Imagine a colorful world with a lot of different things to do and a lot of room for creativity. A place where your mind can fly, brick by brick. Welcome to the fascinating world of LEGO, where there are no limits to the fun of playing. But have you ever thought how LEGO got so popular with kids all over the world? Let’s go on a trip through LEGO’s empirical study, which reveals the fascinating world of gender differences and how they play a key role in reaching the right audience.
With “customer discovery” as their motto, LEGO tried to watch, learn, and change their beloved bricks to meet the different needs and tastes of their young fans. It wasn’t just about making a toy; it was also about making an experience that kids would love and that would help them be creative.
The first step in LEGO’s quest was to accept the idea of a “minimally viable product.” They made prototypes of different LEGO sets and watched kids in their normal environments, like playrooms, schools, and LEGO clubs. The LEGO researchers watched how boys and girls played with their projects. They did this with notebooks, pens, and a playful spirit.
The first thing that caught their attention was that boys and girls play in different ways. Boys were often mesmerized by exciting adventures and huge fights, so they liked to build cars, spaceships, and castles. On the other hand, girls were very interested in telling stories, playing roles, and making complex worlds. They put a lot of focus on relationships between people and made up stories to go with their worlds.
These differences between boys and girls got LEGO’s attention and made them want to learn more about what their young fans think and feel. Through real-world study, they found that boys often liked clear goals and structured challenges, while girls were more interested in free-form exploration and making friends during playtime.
LEGO wasn’t done yet. They knew that to make brands with a purpose, they had to give more than just play experiences for boys or girls. They wanted to find a mix between being open to everyone and taking into account how boys and girls are different.
The LEGO researchers found that boys liked building bigger models because it gave them a chance to use their visual and problem-solving skills. Girls, on the other hand, liked smaller, more complicated patterns that helped them learn to pay attention to details and tell stories. With this information, LEGO made a variety of sets that were both big and small, complicated and simple, so that all kids could enjoy making different things.
So, why do we need to observe and study things in the real world? It’s not just about bricks of different colors. LEGO made a stronger connection with their target audience by taking the time to learn how their customers used their goods. They made a connection between their brand and the worlds that kids make up in their heads. This made the kids’ playtime better and gave them a sense of belonging.
Understanding how boys and girls play differently helped LEGO make more interesting and useful goods and gave kids more freedom to explore their interests and be creative. LEGO broke down gender stereotypes by recognizing and praising the differences between boys and girls.
Here’s how you can use empirical study like Lego does to find new ways to give customers more value:
Step 1: Write down your goals.
Before doing observational and empirical study, it’s important to know what your goals are. Having clear goals will help you direct your study and make sure you focus on gathering the right information.
Step 2: Pick out key points of contact
Find out where your customers come into contact with your goods or service. Some of these touchpoints are physical places, online platforms, customer service channels, and other important points of contact. Knowing where and how people interact with your brand will help you figure out the best ways to observe and gather data.
Step 3: Choose the Best Ways to Do Research
Choose study methods that match your goals and the way your business works. Observation and empirical study can be done in different ways, like:
- Observation on the Spot
- User Testing
- Surveys and Questionnaires
- Website stats
Step 4: After you’ve done your study, collect the data and look at it:
Use your study methods and gather the right information. Record things like observations, answers to surveys, results of usability tests, and more. Set up the data in an organized way that protects privacy and secrecy. Analyze the data to find trends, patterns, and ideas that can be used to make it easier for customers to use your product and get more value from it.
Step 5: Make changes and try again:
Based on what you learned from your study, keep improving your product or service to meet customer needs and give them more value. Make decisions based on data and put changes in order of how much they will affect customer adoption and happiness. Keep an eye on how these changes are working and get customer feedback to improve and perfect your products.Step 6: Create a culture of learning all the time
Your organization should always be observing and doing study based on facts. Encourage a mindset of always learning and getting better, where getting customer feedback is a regular thing. Keep up with industry trends, customer feedback, and new tools that can help you understand how customers use your products and find new ways to give them value.
By taking these steps and using observation and actual research, brands can learn more about their customers, make it easier for customers to use their products, and consistently provide value that goes above and beyond what customers expect. Keep in mind that the customer’s point of view is a useful compass that can lead you to success.