A Brief Primer on Laddering
Laddering
is
a
research
technique used primarily in
consumer marketing.
The
Seidewitz
Group
has
developed a proprietary form
of this technique, called B2B
LadderingSM, which we use to
help clients improve businessto-business
branding
and
marketing strategies.
This
primer provides background
on the research technique’s
origins and uses in consumer
and
business-to-business
marketing.
The
Origins
Laddering
of
The market research technique
known as laddering has its basis
in the Means-End Theory of
consumer
decision-making 1 .
The Means-End Theory holds
that there are different levels of
product
knowledge
that
influence
a
consumer’s
decision.
These levels start
with product attributes, which
result in consequences (or
benefits),
which
in
turn
influence consumer values and
beliefs. A key tenant of the
theory is that consumers define
the value of a product not by its
attributes, but rather by the
benefits that those attributes
deliver.
Thus, benefits are
purported
to
be
more
influential
over
consumer
behavior
than
product
attributes.
Gutman, Jonathan. “A MeansEnd Chain Model Based on
Consumer Categorization
Processes.” Journal of Marketing,
Spring, 1982, pp. 60-72.
1
© 2004 & 2007 The Seidewitz Group
Laddering is the principal
research technique used to
identify means-end chains, or the
linkages
between
product
attributes, benefits and beliefs.
The technique uses an initial
stimulus to identify product
attributes, followed by a series
of “why” questions to identify
benefits and beliefs associated
with each attribute.
Practitioners have adapted the
laddering technique for a
number of uses. Predominant
among them is the use of
laddering to uncover needs
rather than attributes and
benefits. The underlying belief
is that consumers have needs
that are not tied to specific
product attributes. These needs
progress from practical (or
functional) needs to increasingly
emotional needs. Laddering is
often used to understand these
functional and emotional needs
and how they influence the
purchase decision.
Freeing
laddering from a dependence
on product attributes helps
marketers look beyond current
product design to potential
ways to fulfill unmet consumer
needs.
tell me what characteristics you
consider when deciding which
brand of running shoes to
buy”), free-sort task (“Please sort
these running shoes into
groups that are alike in some
ways that are important to
you”), or triad task (“Here are
three brands of running shoes.
In what ways are two of these
different from the third?”) 2 .
The Seidewitz Group and other
research firms have developed
alternative methods to elicit
functional needs, such as
having consumers construct
collages.
Once product attributes or
functional needs are elicited
through the initial stimulus, the
moderator uses a series of
“why”
questions
(usually,
“Why is that important to
you?”) to reveal how attributes
are related to benefits and
beliefs or how functional needs
are related to higher-level
functional needs and emotional
needs.
Here is an example of part of a
laddering interview 3 :
Researcher: You said that a
shoe’s lacing pattern is
important to you in deciding
what brand to buy. Why is
that?
How it Works
Laddering
is
typically
conducted in a one-on-one
interview between a moderator
and a participant.
The
interview begins with an initial
stimulus to solicit product
attributes or functional needs of
the participant. In traditional
laddering, this usually takes the
form of direct elicitation (“Please
These examples from J. Paul Peter
and Jerry C. Olson, Consumer
Behavior and Marketing Strategy, 2nd
Ed. (Homestead, IL: Irwin, 1990), p.
82.
3 This example also from Peter and
Olson, p. 83.
2
Primer on Laddering/Page 2
www.seidewitzgroup.com
Consumer:
A staggered
lacing pattern makes the shoe
fit more snuggly on my foot.
Researcher:
Why
is
it
important that the shoe fit
more snugly on your foot?
Consumer: Because it gives
me better support.
Researcher: Why is better
support important to you?
Consumer:
So I can run
without
worrying
about
injuring my feet.
Researcher:
Why
is
it
important to you to not
worry while running?
Consumer: So I can relax and
enjoy the run.
Researcher:
Why
is
it
important to you to relax and
enjoy the run?
Consumer: Because it gets
rid of the tension I have built
up from work.
