I was pulled into an interesting online discussion recently in a PR forum that I participate in on LinkedIn. There are currently more than 100 responses to a question that initially asked whether participants hated cold-calling and eventually evolved into a discussion of whether Continue reading “Ask Before Acting: Why You Should Seek Input From Target Audiences”
A few years ago I was at a craft show—an annual outing where I sell beaded jewelry that I design and “dabble in” throughout the year. Unlike previous shows, that year I sold hardly any earrings, usually a high demand item both because of their uniqueness and low price, I think (I have to be honest with myself!). Instead, that year I sold Continue reading “Qualitative vs. Quantitative Customer Insights and How to Use Them”
Moving forward with communication tactics without a good understanding of the target audience, their current attitudes and beliefs, and the drivers that might lead them to positive action relative to your product or service is never a good idea.
On the other hand, many companies—particularly small companies—don’t have the time or resources to invest in expensive research activities.
It’s a conundrum—but one that can be addressed Continue reading “Avoiding Paralysis by Analysis: How Much Research Do You Really Need To Do?”
I recently saw an interesting promotion on Amazon for the 4th generation Echo Dot. It’s a round version being offered in three Diane von Furstenberg designs. The “special price” being offered is $59.99 which will go up to $69.99 after August 13. Not so unusual, but there’s an interesting twist to this offer. Continue reading “The New Echo Illustrates a More Reliable Way to Do Market Research”
by Linda Pophal
All marketers know how important it is to understand their target audience so they can effectively craft messages and select communication channels that will most appeal to them and move them to some desired action. Continue reading “Using Google Search Can Help You Save on Market Research Costs: Here’s How”
Peter Capelli recently wrote a piece for The Wall Street Journal suggesting that it’s time to do away with employee surveys. Like similar calls for doing away with performance reviews, there are some very good reasons to seriously consider doing away with them—many people don’t like them, response rates are often very low and, all too often, nothing is really done with the information received which serves to demotivate rather than engage employees.
Continue reading “Should Organizations Do Away With Employee Surveys?”
Market research is definitely something that even very small businesses can do on their own but there are a lot of myths and misconceptions related to research that can cause them to make decisions based on incomplete or inaccurate information. While it’s impossible to cover everything related to doing research well, here are some general strategies and best practices that businesses of any size can put to use to leverage the value of gathering market research to improve their business offerings and marketing effectiveness.
Every business has competitors and needs to successfully position itself against those competitors to succeed in the marketplace. Creating a competitive analysis matrix can be a good way to help you identify areas of opportunity for your business and its products and services. Here we show you how.
Continue reading “Creating a Competitive Positioning Matrix”
Competitors are a fact of life for businesses of all types and sizes. Even if you think you have no competition (and some companies do think this), you do! We like to define competition, broadly, as “any available alternative to what you have to offer.” For instance, I worked in the healthcare industry for a number of years, leading the organization’s marketing efforts. We had direct competitors (other hospitals and clinics) serving the same market we served. We also had indirect competitors—Google search for instance. How often have you gone online to find information about some medical issue rather than make an appointment to see the doctor?
The point is, we all have competition. Continue reading “Conducting a Competitive Analysis”
Businesses spend a lot of time and money trying to gain insights into how customers perceive their product or service offerings. This might involve conducting surveys and focus groups to hear directly from customers. Or, it might involve efforts to ascertain customer preferences based on online behavior and purchase decisions. And yet, despite the general accessibility of this type of information, so many businesses still misread customers. That lack of awareness limits their ability to improve the customer experience. Continue reading “How Businesses Often Fumble with Customer Feedback”
