Jeremy specialises in delivering market research and consultancy programmes that enable organisations to maximise the impact of their brands, products and services, communications and customer experience delivery.
His company, Brandspeak, has offices in London and Bristol and since 2004 it has been helping companies all over the UK and globally.
Jeremy has also been a guest lecturer and speaker on London Business School's acclaimed MBA course, on the subject of Brands and Branding.
London Fashion Week’s Men’s takes place twice a year, several months before the womenswear fashion week events. While it doesn’t (yet) compete with London Fashion Week (LFW) in terms of international press attention and the swathe of famous faces in the FROWs of the main shows, it is winning on another very important front: authenticity. Where London Fashion Week ‘proper’ is often faulted for unwearable, irrelevant designs displayed via inaccessible shows on non-attainable female bodies, LFWM is altogether more real. It’s not just in fashion and retail that this is increasingly proving to be an essential influence – brand marketing in general is currently experiencing a seismic shift away from the exclusive and unattainable towards authentic credibility and support for social change.
LFWM SS20 – what can we learn?
Mixed gender catwalks. The co-ed catwalk has been pioneered by the men’s shows in a way that just hasn’t caught on during LFW. Some may argue that this is purely because the appeal of an all male catwalk simply isn’t broad enough but, regardless, it’s well worth considering the impact that this has. LFWM designers have worked harder to create gender fluid designs that can be worn by anyone. And this reflects a much wider trend towards non-discriminatory definitions. But why should anyone really care how the menswear shows select their models? Well because gender fluid marketing is set to be big – 50% of millennials consider gender to be a spectrum and 12% of Millennials actually identify as transgender or gender non-conforming, meaning they don’t identify with the sex they were assigned at birth.
Realistic bodies. If there is one industry in which body image remains forever a hot topic it is fashion. International womenswear catwalks have been populated by models with ‘unreal’ body shapes for decades. Scandal after scandal has arisen over how those bodies are prepared for show, whether it’s the extreme dieting and exercise of a Victoria’s Secret Angel or the starvation mode required to achieve the ‘heroin chic’ aesthetic of the 90s. So, you might expect to see the same unrealistic aesthetics on male catwalks during LFWM – but you’d be surprised. The presentations and catwalks of the menswear designers are much more likely to feature ‘ordinary’ looking men of all ages and diversity. In fact, you’d struggle to find a six-pack among this season’s shows. Given the general consumer malaise towards marketing that doesn’t reflect ‘real’ people, menswear seems to be catching on a lot faster than the female-focused brands.
Collections with authenticity as a theme. Perhaps because there is less of a spotlight on the menswear shows – or maybe because the designers are braver – many of the collections have an authentic message at their heart: a desire to express or educate rather than just to sell. At LFWM in January this year, Bianca Saunders, Saul Nash, Priya Ahluwalia, and Paria Farzaneh created authentic collections informed by their life experiences and their backgrounds. Designer Paria Farzaneh focused on her Iranian heritage, telling Dazed, “It’s more about telling a story and making people aware of what’s going on in the world rather than just being so one-sided.” Her show put models on a conveyor belt taking selfies. They were kettled in a containment zone at the end and finally broke out for the finale. This season, E.Tautz – one of Britain’s oldest sportswear brands – cited Tish Murtha as an influence. Murtha was a British social documentarian best known for documenting marginalised communities, social realism and working class life.
Eco themes and social responsibility. Perhaps it’s the recent visibility of Extinction Rebellion – or maybe fashion is finally ashamed of its reputation as the second most polluting industry behind oil – but the desire to explore eco friendly evolution was a clear theme at LFWM SS20. This is definitely reflecting a wider consumer mood aimed at supporting socially responsible brands and those able to demonstrate environmental credentials. Eco is a burgeoning trend right now – 96% of people feel their own actions, such as recycling or buying ethically, can make a difference and 88% of consumers want brands to help them live sustainably.Many of the LFWM shows tapped into this, including Michiko Koshino, which posted invitations made from A5 sheets of reusable 20p stamps and created cross seasonal pieces that offered an alternative to buying new fast fashion every three months. Designer Lou Dalton championed the eco-friendly staycation with camping themed pieces informed by “like-minded individuals who have inspired or are inspired by the great outdoors, seeking solace, solitude and wellbeing.” London College of Fashion graduate Bethany Williams has built a brand around sustainability and social responsibility – her SS20 collection focused on the work she has done with London-based homeless charity Spires and its Butterfly Café, a safe space for vulnerable women.
Micro-influencers. We’ve written previously about the growth in the use of influencers and how useful they are becoming to brands. LFWM is a prime example of this trend – it’s not an event that gets the same level of major press coverage as LFW and is much more reliant on smaller publications and influencers when it comes to creating a buzz. The knock on impact of that tends to be that their shows are easier to access and more ‘real,’ authentic people are talking about them, from make up artists working behind the scenes to smaller publications such as @theglasspineapple and fashion bloggers like Stefan Howarth (@howste).
Whether or not you are a dedicated follower of fashion, LFWM provides some valuable insights into how consumers want to be engaged by brands today. From the use of more accessible faces and figures, to tapping into themes that really matter to customers in 2019, this microcosm of design is reflecting back to brands what their audience really wants. And at the heart of all of it is one idea: authenticity. Consumers value this more than ever before and it’s something that almost any brand can begin channelling because you don’t need a million pound marketing budget to create it. In fact, if you want to avoid generic, patronising marketing territory, you might even be better off without one.
Influencer marketing is becoming increasingly powerful. While it’s unlikely to replace social or content marketing (primarily because it requires both to thrive) it’s fast rising to the top of the talent pool as a way to get consumers to engage with a brand. From b2b technology sales, to Amazon marketing, influencers are being employed across the board to improve the effectiveness of marketing strategy and drive better ROI.
The growth of influencer marketing
Whether you’re sick of the term, or totally on board the influencer train, it’s difficult to deny that influencer marketing is becoming a driving force in brand strategy today. The rapid rise in the impact and effectiveness of influencer marketing is something that has been largely driven by the increasing popularity of social media. Today, social platforms are huge – Facebook has 1.6+ billion users and in total there are now 3.484 billion active global social media users. That represents almost half the world’s population and an increase of 280 million since the start of 2018.
The average social media user spends almost two hours a day scrolling through social platforms and this figure rises the further down the age scale you go – 90% of millennials use social media on a daily basis as compared to 77% of Generation X. From the early days of social media as a networking tool its importance has ballooned into many other areas including:
Peer review. 46% of users look for feedback on social media before making a purchase
Research. 54% of social browsers use social media to research products
Buying. Increasingly, consumers are much more willing to make use of tools such as in-app shopping on Instagram.
Today, most brands recognise that social selling is an integral part of sales strategy – 67% of the buyer’s journey now happens digitally and a great deal of this is done via social media. This has been the primordial soup that has enabled the evolution of the influencer into such a powerful beast. So much so that 49% of consumers now say that they depend on influencer recommendations on social media to inform their purchasing decision – that’s not a statistic that any brand can really afford to ignore.