Researcher:
Why
is
it
important for you to get rid
of tension from work?
Consumer: So when I go back
in the afternoon, I can
perform better.
Researcher:
Why
is
it
important for you to perform
better?
Consumer: I feel better about
myself.
Researcher:
Why
is
it
important that you feel better
about yourself?
Consumer: It just is!
end!]
[The
Using Laddering in
B2B Branding
Just as consumer marketers use
laddering to identify the
functional and emotional needs
of consumers, The Seidewitz
© 2004 & 2007 The Seidewitz Group
Group uses a modified version
of the technique to identify the
business and personal needs of
business decision-makers. We
call
our
approach
B2B
LadderingSM.
identify
the
participant’s
comprehensive set of base-level
business needs.
The Seidewitz Group also has
proprietary tools for collating
and
analyzing
Figure 1: NeedsMap example
the
data
we
Target Audience: CIO’s, CTO’s and high-level IT managers
collect in B2B
Context: Selection of enterprise resource system consultant
Laddering interviews.
Using
these tools, we
construct
a
of
NeedsMapSM
the business and
personal factors
that influence a
particular type of
business
decision-maker. An
example is provided in Figure
The
foundation
of
B2B
1.
Laddering is the belief that
businesspeople,
just
like
Using the information in this
consumers, are influenced by
NeedsMap, along with other
more
than
rational
tools at our disposal 4 , we work
considerations; they also take
with our clients to develop
into
account
personal
business-to-business branding
motivations,
preconceived
and marketing strategies that
notions,
habit,
and
meet target audience needs
organizational considerations
better and more clearly than
when making a business
competitors.
decision.
B2B Laddering
provides the ideal tool to
understand not just business
Additional
needs, but also the personal
Information
needs (e.g. “I want to get
promoted” or “I don’t want any
For more information about
more
headaches”)
and
B2B
Laddering
or
our
organizational considerations
consulting services, please visit
that exert significant a influence
www.seidewitzgroup.com or
on a business decision.
contact Scott Seidewitz at 212Personal
Needs
I Can Enjoy Work and
Home More
I Become a Valuable
External Asset /
Advance Within the
Company
I’m in a better mood
I Have Less
Frustration & Fewer
Extra Hours in the
Office
Personal
Needs
Delivers Business
Results
• Delivers promised process
and/or revenue enhancements
I Don’t Look Bad
Minimizes Problems
• Minimizes technical problems /
troubleshooting / maintenance
• Minimizes political in-fighting
• Minimizes excessive
implementation delays / cost
over runs
• Minimizes usage problems
Business
Needs
Organization confident in
consultant & technology
• Management is confident in consultant
and technology
• Employees have confidence in
consultant and technology
The Technology
Works
Implementation is
Well- Managed
• Technology is reliable, not too
many glitches
• Consultant “adds value” by
contributing to project
parameters / identifying
technical solutions I wouldn’t
have
• Technology can be upgraded
and expanded
•Meets budget and timeline
•Consultant establishes
objectives and milestones
•Consultant is accessible and
communicates regularly
•Disruption to business is
minimized during transition
Technology Works
for Our Business
The Technology
Works for the
Organization
•Consultant helps define clear,
realistic expectations
•Senior Management buys-in
to key decisions
•Employees embrace new
technology
•Employees trained on new
technology
•Technology is user-friendly for
“Carol in accounting”
•Consultant provides support
at end-user level
•Technology meets our specific
business needs and strategies
(especially e-business)
•Consultant “adds value” by
understanding our business
•Technology meets needs of
different parts of the
organization
•Technology meets needs of
“Carol in Accounting”
When
conducting
B2B
Laddering interviews, The
Seidewitz Group follows a
similar interview structure as
the one used in consumer
marketing.
The primary
differences
are
that
our
interviews
are
usually
conducted by phone and we
use unique initial stimuli to
Business
Needs
249-3220.
4 Such as B2B DecisionChartingSM
and B2B EquityChartingSM; see The
Seidewitz Group Web site for more
information.