How many times have you heard a brand exclaim they are data-driven? It’s a phrase that many brands are using, but what goes into the data that drives them? Why are those brands so confident in their data-driven decisions? Below are a few considerations regarding data cleaning and data analysis when leveraging data for your brand.
Many of us have been there, either as part of the merger or the merge-ee company. This is a journey for both corporate staff and consumers/customers. It is critical that these key parties be given the right level of information at the right times in order for them to feel confident in the change and in the brand. People are looking for cues that they will benefit from, or at the very least not lose something based on, the new construct.
2 points for each of these things you’ve heard before:
Got some points on the board? A bit disheartening, isn’t it? It’s really easy for us to get swept up in the “why it won’t work” and to poke holes in ideas before they’ve been given room to grow.
We kick off our brand positioning projects with one-on-one stakeholder interviews. Why? Because getting an understanding of how organizational leaders perceive the promise of the brand and the needs of the target audience is critical to success. In addition, these interviews help to paint a picture of what is “blue sky” possible for the brand in the future. And it doesn’t hurt to get that extra touch of buy-in to the project at the onset.
Fountainhead, twice yearly, conducts primary research among whom we deem “Elder Gen Z.” These people are currently 16 to 23 years old. So, with that lead–in, let’s get to the meat of things.
In the “Before Times,” October 24 through November 17, 2019, to be exact, Fountainhead fielded quantitative research among 1,221 people ages 16-22. While that’s not the whole of Gen Z (it’s largely defined to go down to people age 7 or 8), we believe that this upper age range was best equipped to share insights about their habits and their world.
We’ve been in this industry a long time. Longer than we really want to admit. And we’ve heard many objections to conducting research that are pretty easily overcome. We’re here is to assure you that consumer or customer research is your friend.
When you hear those four words, you tend to think of stories. From lullabies, fairy tales and cartoons to books, movies, videos and social media, we as humans are wired to engage with stories. But when was the last time you used a story to present insights? We usually don’t equate insight presentations with storytelling. However, stories are a powerful way of communicating information.
Recently, we were conducting ethnographies about restaurants. Interviews were in and around Atlanta. Moe’s Southwest Grill came up in a number of discussions. And each person that mentioned it also shouted, in the same tone of voice, “Welcome to Moe’s!” Moe’s signature greeting. Hence, Moe’s has a brand ritual.
Are insights “on demand” really within reach? Yes, indeed. Should you reach for them? It depends.
In marketing research, the common wisdom that has prevailed for decades is that for any initiative, there are inevitable trade-offs among cost, speed and quality. But rapidly evolving technology now offers us a dizzying array of well-priced options for blazingly fast data collection, both qualitative and quantitative. The promise of being able to conduct research that is “cheap,” “fast” and “good” without compromise is finally a reality!