Integrating influencer marketing
Finding the right influencer is key. It’s not necessarily those with the biggest followings or the highest profiles who will make the most impact for a brand. What’s more important is an influencer who feels relatable to a specific audience and whose promotion or endorsement of a product will carry real weight. 65% of consumers would trust an influencer based on their standing as an expert, as opposed to 9% who would trust based on follower figures.
Identifying the best social platform matters too. More than two thirds of influencers rely on Instagram to collaborate with brands. However, this is not the case across the board – for example, in Germany it’s more likely to be YouTube and Facebook. It may be more about where a target audience is – or the sector you operate in – than where the majority of influencers are.
Appreciating the challenges is important. For example, the Advertising Standards Association has already stepped in to warn 200-300 influencers about a lack of transparency over paid for posts. Brands should choose to work with influencers who have already integrated transparency into their posting process. There are also challenges around verified influencers – some companies have fallen foul of “influencers” on social platforms who are not what they seem. It’s important to take steps to verify the authenticity of an influencer to avoid fraud.
Why do brands use influencers?
The short answer is that these partnerships work and, despite the challenges that exist for influencer marketing, they can enable brands to reap real benefits. There are some obvious advantages to integrating influencers into marketing strategy, including:
Building trust. Influencers have a credibility that many famous people and brands do not. For example, 70% of teens trust influencers more than traditional celebrities.
Acquiring customers. According to 22% of marketers, influencer marketing is the most cost-effective method of acquiring new customers online.
Influencing purchasing decisions. The key is in the name – three quarters of consumers trust the opinions they find on social media when it comes to making buying decisions so the right influencer can be an incredibly effective tool for any brand.
Whatever your personal opinion on the social value of influencers, when it comes to the opportunities they represent to strengthen relationships between brands and customers – and boost sales – the right one could be marketing gold.
How can personality theories be leveraged in marketing?
Personality theories have a long, rich history of engaging consumers, from the influence of Freud on 1960s advertising to the “Which Game of Thrones Character Are You?” quizzes on Buzzfeed.
In marketing terms they work because they enable brands to better understand audiences, going beyond general shared characteristics such as location and gender, and delving into the emotions and triggers that make people human. This insight is crucial for developing an effective marketing strategy and creating messaging that will have an impact that translates into tangible results.
The OCEAN Big 5 – otherwise known as The Big 5 Personality Test – is one of two major psychometric paradigms (the other being the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) that have been successfully employed to break down personality for the purpose of better understanding an audience. This is how it works.
The Big Five Personality Traits
OCEAN = Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. These are the five personality traits that provide the foundation for personality. Individuals receive a score for each one, with the higher scores indicating which elements of the personality are the most dominant.
Openness
(Intellect or imagination, curiosity and creativity)
People who achieve a high score in the Openness trait tend to be creative or unconventional and open to new experiences and ideas. Imagination and insight are fundamental to Open people who are willing to be vulnerable, try new things – and who will almost always think outside the box.
If someone achieves a low Openness score they are more likely to be focused on routine, as opposed to variety, and to find abstract thought challenging.
Consumer relevance: often more liberal, risk taker, interested in tech innovation, places more importance on reliability than style.
Conscientiousness
(Tendency towards organisation/structure)
Procrastinators and those who prefer an unstructured approach to life don’t score highly for Conscientiousness. Instead, this is a person who has a tendency to control impulses, demonstrate impressive self-discipline and who prefers to follow a plan or schedule.
A high Conscientiousness score indicates a methodical individual who is persistent, thorough, predictable and a planner.
Consumer relevance: can be linked to self belief, tight money management, environmental concern and sensitivity to status.
Extroversion
(Energy source and interaction with others)
Most extroverts draw their energy from being around other people while introverts need to spend time alone to be able to reboot and recharge. People who score highly for Extroversion seek out social contact, are assertive and talkative, energetic and outgoing. They favour action over contemplation and are often keen to be the centre of attention.
A low score in Extroversion is usually associated with someone who is more introspective, who prefers their own company and who may experience social anxiety.
Consumer relevance: risk taker, overconfident, responds positively to music with vocals, driven by motives such as socialising and meeting people, stress relief, fun and enjoyment.
Agreeableness
(Orientation to others – how someone interacts with others)
Empathy and compassion define those who have a high Agreeableness score.
Getting along well with others and being caring, cooperative and sympathetic are also usually traits that are found in people who are high scoring for Agreeableness. Individuals who are strongly defined by this trait exhibit kindness, loyalty, patience and trust.
Consumer relevance: attracted to social innovation and environmental concerns. Not so interested in prestige, status, fashion consciousness.
Neuroticism
(Confidence, whether an individual is comfortable in their own skin)
All of us have some degree of emotional sensitivity and the Neuroticism trait is designed to identify how much someone worries.
Those who score low for Neuroticism tend to be more relaxed, secure and emotionally grounded.
High scorers will regularly experience awkwardness, pessimism, jealousy, fear, anxiety, self criticism and a lack of confidence.
Consumer relevance: compulsive buyer, willing to shop online, susceptible to mass behavior.
Leveraging OCEAN with consumers
Although we are not strictly defined by these personality traits they tend to provide a good indication of how individuals will experience the world, whether that’s interacting with colleagues at work or with retail brands.
Finding consumers to target. Certain personality types have a tendency towards certain types of products, making them a natural fit for a specific brand.
Recognising the “right” consumers. Being able to see consumer personalities sheds light on lifestyle preferences, which can enable brands to better identify which consumers are likely to be more responsive to their messages.
Categorising consumers
Identifying specific tendencies and behaviours. Patterns of decision making and shopping habits can be identified to categorise consumers. When fed into marketing strategy and techniques this insight can considerably improve ROI.
Enabling segmenting of customers into personality types, as opposed to more generic categories. With this kind of insight it’s much simpler to ensure that the right message is getting to the right person.
Targeting consumers
Refining messaging. Where marketing messaging has been defined with the personality traits of the target consumer in mind it is likely to have a much more significant impact. Mass campaigns are not as efficient as those that use customised messages.
Enabling the use of more quantitative techniques to target consumers. For example, targeting women who react to celebrity endorsements, are willing to shop online and have an affinity with fitness and the outdoors provides a lot more to work with than “women in London aged between 20 and 35.”
Promoting a deeper understanding of the consumer. Personality insights tend to result in more creative marketing and brand management, based on deeper insights into a potential target audience.
Personalising the brand. Numerous studies suggest that consumers relate to brands as they would another person. Stronger and more long-term relationships can be built with consumers where brand personality has been refined according to the traits of the target audience.
An example of OCEAN in practice
Although not a particularly popular example of how effective OCEAN is, the work that Cambridge Analytica did to influence voters in the 2016 US presidential election threw a spotlight on the use of personality theories.
