YOUR BRAND AND YOU
methods . Each approach offers a number of opportunities to dive into your customers ’ inner lives .
The different methods available for informal market research prove that budget is not a barrier . On the super-lowbudget end of the spectrum , you can just hang around in a Starbucks and ask people to try your product or service - then solicit their opinions . Be sure to ask open-ended questions , such as “ What do you like about this brand ?”— or —“ How do you see this fitting into your life ?”— or —“ What would you change about this ?” Actually talking to customers face-to-face is one of the most valuable things you can do to understand your brand .
One easy way for marketing managers and executives to interact with customers is by fielding customer service calls or inbound sales calls . Even at the CEO level , if you take customer service calls for a few hours every month it might just be the most valuable time you ever spend . The callers won ’ t have any idea you ’ re the CEO , so they won ’ t sugar coat how they feel about your brand . And you can ask them almost anything you want , and they ’ ll answer honestly .
Another inexpensive method is hosting a pizza and beer party ( or flatbread and wine party , depending upon your target demographic ). Invite friends and friends of friends to visit your office or your home and try your product .
Tell them you ’ ll provide take-out food and beverages in exchange for their time .
The key here is to make sure you ’ re getting honest feedback .
Friends and family will usually try to tell you they love it , even if they don ’ t . So offer them the booze in exchange for brutal , unvarnished honesty .
The above ideas are free or extremely inexpensive . Entrepreneurs in early stage start-ups , and companies without market research budgets , should take full advantage of all of these ideas and devise other methods that put them front and center with customers .
On the opposite end of the cost spectrum is formal market research . These could include everything from focus groups , to quantitative studies in-depth interviews , surveys , or even observing your customers “ in the wild ” through ethnography . Professional focus groups can yield a tremendous amount of data , but they ’ re costly .
Regardless of how much you spend , companies of all sizes should be asking their customers about their needs . Oh , and here ’ s a pro tip : smart companies don ’ t just ask this of their own customers ; they ask their competitors ’ customers too . Customers must always be a central part of the equation when you ’ re doing brand strategy .
Unfortunately , there are many marketing agencies out there that believe in the myth of the marketing executive in a closed-off and customerfree boardroom . To do branding in a vacuum without putting the customers ’ point of view front and center is a massive mistake . In building a strong brand that connects deeply with customers , you must conduct discovery so you can gain an understanding of customers ’ needs as well as the trends , forces and brands that compete for their attention .
The goal is to do more than safeguard against what other brands are doing . You need to gain insight into your company ’ s unique role in the marketplace , and your unique relevance to your Ideal Customer . +
BY : DEB GABOR
Deb Gabor is the founder of Sol Marketing , a consultancy that has led successful strategy engagements since 2003 for global brands like Dell , Microsoft and NBCUniversal , and for numerous digital brands , including Allrecipes , Cheezburger , HomeAway and many more . A leading expert on brand disasters , she is the author of Branding Is Sex : Get Your Customers Laid and Sell the Hell out of Anything , and Irrational Loyalty : Building A Brand That Thrives In Turbulent Times . Deb has been featured in USA Today and other major publications . A displaced Midwesterner , Deb currently lives in Austin , Texas , but travels frequently to help her clients build bulletproof brands .
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