Have you ever had to buy a present for someone you don’t know well? Without a good idea of the person’s tastes, preferences and values, it can be hard to come up with something personal and meaningful. The easiest option, then, is to play it safe with something pleasant, inoffensive – and utterly forgettable.
It’s much the same with brands. If we don’t have a strong, in-depth understanding of our target audience, it is very hard to develop brands that will compel our customers to enthusiastically choose our brand over all the other options available to them. Instead, we end up with brand and marketing strategies that are as pleasant, inoffensive and forgettable as the gift above. But in ever-more competitive markets, the risks of marketing forgettable brands are significantly more serious than buying a boring gift.
At BrandMatters, we love to solve complex brand conundrums for our clients, and understanding your audience is a central element in being able to achieve this. Research is a powerful tool and we use research in a range of ways – from extensive primary exploration with consumers and businesses, to leveraging and interrogating existing knowledge, through to desk research and stakeholder interviews.
We understand that research can be an expensive and time-consuming part of a brand development project and therefore it can feel like a big commitment. Before commencing a project of such significance, its critical to provide a thorough research brief. This will help the agency gain an understanding of the services you need, design tailored approaches or research methodologies, and provide an accurate quote. Here’s an outline of what to include in your brief.
To learn more about the different types of research available, and how to make research work cost-effectively for your business, click here to download The BrandMatters Guide to Brand Research.
