Consumer research in Zimbabwe expanded
With the anniversary of its 21st year coinciding with political and economic change in Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Advertising Research Foundation (ZARF), intends to revamp the Zimbabwe All Media Product Survey (ZAMPS), the largest research study into the Zimbabwean consumer.
© lightwise via 123RF
The revamp will ensure that it is more relevant and timeous, and widely used by Zimbabwean marketers as well as international marketers and potential investors.
The thrust of the new research for ZAMPS will be to get back to quarterly research reports which will allow for high relevance and the timely use of the information. ZAMPS covers all media in Zimbabwe and looks at how consumers use common products and breaks down the adult population into Living Standard Measures (LSMs).
ZAMPS’ key objectives are as follows:
- Market sizing: ZAMPS helps organisations to determine their market size and also figure out their market share.
- Market structure: ZAMPS helps an organisation to clearly see what the market structure is like and where they are ranked among their competitors.
- Market segmentation: ZAMPS helps organisations in clearly segmenting their markets according to demographics, age, LSMs, gender, to mention a few elements.
- Market trends: ZAMPS assists organisations in tracking competitor trends over varied periods of time.
What has become clear in recent months is the need for newcomers to the industries to understand the power of ZAMPS and what it can achieve for a business. Training programmes are therefore being put in place by sector to help the various organisations to fully mine the ZAMPS data, as well as to ensure it is instrumental in decision making.
ZARF is also working on being aligned to international best practice on methodology, sampling and data analysis, as well as looking at aligning digital. It intends to push sample sizes to broaden the scope of representation and also embarking on TeenZAMPS.
TeenZAMPS are:
- Highly techno-savvy and big users of varied technology.
- They are big consumers of various products, food and other consumables.
- They are big influencers in decision making with adults.
- They are a pillar of information and crucial in determining future trends.
Through the ‘Great Awakening Breakfast’ hosted recently by ZARF, the input and feedback of key stakeholders has been employed in mapping the future of ZARF, including the Zimbabwe Advertising Agencies Practitioners Association (ZAAPA); Marketers Association of Zimbabwe (MAZ); Marketing Research Association of Zimbabwe (MRAZ); and the Advertising Media Association (ADMA) in Zimbabwe.