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Why Do Consumers
Read User Manuals?
December, 2007
154 Wells Ave • Newton, MA 02459
P: 866.870.2295 • http://OwnerIQ.net
Why Do Consumers Read User Manuals?
December 2007
This paper is the third in a series of white papers on the results from our 2007 Attitudes & Intent Survey.
It explores why consumers look for user manuals, how they solve problems with the products they own
and how they learn about products. The first paper explores who reads user manuals. The second paper
explores how consumers, unable to locate their manuals, use the Internet to locate them, and if they still
are not able to find them, what they do next. All of OwnerIQ’s research is available at http://OwnerIQ.net/
research.
Why Do Consumers Read User Manuals?
Why do you reach for a user manual? Many marketers assume it’s because something is wrong; either
the product isn’t working as expected, or it is broken. This perception seems so widespread that the user
manual has almost become an icon for “broken”.
Recognizing that locating user manuals is a common frustration shared by millions of consumers each year,
OwnerIQ has created a network, the OwnerIQ Network (http://OwnerIQ.net), of websites containing tens
of thousands of user manuals from over 2,200 manufacturers. The OwnerIQ Network has become quite
popular by making these manuals easy to find for consumers: more than a million unique visitors looking
for user manuals visit the OwnerIQ Network each month. To better understand who these consumers are,
we surveyed them in September 2007. We asked them about themselves, how they look for user manuals
and why they read them. More than 2,700 people responded to the survey.
We thought the conventional wisdom about why people read user manuals – only when the product is broken - was just plain wrong. Or, more accurately, we thought that this was only a small part of the story.
Products are becoming increasingly complex. Continual improvements in electronics places more on-board
computing power on most products which leads to increased functionality, usually in the form of more
features. Anyone who has recently purchased a dishwasher or a washing machine, two products that have
traditionally had straightforward features, is intimately familiar with the explosion of settings and options on
even middle-of-the-road versions of these appliances.
Our hypothesis, which is supported by the survey data, is that consumers are turning to user manuals first
and foremost to learn about features and functions. Consumers consider the user manual as the focal point
of their self-education. They routinely turn to the manual first and then, only if disappointed, to other forms
of product education.
Copyright © 2007 OwnerIQ, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://OwnerIQ.net
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Why Do Consumers Read User Manuals?
December 2007
How Does This Work? Consumers Check the User Manual
In addition to asking consumers about themselves and how they find user manuals, we asked them why
they look for user manuals, how they solve problems with the products they own and how they learn about
products. In particular, we asked the following question:
Which of the following best describes the reasons you most frequently consult a user
manual or other self-support information? (select all that apply)
Consumer reasons for consulting the user manual
Learning how to use features
Product is broken
Routine product maintenance
Product compatibility:
How to use with other products
Review manual before
product purchase
Other
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
(Note: Total is more than 100% due to the fact that respondents could select multiple answers.)
Total respondents: 2,751
Source: OwnerIQ, 2007 Attitudes and Intent Survey
More than 77% of respondents said that learning about features was the most frequent reason for consulting a user manual, while just over 50% said that a broken product was one of their most frequent reasons
for consulting a user manual.
77% of surveyed consumers cite learning about features and
functions as the top reason for consulting the user manual.
Another startling result is that many consumers cited the importance of reviewing the manual prior to purchase (13.6%) and using the manual to check compatibility with other products, (19.5%). Given that many
consumer electronic products have become so complicated - and that many are designed to be used with
other products that have very specific interface requirements - this result, although initially surprising, is
intuitive.
Copyright © 2007 OwnerIQ, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://OwnerIQ.net
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Why Do Consumers Read User Manuals?
December 2007
OwnerIQ also conducted a micro-survey, the “Actual User Behavior Survey,” that was emailed to users
immediately after they had performed a search for a user manual. Among other questions, the user
was asked:
What is the primary reason you were looking to find the user manual for this product?
The user could only select one answer. The key difference between the question discussed above and the
response to this question is that, in the case of the former, consumers were asked about their attitudes
and recollections whereas the response to this question was about specific actions that had just been
taken. The results are illustrated below.
