighborhood vendor. Your project win-rates will improve as the organizations view local involvement as supportive of the community in lieu of "big business". Sometimes hanging with the locals is really a ton of sense.Like it? Share it! More by this author |