While there were clearly some ethical issues surrounding the way that Cambridge Analytica operated, the results achieved were interesting. The firm gathered psychological survey data and then built algorithms to predict psychological traits.
This enabled the group to model consumer personalities and then micro-target voters based on what their profiles indicated about key issues, such as immigration. Cambridge Analytica is far from the only firm that has used these methods.
Experian, for example, offers services to “influence voting behavior by interweaving demographic, psychographic, and attitudinal” characteristics. In the UK, both the Labour and Conservative parties are clients.
The OCEAN Big Five Personality Traits provide another layer of insight when it comes to better understanding consumers, who they are and what they want. In an increasingly competitive environment, personality theories make it possible to establish genuinely effective ways to identify, and reach, the right consumers for your brand.
Contact
For more information on the OCEAN Big Five Personality Traits please contact Brandspeak on +44 (0)203 858 0052 or at enquiries@brandspeak.co.uk
Each new generation brings a fresh set of challenges for marketers. Born between the mid 1990s and late 2000s, most of Generation Z is still under the age of 18. However, by 2020 they will make up around 40% of consumers and will wield huge spending power. Tech-native and marketing-savvy, Gen Z represents a challenge but also potentially has the highest lifetime value of any consumer segment. Understanding Z-typical behaviours and preferences is crucial for any brand looking to get this generation to engage.
Physical retail is trending
A retail market research report by Accenture established that 60% of Gen Z prefer purchasing in physical stores. In the current economic environment this presents a challenge for many retailers but also highlights the value that this cohort places on the buying experience. The expectation is of “phygital,” the merging of physical and digital, which offers Gen Z shoppers the opportunity to interact with their phones to enhance the in-store experience. Fashion retailer Zara, for example, introduced an augmented reality app last year that enables shoppers to access interactive content via a phone while in a Zara store. Features include in-app purchasing and using the app to activate store displays.
Selling isn’t about products anymore
Or, at least, the marketing isn’t. Gen Z is much less likely to engage with marketing designed around products because this is a group very focused on benefits and results. Instead, the smart messaging is channeling what can be achieved with the product, what results can be generated and the benefits that buying or using it can deliver for the consumer. For example, Vodafone recently launched new mobile network Voxi, aimed at Gen Z mobile users. The focus of the marketing isn’t on the product itself but the “endless possibilities” it offers e.g. users can access apps like Snapchat and Messenger without affecting their data.
Gen Z loves social media
This is the generation that grew up with technology and does not know a world without smart phones or social media. While Millennials spend 8.5 hours a day engaging with content online (the overall UK average is 6.5 hours), Gen Z spends 10 hours of every day doing it. For Gen Z, just over half of that time is spent consuming content via their phones, much of it on social media – these consumers are much more likely to click on a social ad than any other type. So, for those brands looking to reach out to this group, social media is where you will find them. However, Gen Z has a very specific relationship with social media, especially when it comes to using it to interact with brands. They expect two-way, personalised conversations, straightforward messaging and content that emphasises what’s in it for them while making them feel valued.
What else defines Gen Z?
A short attention span. This generation is used to making decisions quickly, so messaging and value propositions need to be succinctly and swiftly communicated.
The desire to be entertained. Content aimed at Gen Z needs to be entertaining and delivered in multiple formats (videos, images, stories etc).
Expectations of transparency. Gen Z can research any brand in minutes so there is nowhere to hide – they expect transparency on products, values and origins, and consistency in terms of messaging.
Betterment. Gen-Z will happily pay more for products and services offered by companies who demonstrate commitment to positive social and environmental impact.
Gen Z is often criticised for being tech obsessed and having a limited attention span – and that has made many brands nervous of this group. However, the reality is that this savvy generation is reachable for those willing, and able, to get on their wavelength.
Contact
To find out more about Gen Z in relation to your brand, call Brandspeak on +44 (0)203 858 0052 or contact us at enquiries@brandspeak.co.uk
Do I really need to read an article on psychographics?
Chances are, if you are a B2C or B2B marketer in the process of devising your brand’s marketing and communications strategy, or if you are a market researcher involved in brand and communications research, then psychographics should be highly relevant to you.
This article will explain:
What psychographics is
Why it is important right now
How to go about obtaining psychographic insights
Where they can be applied
The Cambridge Analytica effect
Before we kick-off in earnest though, if you are thinking that you have heard the term psychographicsrecently but can’t remember when or why – this may help.
It could be that you came across it in 2018, in connection with Cambridge Analytica, the UK-based, data analytics firm that specialised in helping political parties target online voters.
Cambridge Analytica obtained the psychographic data of US Facebook members and used it to create a personality-based segmentation model. That model was in turn used to craft segment-specific political messages that were then used to target different voters during the 2016 US Presidential Elections.
Actually, it’s a great psychographics case study, but one shrouded in a little too much corporate and political controversy!
So, what exactly is psychographics?
OK, let’s start with the authoritative definition. The Oxford English Dictionary describes psychographics as‘…the study and classification of people according to their attitudes, aspirations and other psychological criteria, especially in market research’.
This is in contrast to demographics – where people are classified according to socio-economic criteria, such as age, sex, marital status, education level, occupation and income.
Consider the demographic profile below:
Male
Aged 35-55
Educated to degree-level
Married, with children
Joint household income of £70K
Whilst the profile identifies who the target is, it actually gives the marketer very little work with and any marketing activity based on this level of data is likely to be of the spray and pray variety.
Now consider the following, basic psychographic profile for the same, target audience:
Hectic work / family life – devoted family man
Hates ‘bricks and mortar’- prefers online shopping
Enjoys online gaming, cooking, armchair sports and go-karting with friends to relax
Looking for time-efficient way to get fitter
Has a goal of retiring before the age of 60
Would love to travel more widely
Community minded and would also like to undertake charity work locally
When combined with the demographics, the marketer not only knows who the target is, but also what they are interested in.
For example, there is:
A list of hobbies which can be targeted by individual product and service providers:
An intention to retire early, which will be of great interest to Financial Planners.
A clear sense of community spirit, which will be relevant to local charities.
Finally, our target prefers to shop online, providing marketers with a clear understanding of how best to approach him.
But psychographics isn’t just about identifying the interests and behaviours of target consumers. It can also be used to explore the psychological motivations that underpin them. These can then be used to create marketing communications with real emotional resonance.
In the case of our target, these motivations can be identified by using the research to address such questions as:
What is driving the target’s desire for early retirement?
What is it about travel that interests him and how does it make him feel?
What does local community mean to him – and why?
The psychological criteria encompassed by psychographics
The full list of psychological criteria encompassed by psychographics is actually a long one.
Three of the main types are actually grouped together and are called IAO’s, short for Interests, Activities and Opinions.
Interests
Interests are different from activities in that they are typically connected to areas of the subject’s life that are more profound in nature.
For example, an interest in healthy eating for kids may relate to the fact that the subject has a young and growing family, whereas an interest in Mindfulness may reflect a hectic and pressurising professional life.