Reasons consumers cited for looking for a specific manual
Learning about product
features
Other
Product is broken
Learning how to use product
with other products I own
Product needs
routine maintenance
Looking for parts
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Total respondents: 1,252
Source: OwnerIQ, Actual User Behavior Survey
About half of the 1,252 respondents said they were learning about specific product features. When combined with the number of people who said they were learning how to use this product with other products,
almost 60% of all respondents said that the reason they were looking for a specific manual was to learn
about product features and functionality.
The “Other” category in the response to this question was large. Respondents were able to enter a freetext reason for why they were looking for the manual. When these reasons are grouped into categories, we
find that 24% of these reasons related to the fact that the product had been acquired in some way other
than by original purchase. The only way the new owner could learn about the product was through the
manual, which they didn’t get because they were not the original purchaser, and they were now looking for
the manual online
Although the survey didn’t ask directly, a portion of the respondents in the “Other” category were clearly
seeking to consult the manual prior to making a purchase. Typical comments of people in this category
were “Haven’t purchased yet. Want to know what’s required to install this product,” and “Want to read
about hooking up product before it arrives.” Or, more bluntly, “Pre-purchase questions.” This supports
the important conclusion from the first survey that almost 14% of consumers attempt to consult the user
manual prior to the purchase of a product.
14% of all consumers look at the manual before
purchasing a product.
Copyright © 2007 OwnerIQ, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://OwnerIQ.net
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Why Do Consumers Read User Manuals?
December 2007
Consumers Spend Time Learning About What They Own
We also asked several questions that tried to understand how often consumers referred to user manuals,
used the Internet to solve problems with things they own, and used the Internet to search for user manuals.
The results of these questions are illustrated below.
How many times have you referred to user manuals for the products you
own during the past year?
Number of times consumer has referred to a user manual
5 Times or more
4 Times
3 Times
2 Times
1 Time or less
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Total respondents: 2,755
Source: OwnerIQ, 2007 Attitudes and Intent Survey
How frequently do you use the Internet to look for information to solve problems with
products that you own?
Number of times consumer looked for info to solve product problem
More than once a month
Monthly
A few times per year
Less than once per year
Never
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Total respondents: 2,757
Source: OwnerIQ, 2007 Attitudes and Intent Survey
Copyright © 2007 OwnerIQ, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://OwnerIQ.net
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Why Do Consumers Read User Manuals?
December 2007
Approximately how many times have you searched the Internet for user manuals or selfsupport information in the last 2 years?
Frequency
10 Times or more
5 – 9 Times
1 – 4 Times
Never
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Total respondents: 2,700
Source: OwnerIQ, 2007 Attitudes and Intent Survey
Consumers who said they looked online for product literature at least monthly are considered to be
“Internet savvy”. The Internet savvy might be expected to rely less heavily on the manual; after all they
have search engines, manufacturer web sites and user forums available to them. The opposite is true:
the more Internet savvy the user, the more likely they are to be consulting user manuals.
62% of the Internet savvy reported consulting a user manual 5 or more times in the last year,
compared to 43% of the least Internet savvy.
Frequent Internet users are frequent readers of user manuals.
The Internet savvy group also reported a higher incidence of using the user manual as a source to learn
about product compatibility, 25% among the Internet savvy as compared to 16% in the least Internet savvy
group, and a much higher incidence of using the manual as a source of answering pre-purchase questions,
20% among the Internet savvy and only 9% in the least Internet savvy group.
Which of the following best describes the reasons you most frequently consult a user
manual or other self-support information?
Reasons
Learning how to
use features
Product is broken
Routine product maintenance
Product compatibility:
How to use with other products
Review manual before
product purchase
Other
10%
A few times per year or less
20%
30%
40%
At least monthly
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
More than once per month
Total respondents: 1,565
Source: OwnerIQ, 2007 Attitudes and Intent Survey
Copyright © 2007 OwnerIQ, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://OwnerIQ.net
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Why Do Consumers Read User Manuals?
December 2007
The User Manual Is the Most Important Source
of Information About the Product
Knowing that consumers are consulting the user manual to learn about the features and functions of the
products they own leads to the questions of:
■■ What sources of information do consumers use to learn about products?
■■ How important are sources of product information relative to each other?
To answer these questions, we asked the following question:
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being most likely, how likely are you to take the
following actions when you want to learn more about a product you own or
solve a product problem?
