Consumer

Behavior
TiVo Case
Study

Submitted by

GROUP VII
12052 Tenzin Topdhen
12097 Ovi K yeptho
12026 K Sailesh
12107 Suklanglin Kharpuri
12043 Sandeep Rao
1. According to Keast, “there is a mystery in the sharp contrast between the inertia
of prospects and the evangelical zeal of TiVo users.” As an emerging expert in
consumer behavior how would you tackle that mystery? What do you think could be
going on?

The best way I think the mystery can be tackled is if TiVo’s advertisements contained
users giving their honest opinions of how TiVo has changed the way they watch TV.
TiVo signifies a life-style change as people can decide what they watch and when they
want to want to watch it. Many people surveyed chose TiVo because it was demonstrated
to them and because their friends and family have it. The marketing team of TiVo should
commit to having more demonstration stalls at outlets selling TiVo and also probably
encourage users to give testimonials of how TiVo has benefited them.

This mystery exists because there are multiple types of users of the regular TV. There are
the ‘couch potatoes’ who regularly watch TV 6hrs a day and don’t care about
commercials or bad shows – they can pretty much watch anything. Then we have the
Sports Fans who are only interested in watching TV when it comes to sporting events
such as the World Cup or Olympics and such. Then we have working people who don’t
have much time to watch TV as they are tired from work and will just watch for an hour
or two and then go to bed for the night.
There are many more categories but for TiVo so succeed with each of these consumers,
TiVo will need to position itself differently to each segment of those who watch
television. The needs of a person who works, from a person who stays at home, to a
student who watches select shows are all very different.

2. What other insight(s) do you directly derive from the data summarized in the text
and presented in the exhibits that might help to guide the growth of TiVo?

Insights from the exhibits are:

a) As people are most influenced by their friends and by people who already have a
TiVo, the company could start a referral program where past users, get their relatives,
extended family and friends to try out the TiVo.

b) TiVo could also start a ‘If you don’t like it, your money back guaranteed’ kind of
scheme. As people get used to the concept of skipping advertisements, pausing Live
TV to answer the phone and their favorite shows getting recorded automatically,
people will find it hard to resist the TiVo experience.

c) Many people surveyed chose TiVo because it was demonstrated to them and because
their friends and family have it. The marketing team of TiVo should commit to
 having more demonstration stalls at outlets selling TiVo and also probably encourage
users to give testimonials of how TiVo has benefited them.

d) As the TiVo comes in a bundle of features. A way to help the growth of TiVo would
be to sell the box with a few basic features, but charge a little more extra for every
extra feature the customer wants.

e) Most of the users are married, between the age group of 25-34, having completed
college. Also most of the users are those who have an income of $51,000 and above.

f) With those facts in mind, the marketing team of TiVo can direct its promotions and
schemes to attract these customers.

3. TiVo is a new technological company and the management’s approach to research

and insight has gradually evolved over time. What have been the different stages in
their exploratory journey? What conclusion is this journey converging to? If you
could time-travel to the early hours of the company, what would your advice to
Keast be in terms of the research they should be conducting (the type of insight they
should be looking for) at the outset for a more effective launch?

Surveys were being conducted by TIVO on various aspects since its launch by the marketing
dept. to have an insight on to whether the PVR is being as succesful as anticipated or is
contuining with lacklustre sales.
The various aspects were analyzed through surveys and other online means :
Data was collected on satisfaction and demography. It mainly focused on early adopters ie people
who bought the product first and spread good word about the product. New experiememts could
be tried on the early adopters rather than on the entire market. Rating was done on a nine point
scale. Most of the people were satisfied with the product, the average rating score being 7.5/9.0
The other aspect was the usage feature which around 90 percent of the respondents found it to be
user friendly and could control it as they wish and not miss their favourite soaps or TV shows
There was study on the demographics as in to know which segement of the population was a
highly favourable market. It was observed that people having a high income status and married
people actually had the potential to become TIVO subscribers. 78 percent oif TIVO subscribers
were in the age group of 25 -54

Attitude survey was also conducted to know about the viewing habits of individuals of TIVO and
how people felt what was the importance of TIVO as compared to other electronic gadgets like
microwave that was an absolute necessity at households. The analyis mainly involved how TIVO
contributed to people viewing experience.
TIVO was positioned in the minds of the consumer much higher than a video recorder. Many
people started enjoying after they purchased TIVO. They felt it has made life better, it is easier to
find time to exersice, they dont have to be bothered about the traffic on roads and rushing home
to watch their favourite programs. The couples can enjoy watching television together with
TIVO.
Based on how people used their remotes, info could be got from the logs. The only issue was that
of privacy.

Such insights were recieved by the mkting dept. under Keanes. For an effective launch it was
essential that Keanes and his team should have conducted focus group researches and also along
with the online survey they should have gone on a one on one interview with consumers and seen
them operating with TIVO. It was essential to know from the early adopters how their product
was faring. Also they could have shown demos at trade fairs and other consumer forums
practically demonstrating the wonders of the PVR and seeked opinions and suggestions from
people on the same. Lot of people focus on certain specifics and attention could be given to
detail. if possible certain features could be added or removed and prices of the dish accorfding to
the features selected could be availed. The research could also be done in as to where the
potential market would be interested in buying and along with big buy, sears were there other
shops also where the product could be sold.

With all this insight the marketing Dept under Keanes could have progressed much better and the
no of subscribers could keep increasing.