Activities
This refers to pastimes or hobbies that may be active or passive in nature. Think tennis, stamp-collecting, cooking, or travel!
Why are activities included in a list of psychological criteria? Because they are typically reflective of an individual’s personality.
Opinions and Attitudes
These two can be tough to distinguish between!
An attitude represents a feeling or general disposition toward someone or something. It can be either positive or negative, but it more commonly just is.
For example; ‘You get what you pay for’, ‘life is for living’ or ‘children should be able to entertain themselves’.
On the other hand, an opinion is a more specific, passionately held belief. The subject of that belief maybe serious (e.g. intensive farming or global warming) or trivial (e.g. Mac versus PC, KFC versus McDonalds) in nature.
The importance of being on the right side of public opinion was highlighted the 2016 survey conducted by leading global communications marketing firm Edelman (https://www.edelman.com).
This first-of-its-kind survey of 13,000 consumers in 13 countries revealed that 62% of consumers stated that they would not buy a brand that failed to meet up to its societal obligations and 55% agreeing that brands can do more than governments to solve societal problems.
Lifestyle
Lifestyle is an obvious criterion and it has lots of implications for marketing.
A person’s lifestyle provides a very good indication of what that individual actually places value upon. It may be the result of their situation (e.g. a frugal lifestyle may be reflective of low income), but when it is self-imposed then it is more likely to be reflective of fundamental beliefs, desires or interests.
Examples of different lifestyles include healthy, ostentatious, active, religious and alternative.
Values
Personal values are typically based on deeply-held beliefs and often ‘inherited’ from parents.
Just as common values can act as a form of familial or friendship bond, so a brand that shares or aligns itself with core consumer values may be regarded as a kindred spirit.
Take Iceland – the UK-based frozen food chain. For Christmas 2018 the company created an ad highlighting the disastrous environmental effects of cultivating palms for palm oil.
The ad was supposedly banned from TV because of its overtly political message but because it tapped in to the environmental concerns of a large number of UK citizens it quickly became a viral hit, racking up over 30 million views (and counting) on YouTube.
It has also succeeded in securing a new legion of environmentally conscious fans for the company. If you haven’t seen it you can check out the ad here:
1) Creating advertising with the power to truly resonate
Many successful ads succeed precisely because they manage to establish a powerful emotional connection between brand and consumer.
Of course, this isn’t always based on ground-breaking, psychographic insight – ads about Christmas and those featuring cute puppies don’t need to be!
But some of the world’s most iconic brands – like Guinness and Dove – have managed to build ads around penetrating emotional ‘truths’ that are able to resonate with consumers globally.
We’ll take a look at some other examples in the next section.
2) Improving the power of online marketing
Psychographics may have been around since the 1960’s but since the advent of social media and online marketing, it has once again come in to its own.
Platforms like Facebook are rich in psychographic data, whilst the increasing sophistication of data mining and machine learning tools means online brands are able to continually improve the power of their online presence.
This includes:
i) constantly increasing website traffic through the identification of more compelling meta descriptions, keywords and content
ii) achieving higher email campaign click-through and conversion rates by crafting and prioritising more relevant titles and content
iii) identifying relevant, new topics and content for blogs and social media campaigns
A simple example of this is Spotify, which now classifies its music by mood as well as genre.
From Spotify website
3) Creating greater customer loyalty
Another benefit of psychographics is its ability to make consumers more emotionally wedded to a brand, and subsequently more loyal to it.
The benefits of increased customer loyalty were also examined in the 2016, multi-country survey conducted by marketing communications firm Edelman).
It found that when they feel committed to a brand, 86% of consumers will adopt that brand’s innovations more quickly, 87% will pay a premium price for it, 87% will recommend the brand through liking and sharing, whilst 88% will defend it to its critics.
Think of brands like LUSH, whose customers identify strongly with the brand due to shared, core principles;
From LUSH website
How is psychographic data obtained?
Remote data collection
Today, a significant amount of psychographic data (in particular, data relating to preferences, opinions and behaviours) can be collected remotely, from sources that include:
Quantitative surveys
Set-top box data
Website analytics (e.g. Google analytics)
Browsing Data
Third party analytics
Social media (i.e. likes, clicks, tweets, posts, etc.)
Face-to-face data collection
But when it comes to identifying why a person thinks, feels or behaves the way that they do, then qualitative research is typically required and there are a number of different qualitative approaches that can be used, from focus groups and depth interviews, to online communities and accompanied ethnography.
Quantitative research
Quantitative research also has a significant role to play. For example, to determine the prevalence of different personality traits or to size the different segments within any personality-based segmentation model that may be created from the psychographic data.
Psychographics in action
In this last section we’ll take a quick look at how some brands have used psychographic insights to develop inspiring brands and communications campaigns.
Porsche
Porsche is a great example of a brand using psychographics to create a personality-based segmentation model that reflects the emotional needs and motivations of its target market.
Their 5-segment model looks like this:
The Top Guns – ambitious individuals who desire power , control – and attention
The Elitists – individuals from old money who regard a car as no more than a mode of transport and not an extension of their personality
The Proud Patrons – who regard a Porsche as a badge of success. Ownership is the goal, not the attention that may come with it
The Bon Vivants – thrill seekers for whom a Porsche is a means of excitement
The Fantasists – they don’t care about impressing others but see a Porsche as a means of escape.
The model enables Porsche to create marketing communications that reflect the attitudinal and emotional diversity of its customer base.
Harley Davidson
Harley Davidson is a great example of an organisation that has created a truly iconic brand by expertly mining the psychology of its target customers, packaging it up and playing it back to them through the styling of its product and the inclusive nature of its social marketing.
Photographer: Erik Shilling
Those who don’t get the HD brand may see Harley as a manufacturer of overly-styled motorcycles for wannabee macho men who like to travel in groups.
However, for those who identify with the Harley vision, the brand acts as an antidote to the overly regulated and sanitised modern-day USA, a chance to experience the freedom, individuality and rebellion of a bygone age, together with other, like-minded souls.
The brand’s positioning statement sums it up very well:
‘[Harley Davidson is] the only manufacturer that makes big, loud motorcycles for macho guys (and ‘macho wannabees’), mostly in the United States, who want to join a gang of cowboys, in an era of decreasing personal freedom’.
And Richard Teerlink, Harley’s chairman, summed up the organisation’s view as follows; ‘it’s a lifestyle, an emotional attachment [and] that’s what we have to keep marketing to’.
Apple
Notice the total absence of any technical, product reference in this early Apple campaign.
Via Wikipedia
Instead, consider how this brilliantly simple ad reflects the key emotional insight that many early Apple consumers were contrarians . They loved the Apple brand because it stood for something totally different in the world of computing tech and because they, by association, were being marked out as different and original too.
The voiceover even began with: “Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers.”
In the case of this next ad, Nike has taken psychographic insight still further.