Users had a range of possible answers (listed below) and rated their likelihood to use each of them.
The ranking of sources for learning about products are listed below along with the aggregate percentage of
those respondents that labeled them “highly likely” (defined as an 8 or above).
Likelihood of taking actions to learn more or solve a product problem
Consult the user manual
Use Internet search to find information about the product
Visit the manufacturer’s website
Try to figure it out on my own without any help
Contact the manufacturer via telephone or email
Ask friends and relatives
Visit the website of the retailer that sold it to me
Take the product back to the retailer that sold it to me
Contact the retailer that sold it to me via telephone or email
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Total respondents: 2,595
Source: OwnerIQ, 2007 Attitudes and Intent Survey
Copyright © 2007 OwnerIQ, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://OwnerIQ.net
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Why Do Consumers Read User Manuals?
December 2007
The responses to this question further confirm that, despite the plethora of product information available
online, consumers view the user manual as the primary source of information about the products they
own, with 86% of respondents saying they would be very likely to consult the user manual. General
Internet search is next on the list with 74% of respondents saying they would be highly likely to search
for information.
Percent of survey takers rating method 8, 9 or 10
Consult the user manual
Use Internet search to find information about the product
Visit the manufacturer’s website
Try to figure it out on my own without any help
Contact the manufacturer via telephone or email
Ask friends and relatives
Visit the website of the retailer that sold it to me
Take the product back to the retailer that sold it to me
Contact the retailer that sold it to me via telephone or email
20%
More than once per month
At least monthly
40%
60%
80%
100%
A few times per year or less
Total respondents: 1,483
Source: OwnerIQ, 2007 Attitudes and Intent Survey
The Most Important Consumer Support Tool
The results from our survey clearly show that people need help learning about the features and functions of
the products they own. And, the first place that people turn to learn about features and functions is the user
manual. In fact, it is not unreasonable to say that the lowly user manual is the princple consumer support
tool, rather than just being a quick stop on the way to chucking a broken product. That view is further supported by how consumer brand perceptions are affected by difficulties in obtaining the user manual. A full
89% of consumers surveyed said they had negative feelings about a manufactuer when they had difficulty
obtaining the user manual.
The lowly user manual is the princple consumer support tool.
Copyright © 2007 OwnerIQ, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://OwnerIQ.net
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Why Do Consumers Read User Manuals?
December 2007
Methodology
OwnerIQ conducted two surveys of its registered user base regarding their use of user manuals and other
self-support literature. Our “Attitudes & Intent Survey” was fielded in September of 2007. Users were sent
an email inviting them to take the survey. There were 2,700 completed responses. Individuals that completed the survey were entered into a drawing to win six gift certificates with a maximum value of $500. This
survey asked people about their recalled use of user manuals, how they learn about the products they own
and their attitudes regarding self-support information.
The second survey, the “Actual User Behavior Survey” is a “micro-survey” embedded in an email that users
receive immediately after looking for self-support literature. Although the survey contains only five questions, asking the user about actions they just took yields insight into what consumers actually do, as opposed to what they think they do. This survey was fielded in early October and collected more than 1,000
responses.
All of OwnerIQ’s research is available at http://OwnerIQ.net/research.
About OwnerIQ
OwnerIQ operates a network of consumer self-support websites for common household product categories. The company is pioneering the concept of Ownership Targeting, providing brand advertisers with
highly customized programs to precisely target consumers based on products they already own. Ownership Targeting takes the guesswork out of identifying likely purchasers and enables advertisers to influence
consumers throughout a product’s ownership lifecycle. Founded in August 2006, OwnerIQ is based in the
greater Boston area and is led by a proven management team of online media professionals. For more information, please visit: http://OwnerIQ.net.
Contact:
Connie Johnson
VP Sales
cjohnson@owneriq.net
OwnerIQ
154 Wells Ave
Newton, MA 02459
P: 866.870.2295
http://OwnerIQ.net
Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this document may be produced in any form without the
authorization of OwnerIQ, Inc. Any quotations of this document, including findings or figures must be
clearly attributed to OwnerIQ, Inc.
Copyright © 2007 OwnerIQ, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://OwnerIQ.net
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