Many take the wrong brand research steps. Some just search for answers they already know. Others depend on focus groups or some other form of qualitative research. Others ask questions with answers that are totally unactionable.
By following these four steps – and understanding them – you actually use brand research to improve your bottom line. To help define your brand from the point of view of the customer. To leverage emotional triggers to create preference. And to give your company a mission everyone can rally behind.
Brand research steps: #1
Start with qualitative research. But not to find answers. But to find the right questions to ask.
Let’s define qualitative research for just a second. There are all kinds of forms, including focus groups. This kind of research usually consists of a small number of respondents. That’s why it is NOT projectable to the audience you wish to influence. NEVER depend solely on qualitative research.
I prefer one-on-one interviews, promising confidentiality. That way, you get honest answers in a personal setting. Focus groups will give you false positives (or false negatives). They are too heavily influenced by the personalities in the room. And participants often don’t feel completely comfortable with being honest.
Use qualitative research to find the questions you want to ask in quantitative research. Understand the language participants use so your questionnaire will be clearly understood.
Brand research steps: #2
Look for the emotional. This is one of the most important brand research steps. When developing messaging for propane giant Blue Rhino, we found an interesting idea. Those who exchange their tanks instead of refilling them (the latter being the aim for Blue Rhino) as a group could never define exactly why they liked that method.
But one griller said, “I know it’s silly. But I think I own the tank.” He was the only person who said that. And probably wouldn’t have said it in a focus group. Admitting he was embarrassed, he felt more comfortable saying it in a one-on-one setting.
Ignore the table stakes of the category: Costs, product benefits, even innovation. Those are simply the logical reasons people use to rationalize their emotional choices. And brand is all about emotion.
Brand research steps: #3
Ask yourself what you’re going to do with the answer to every question. Most of the usual brand research steps are simply not useful in the end. Beer brands are famous for asking why drinkers prefer the beer they do. What do they say? The taste, of course.
But what can beer brands do with that answer? You can’t fight on the taste. Because, to be able to, taste would actually have to be a switching trigger. And a switching trigger is offering something the user currently does not have. Meaning, taste only becomes a switching trigger if the drinker says their preferred brand of beer tastes like piss. And who believes that?
Look for emotional triggers. Better yet, test belief systems that exist in your market. I have a process that helps you find what precepts to test. They are the most important of any of the brand research steps.
Brand research steps: #4
Cross-tabulate the data. You’re looking for opportunities to grow market share at the expense of your competitors. That means you must find the highest emotional intensity in the market and align your brand with it. That way, target audiences become so emotionally tied to your brand that feel incomplete without it.
This doesn’t necessarily mean segmenting your market. At least not in the traditional sense. Look for the most advantageous group that believes a certain way. Aligning your brand with that group (and the belief) makes you stand apart from the rest.
For example, in developing messaging for The State Bank of India (California), we found those most likely to add an account from another bank. Their highest emotional belief was that their experience as an Indian made them smarter and more successful.
This way, SBIC found the right message: Your Experience. Bank on It.
If you want help with your brand research, please contact me. I’ll change the way you approach research to help you win. Usage & attitude studies are not enough. You can do better.