Via Nike
In contrast to the unashamedly exclusive nature of the Apple positioning, Nike uses an entirely inclusive message to leverage its own brand.
That message encapsulates the emotional disposition of any person who lives for sport, regardless of how good a sportsperson they are.
But it is delivered as a crie de coeur that everyone can identify with – whether they play sport or not, thereby expanding the relevance of the brand far beyond the sports arena.
In Nike’s ads the consumer is the hero and the brand acts (very cleverly) as the universal enabler.
Conclusion
In this article, we’ve used some high-profile brands to illustrate different uses of psychographics. However, in reality, psychographics is as relevant to start-ups and local brands as it is to global ones.
The fact is, as consumers we now expect our brands to show real understanding of who we are, how we think and behave. Psychographics may have been around since the 1960’s but it is only now coming of age.
Contact
Psychographics features in a lot of the market research work undertaken by Brandspeak. For more information about how it could help your brand please contact us on +44 (0)203 858 0052 or on enquiries@brandspeak.co.uk
The purpose of this article
To be honest, there are already lots of articles out there that explore what it takes to be a great qualitative researcher. So why on earth do we need another one?
The reason is that most of them just focus on the skills required to actually moderate qualitative research (usually in the form of focus groups, depth interviews and online communities), whereas, in reality, moderation actually accounts for no more than 25% of the qualitative researcher’s working week!
The purpose of this article is to ensure some light is also shed on the other 75%!
What exactly is qualitative research and what is its role?
Before focussing on the skills required to be a ‘super-qualie’, we should spend a bit of time considering the definition of qualitative research – and its role within marketing.
Qualitative research can be described as the exploration of attitudes, opinions, relationships feelings, priorities and behaviours. Its role is not only to understand the ‘what and the ‘how’ but also the why’. It’s a journey through the conscious and sub-conscious mind of the research subject.
In a commercial context the purpose of qualitative research is to help the marketer:
maximise brand relevance and impact
create marketing communications that resonate
ensure customer needs, behaviours and expectations are at the heart of new product development
Great qualitative research has the power to change the dynamics of entire marketing campaigns, brands and businesses.
The core skills of a qualitative researcher
The researcher who is capable of having this sort of commercial impact doesn’t succeed because of great moderation skills alone.
They also have:
an innate interest in people and their relationship with brands
a finely-tuned understanding of a wide range of qualitative research methods and how to apply them to best effect.
great analysis and interpretative skills, to turn research findings that are merely interesting in to research insights that are truly powerful
the ability to communicate research outputs in a way that gives them resonance and makes them highly actionable
The wider responsibilities of the qualitative researcher
Of course, the super-qualie won’t be applying these core skills 24/7. Unless the agency for which they work has dedicated Project Managers they will typically be spending the majority of their time performing more mundane tasks that are nonetheless vital to the quality of the final research ‘product’, including;
Prospecting
Proposal writing – including costing
Client relationship management
Research scheduling
Discussion guide generation
Respondent recruitment specification
Stimulus material generation
3rd party supplier relationship management (e.g. recruiters, facilities providers)
Five distinct areas of the qualitative researcher’s role
To make it easier to appreciate the full range of attributes required to be a super-qualie, the A-Z of the role can be broken down in to these 5 areas:
Managing relationships (e.g. the relationship with the client and with suppliers)
Managing project logistics (e.g. 3rd party supplier management)
Doing the actual research (e.g. project design, discussion guide and stimulus material generation, moderation of research)
Analysing the findings and compiling the presentation
Presenting to the client
In the remainder of this article we’ll take a look at each of these areas in turn.
1. Managing relationships
At the end of the day,as a research supplier the key thing to remember is that its all about the client, meaning the researcher’s ability to manage that relationship is key.
For starters, it requires communication and relationship skills, combined with a natural sense of authority if the client is to feel they are in safe hands.
However, to really stand out in the area of relationship management the researcher also needs to be proactive, helping the client stay ahead of the competition by regularly bringing to their attention the latest qualitative research thinking, methodologies and news.
2. Managing project logistics
For any given research project this role may involve:
Managing the development of appropriate research stimulus material
Specifying and recruiting research respondents via a recruitment agency partner
Booking of suitable research facilities (e.g. bespoke research viewing facilities, hotel meeting rooms or private homes) in which to hold any face-to-face research
Arranging video links for research clients who are unable to attend but wish to accompany the face-to-face research in real time
Sorting out the means by which research respondents will be paid for their participation in the research
Ensuring that all aspects of the qualitative research conform to GDPR regulation and the Market Research Society’s Code of Conduct
Such tasks require the researcher to be highly organised and have a real eye for detail, particularly as that individual may well be running 2 or more projects simultaneously, meaning the logistical tasks really begin to pile up.
When this happens, the ability to compartmentalise each separate project becomes a sanity-preserving skill!
3. Running the research
As we’ve already discovered, for our super-qualie running the research is about much more than just moderation! It’s highly likely that our qualitative hero or heroine will also be responsible for identifying the appropriate qualitative methodology at the outset, costing it and then writing the research proposal around it.
a) Research design
Not surprisingly, the researcher’s ability to identify the most effective, qualitative research approach is critical to the project’s success.
Not only will the qualitative approach determine the project’s overall cost, it will also decide the extent to which the research is ultimately able to address the strategic and commercial objectives of the client.
It requires a blend of experience and judgement, as well as real understanding of the sort of approach that will resonate most the client.
b) Moderating the focus group, depth interview, online community…..
Whether the focus of the client’s business is B2C or B2B, both the qualitative research agency and researcher will typically be expected to have a good grasp of the subject matter – particularly if it is technical in nature.
However, to actually run the research session effectively and get the most out of it, an altogether softer set of skills are required, including:
i) Natural curiosity
It’s a fairly obvious one, but if you aren’t the sort of person who is interested in others, what they think and why they behave the way that they do, then this isn’t going to be the career for you!
Similarly, if you find it difficult to accept cultures, points of view or lifestyles that may be different from your own then walk on by!
ii) Approachability and empathy
The success of any form of qualitative research depends on the willingness of participants to contribute (and keep contributing) to a qualitative discussion in a way that is honest , thoughtful and constructive.
This can be particularly challenging if the subject matter is complex or in some way sensitive.
To encourage respondents to keep on contributing under such conditions the moderator needs to have an ability to put people at their ease and voice thoughts and opinions they might not normally feel confident expressing.
iii) Focus
Ironically, the greater the moderator’s success in getting respondents to open up, the harder it can then be to then keep the discussion on-track – particularly if it is on a topic that the moderator also finds engrossing!
An experienced moderator will keep the project’s commercial objectives in his or her mind at all times, to ensure that conversation doesn’t become an enjoyable but irrelevant distraction.
iv) Objectivity
In projects that address socially or culturally sensitive topics the moderator will often find that the views of the respondents are completely at odds with his or her own.
Whilst such situations can be extremely challenging it is up to the moderator to maintain total objectivity, revealing no bias whatsoever.
v) Sensitivity
Sensitivity is crucial. Not just sensitivity in terms of managing individuals and groups, but also in terms of being able to pick up on sub-texts, body language other the non-verbal nuances which can reveal a very different story from the one the respondents are actually telling.
vi) Resoluteness
Moderators need to be resolute in different ways.
For example, in a focus group situation, individual respondents may occasionally monopolise the conversation and prevent others from voicing their thoughts and opinions.
On such occasions it is the job of the moderator to tactfully ‘manage’ that individual’s contributions. If not, the whole dynamic of the group can be ruined.
Infrequently, it can also be the case that a particularly disruptive participant must be asked to leave the group prematurely. This obviously requires an approach that combines resoluteness with high levels of tact!
vii) Mental dexterity
Whatever the form of qualitative research being undertaken, the moderator will have prepared some form of discussion guide designed to ensure that all the research topics are covered appropriately.
However, when the research is actually underway it may turn out that sections of the guide lack relevance, as the discussion takes a different turn.
In these instances the moderator needs to be able to swiftly identify the issue and be prepared to go ‘off-piste’, in order to steer the conversation towards more relevant, fertile (but potentially unprepared) subject matter.
viii) Boundless energy
The qualitative researcher’s job is a physically demanding one, meaning that physical and mental stamina are required!
In addition to spending a full day at work, qualitative researchers will often find themselves moderating research sessions in the evening – possibly up to 11.00 pm. During exceptionally busy periods this will happen 3-4 days per week.
Many agencies will have time-in-lieu arrangements to compensate their qualitative researchers for working such long, anti-social hours.
4. Analysing the research findings and compiling the presentation
Qualitative research is an inherently messy business and its at its most messy at the beginning of the research analysis phase!
i) Analysing the research findings
When the research fieldwork has finished the moderator must start to comb through possibly hours of research recordings, transcripts or web pages in order to identify and isolate the relevant, clips, comments and insights.
At this point the researcher’s greatest asset is arguably his or her ability to see the wood for the trees, finding and extracting real insight from a tangled mass of (often contradictory) qualitative data.
Once extracted, the researcher’s next task is to work out if and how these insight ‘fragments’ fit together, what the story they tell and what that story means in terms of the client’s strategic and commercial objectives.
The approach must be systematic,whilst the moderator will need to apply an eclectic blend of social and cultural awareness, interpretive skill, objectivity and commercial-mindedness if they are to create order out of research chaos!
ii) Composition of the research debrief
No matter how compelling the researcher’s insights, conclusions and recommendations might be, if the debrief isn’t able to convey them with simplicity and impact their power is undermined.
Story-telling becomes key at the debrief stage, as does the researcher’s ability to put themselves in the shoes of the debrief audience, to understand what their debrief priorities and expectations will be and then to compile a suitable debrief.
This will avoid focussing on the merely interesting, at the expense of what is actually relevant and important.
5. Presenting to the client
Typically, a debrief presentation slot will last 1-2 hours. It will involve the client’s core project team and may also include more senior client directors who haven’t had hands-on involvement in the project to this point.
Unfortunately, a presenter who lacks confidence in front of an audience can do much to undermine the power of the research and its findings and it is up to the research agency to ensure that more junior researchers aren’t exposed in this way.
Presenting skills will be learned over time, but there are several practical steps that junior researchers can take to increase their confidence – and the quality of their presentations. These include:
Learning the content of the debrief inside out
Anticipating the real needs and expectations of the audience so they can identify any obvious questions or objections – and prepare for them
Ensuring the first five minutes of the presentation are pacey and engaging. It is during this short period of time that many in the audience will be evaluating the quality of the research – and the presenter
Using respondents’ quotes and video footage to help substantiate more challenging points made in the debrief. Its very hard to argue with the end customer!
Conclusion
If you are reading this article because you are considering a career in qualitative research you may feel daunted by what you have just read.
If so, please don’t be!
The reality is, with such a long and eclectic list of left-brain-meets-right-brain attributes required to be a super-qualie, no one is going to tick all the boxes, even after years of experience.
However, If you find that are endlessly curious about what makes people, cultures and brands tick and you constantly find yourself asking ‘why?’ then a career in qualitative research might just be the one for you.
Updated January 2019
Great market research creates great brands
The ultimate purpose of market research is to minimise risk and maximise ROI, by ensuring the business has total clarity when making important decisions about its customers, brands or service delivery.
Its not surprising then that most larger, B2B and B2C organisations have a market research budget that adds up to a significant proportion of their annual marketing spend and that they use it to inform decision-making across a whole range of important marketing issues throughout the year.
But it is surprising that, at the other end of the spectrum, many aspiring and successful £ multi-million SMEs still make no annual provision for market research whatsoever. Some believe that they just don’t need it. Others think that it is the preserve of larger organisations with bigger budgets. And there are some that are wary that research agencies won’t understand their business and will produce research results that are overly simplistic and unhelpful.
All of these assumptions are typically wrong! Any business that has customers will benefit from a clearer understanding of how they think and behave – and what causes them to choose Brand A over Brand B.
Also, whilst some research agencies are generalists with experience of researching everything from loo rolls to Rolls Royces, others will specialise in areas such as IT, Telco, Financial Investment, Pharma, Healthcare, the Building Trade and the Public Sector.
The truth is, smaller companies will often benefit disproportionately from the research they conduct because it unlocks a level of consumer understanding that the business has previously not had access to.
4 key areas in which to involve a market research agency
A market research agency can be used to address a wide range of strategic and tactical issues. But there are probably 4 key areas in which market research is most used – and most beneficial:
1. Defining and monitoring the brand
The brand is part of the bedrock of any organisation. This is especially true for SME’s because their brand often is the organisation and if the brand fails then the organisation fails too.
The priority for any SME then, must be to ensure that the component parts of its brand are clearly defined and understood internally, so that they can be articulated externally in a way that maximises brand salience, differentiation and credibility.
Market research can play a pivotal role in creating this clarity by helping to define the brand’s:
Value proposition: an encapsulation of what the brand offers and why the target should buy it.
Hierarchy of features and benefits: reflecting the criteria of greatest importance to the consumer.
‘unfair advantage’: the individual advantages it presents over the competition.
It can then define the brand’s:
Positioning statement: a shortlist of core brand associations that ensure the brand occupies a distinct place in the mind of the target market.
Personality: the brand traits to be reflected in the way the brand is communicated.
Essence: a shorthand for everything the brand is and does.
If these brand components are not clearly identified and understood the result is likely to be a confused brand team, a confused target audience – and very possibly a failing brand.
When they are clearly understood they enable brand teams to create more dynamic brand strategies, based on a clear understanding of what is important and why.
Moreover, they enable the effectiveness of the individual campaigns to be measured, with the certainty that they are focussing on the criteria of greatest significance to the development of the brand.
2. Launching a new product or service
New product or service development is the lifeblood of any business. However, depending where you look, new product and service failure rates are quoted as being between 60-85% – and this doesn’t even take in to account the number of projects that are abandoned before they even get to market.
High failure rates are due in part to the fact that companies either prefer to leave the target consumer out of the development process altogether – or bring them in at the last minute when their input is virtually redundant.
There are actually two stages of the development process where market research can be essential:
a) The Big idea stage
At Big Idea stage the organisation is still attempting to nail down the concept and achieve clarity in relation to some fundamental questions, such as:
What is our value proposition – which elements are in and which are out?
Who will buy it?
How and when will the target audience use the new product / service?
Which brands will it compete with – or replace – and why?
What are the likely customer experience / usability prerequisites?
b) The prototype stage
Assuming the project makes it beyond the Big Idea stage a second round of research is recommended at the point there is something tangible to show or demonstrate. The purpose of research at this point is to de-risk the project by (for example):
Fine-tuning the proposition and its targeting
Clarifying the charging structure and pricing parameters
Identifying the format and hierarchy of essential marcoms
Evaluating proposed levels of customer experience / support
New product development spend often runs considerably ahead of budget before the project is abandoned or fails. This can be symptomatic of a project where stakeholders have been using gut feel to inform the development process.
With so much at stake for the SME, timely use of market research is the best way to ensure new product development is successful – and on budget.
Happy customers browse for longer. They spend more, return more regularly – and they spread the love! Unfortunately, bad news travels further and faster, so if your customer has a bad experience with your brand the chances are it will be reported even more widely.
As digital consumers we have all experienced websites that have caused us to moan to others because they are poorly laid out or difficult to navigate. Or because the essential information isn’t where we think it should be, or the checkout process is too clunky and time-consuming.
And all of us have at some point let off steam about a poor bricks and mortar experience too. Maybe it was due to the store’s layout, the way its fixtures were presented and stocked, the signposting, the attitude and support given by staff, the options for self-serve, the décor, the lack of child-friendliness, the way promotions were presented.
In this example, customer experience research could involve an assessment of:
The route(s) taken by customers as they enter the store, navigate its aisles, find the appropriate sections, select the brands they want, head to checkout, pay for their goods, pack them and leave.
The physical, emotional and sensory experience requirements of those customers at each touch point along the way.
Any gaps between experience requirement and delivery.
The impact that individual gaps may have on the customer’s shopping behaviour and attitude towards the brand.
Breaking down the shopping experience in this way enables the brand to identify the individual issues undermining the customer’s experience at both physical and emotional levels. It enables the brand to understand their individual and cumulative significance and it can be used to identify the optimal solution in each case.
This provides the brand with the information it needs to undertake a full cost / benefit analysis before deciding which elements of brand delivery to invest in and in which order.
4. Creating winning marketing campaigns
Great marketing campaigns create great brands. Mediocre campaigns create mediocre brands. Whilst this is a provocative over-simplification it makes the point that successful brands are rooted in successful marketing.
It is constantly surprising therefore that so few marketing campaign elements are researched during development – or measured afterwards to determine how successful they have been.
This doesn’t just apply to TV advertising, it applies to the myriad smaller marketing activities that SMEs undertake, including:
For example, when it comes to direct mail, email and web campaigns there is much that research can do to optimise response rates. This includes performing a basic review of the ‘usual’ pitfalls waiting to trip-up the unwary marketer:
The ‘subject’, banner or headline: is it clear, relevant and impactful enough to gain and hold the target’s attention?
The layout: is the content laid out in a way that promises to be easy to read and digest.
The Five Second Rule: can the reader grasp the communication’s relevance and purpose within the first five seconds.
The content: is it clear, relevant and motivating? Does it leave the target with real a understanding of what to do next?
Images and graphics: do they actually add to the copy – or confuse?
To marketers these types of campaign often feel like ‘business as usual’ and as a result they don’t always get the level of attention they require.
The result can be a poorly conceived and poorly executed communication that fails to hit targets. In fact, it will probably end up costing the brand numerous (potential) customers too.
Getting a research agency on-board
If this article has encouraged you to get a research company on board, here are few quick tips for ensuring you get real value from your research supplier:
Start with a clear view of the research need and objectives. How can research best help you minimise the business risk and maximise ROI in relation to the project you are undertaking.
Write a detailed research brief explaining the nature of the project and giving all the necessary information. If you don’t know what to include, call the agency and ask them for advice.
Don’t be reluctant to include your budget. Clients sometimes feel that this will encourage agencies to ‘pad’ a quote. It won’t! Agencies know they will be competing against a number of other agencies and will use the figure you provide to ensure they are offering maximum value for money.
Encourage the agency to get to know your business. When you have selected your preferred candidate spend time briefing them and letting them ask questions. The more they understand the more value they will provide in the work that they do for you.
Be clear and realistic about your timescales – the more time the agency has, the better their outputs will be.
Think about the type of debrief you need. Think too about whether you need a pre-presentation – essentially a review of the debrief before it gets broadcast to your wider team. That way you can sense-check it for findings or recommendations that may need sensitive handling.
If you have any questions about how market research can help your business please feel free to call get in touch.
What is Customer Journey Mapping?
Customer journey mapping (CJM) is a market research method used to identify and visualise the path that your customers take – or are taken along – when they engage with your brand, be it a bricks and mortar store or an online business.
The Customer Journey Map identifies the different touch points (the points where the consumer can ‘touch’ or interact with the brand) along the journey and details the nature of the customer’s experience at each one.
The ultimate purpose of the customer journey map is to identify and compare the touch-point-specific experience delivered by your brand with the one required by the customer – based on their behaviours, needs, expectations and capabilities.
The Customer Journey Map will subsequently enable you to:
Pin point the touch points where the gap between the required and delivered brand experience is significant enough to cause customers brand dissatisfaction or even brand rejection.
Identify precisely what is required to address the issue from the customer’s point of view.
Keeping it simple
In the case of a retail store a simple Customer Journey Map might capture:
the route(s) taken by customers as they enter the store, navigate its aisles, find the appropriate sections, select the brands they want, head to checkout, pay for their goods, pack them and leave.
The physical, emotional and sensory experience requirements of those customers at each touch point along the way.
Any gaps between experience requirement and delivery.
The impact that individual gaps may have on the customer’s shopping behaviour and attitude towards the brand.
Breaking down the shopping experience in this way enables the store to understand precisely where the issues are, how significant they are and their impact on the customer’s relationship with the brand.
If necessary, cost / benefit modelling, combined with further research can then be used to identify the ‘minimum’ solutions – the ones that create happy customers and improve average spend per head, at a cost that is attractive to the business.
Retail Journey Mapping projects undertaken by Brandspeak have resulted in a broad spectrum of initiatives being adopted by clients.
At the lower cost end of that spectrum these have included the repositioning of gondola displays and the addition of more intuitive signposting throughout the store.
More fundamental changes have included altering the store’s layout to make shopping progress easier for target customers, changing the nature of the training given to support staff so that they can focus on the issues of greatest importance to customers, altering the way fresh produce is displayed to make it more appealing, introducing more technology at key points to improve self-service, ‘theming’ of product displays and adding value to the customer’s check-out experience.
In reality of course, retail customer journey mapping is not nearly as straightforward as the above implies.
For example, customers will have a multitude of entry points: an advertising campaign; social media; referrals; internet searches; the high street. The exit point of the journey will vary too; it may end with the customer making a purchase but it might also end at the Customer Services desk with the customer asking “how do I return this product?”.
Depending upon the entry and exit points different customers will have different journeys and different physical and emotional experiences along the way. Each one of these may have a different effect on the motivational state of your customer.
How can customer journey mapping help your business?
Optimising the experience your brand provides is essential if business performance is to be maximised.
Yet even the most basic customer journey mapping exercise can deliver real value to the organisation by:
Providing a joined-up, business-wide view of your brand’s customer-facing interactions.
Identifying those touch points or experiences that are critical to the customer’s overall brand experience and thus offer the greatest ROI.
Identifying the touch points and experience issues that customers do not find important so that cost in those areas can be optimised.
Addressing the above can have a significant impact on brand image, reputation and word-of-mouth. Most importantly of all, it can increase rate of customer conversion, customer loyalty and profitability per customer.
When should you procure customer journey mapping consultants?
The most obvious time is before you design a new customer experience. For example, if your company is about to launch a new service CJM is a must to understand and optimise the customer experience. Implementing a poor customer experience from the start can be extremely costly to fix so save time and money by investing in research during the design phase.
Understanding the experience of different consumer groups
Your current CX setup may only be suitable for a proportion of your customers. Consumer journey mapping carried out in conjunction with customer segmentation analysis can help to optimise individual touch points for maximum impact across all customer segments. e.g. how does your current customer experience design impact customers with physical disabilities?
Improving the efficiency of your customer experience design
You will most likely already have a customer experience strategy in place. However, your company may be spending both time and money on touch points that do not provide a sufficient ROI whilst neglecting touch points that would give a significant ROI. Customer journey mapping will identify these inefficiencies.
Business development impact assessment on user experience
As your business changes it is likely that these developments will indirectly impact it’s customer facing functions. Any substantial changes in business logistics, administration or structure should involve a customer journey impact assessment to monitor the effects of any changes and to make suggestions for changes to your customer experience design in order to ameliorate those impacts.
How can Brandspeak help?
We have over 20 years experience of CX research. We have worked in many industry sectors, from retail to local government; manufacturing to financial services. We have the experience to not only carry out CJM research but also to guide you through the process of implementation. Find out how customer journey mapping can help your company.
The role of the brand tracker
The brand tracker remains one of the most enduring and capable research tools available to marketers – when it is understood and used correctly.
However, in recent years there has been pushback from some companies that feel trackers are too ‘rear view mirror’, only identifying potential, brand related issues when it is too late to do anything about them.
Many of those organisations are missing the point. The tracker’s purpose isn’t to flag issues before or as they occur – social media listening is one of the best research approaches for this purpose.
Neither is it the role of the tracker to measure the impact of individual marketing events immediately after they have occurred – a quick, tailored survey will do that job much better.
Instead, the tracker’s role should be to act as a relatively inexpensive way of evaluating and comparing brand performance over set periods of time, whilst also enabling the organisation to scrutinise the:
Performance of the individuals responsible for brand stewardship
Based on the above it’s not surprising that many organisations assume that a tracker’s ultimate purpose is to measure the impact of the annual marketing plan and reason that, if there is only minimal marketing activity is taking place, there is no need for a tracker.
Wrong! There are many events outside the control of the Marketing Department that can influence brand performance – including economic downturn, the activity of competitors and government legislation.
Indeed, 60 seconds on Google is enough to identify numerous examples of brands that went in to a nose dive as a result of events not of the Marketing Department’s making.
Consider the catastrophic damage to BP’s brand as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Or the negative impact on Ryanair in 2017 when the organisation had to cancel some 2000 flights due to issues relating to its pilots’ holiday roster.
Of course, these are extreme examples and neither company needed brand tracking to tell them their brands were in a tailspin. However, they both certainly needed ongoing tracking data to help them identify and implement the strategies required to repair the reputational damage caused and enable them to get back on the front foot.
Implementing a tracker
For any organisation that hasn’t yet committed to tracking its brand, the idea can be daunting. In particular, there is the question of exactly what brand data is required and how the business should use it.
The good news is that these questions are relatively simple to answer if the company already has clarity regarding the:
Brand to be tracked: its proposition, features, attributes, segmentation and competitive set
Underlying marketing strategy and the metrics focussed upon by the business to both drive measure it
With this level of understanding it is relatively easy to devise a tracker that is truly capable of both driving brand planning and holding it accountable.
Content
Broadly, there are 2 ways to go when it comes to deciding on the questions to ask within your tracker.
The first is to build a bespoke tracker around metrics that are probably common currency within your business already. These are likely to include some or all of the following:
Spontaneous awareness of your brand versus those of key competitors
Prompted awareness of your brand versus those of key competitors
Awareness and relevance of the different elements (features and benefits) of your brand’s offer versus those of key competitors
Relevance of your brand’s values versus those of key competitors
Purchase criteria (e.g. ease of use, price, innovation etc) for brands in your space
Usage behaviour (when and why the brand is used)
Frequency of use
The other way is to buy in to a tracker designed around your research agency’s view of the drivers of brand performance. This can be a route to competitive advantage if it provides your organisation with a view of the world that others do not have.
But beware! Adopting another company’s brand philosophy and recommended metrics can be a challenge. Not only does your business have to get used to them, it must also get used to the agency’s view of what makes brands tick.
Frequency and timing
Frequency and timing depend mainly upon when the company typically conducts its annual planning and budget round. Most companies will do this on an annual basis, meaning that the tracker needs to be reported annually too.
Ideally, reporting will happen some 4-6 weeks before this occurs, so that there is enough time to consider the implications of the results, set new brand performance targets and identify the specific sales and marketing actions to get there.
However, larger brands may hold interim brand review sessions on a bi-annual or even quarterly basis, to review brand performance against targets so that they can nudge marketing plans for the next period accordingly.
Conclusion
In summary, here are some tracker do’s and don’ts:
Don’t even think about commissioning a brand tracker until you are sure the organisation has real clarity with regard to the component parts of the brand and the key metrics required to manage it. If that clarity is lacking, use an insight agency partner to help you identify them first
Don’t launch your tracker until all parts of the business are on board, enthused and up to speed. Otherwise, those who are left behind can become voices of dissent
Don’t keep adding to the tracker and turn it in to something that it isn’t. It dilutes its clarity and perceived usefulness
Don’t internalise results – tailor the information for different parts of the business but ensure everyone gets regular feedback on the brand they represent
Brandspeak is a market research consultancy with over 14 years experience of helping organisations with brand tracking service.
