3 tips for growing your brand through research

Are you using research and insights to cut through the noise and build a brand that truly stands out?

This is the question Steve Lockwood, Head of Insights and Marketing Analytics at Australia’s largest online comparison site Finder, is on a mission to solve. He’s not alone either, with more research analysts coming forward to ask the same question in recent years.

In the world of market research, irrelevant data is a troublemaker. It costs teams time, energy, and budget. And the world of research isn’t slowing down either. As the experience economy continues to mature, researchers are expected to deliver real-time results across customer, employee, R&D, product research, brand research, and more.

Working with Qualtrics, Finder has undertaken a modern approach to research, which is paying dividends. Capturing and combining X-data with O-data helps Finder unlock brand drivers, and identify opportunities for growth.

“Within ten weeks of going live on Qualtrics XM in early 2019, Finder measured a 23 percent lift in brand awareness; 45 percent improvement in brand salience; 19 percent hike in consideration; and an 8-point increase in NPS,” said Steve Lockwood.

Here’s what Finder is doing to cut through the noise with modern research and create breakthrough brand experiences for customers.

Deconstructing the Brand Journey

Deconstructing the brand journey involves asking questions such as what’s working, does the brand messaging align with the go-to-market strategy, and what’s the methodology being used to get results?

According to Finder, the best place to start with deconstructing the brand journey is by building clarity around your brand pillars to address any challenges you might face.

Answering these questions at the outset ensure research programs are built based on successful strategies, and that messaging is consistent among all audiences.

Tracking your Brand’s Health

The world’s most iconic brands use a tracking study to help leaders and managers understand brand awareness, equity, and purchase intent. A great tracking study is designed with your organization’s values and goals in mind. And it delivers a clear assessment of your brand by monitoring consumers’ opinions over time.

Brand tracking can help answer questions, such as is your brand poised for growth or decline through to what investments you should make and if strategies are working?

If your research isn’t identifying threats, capitalizing unseen opportunities, recognizing the impact of near-term performance and long-term brand equity, or verifying the messages that resonate with your audience, then you are not tracking your brand’s health effectively.

Breakthrough results look like a lift in brand salience, awareness, consideration, revenue, and NPS.

Actionable Research Never Stops

Whether it’s noise caused by your data, the market, or your competitors, cutting through the noise to create breakthrough brand experiences never stops.

Actionable research requires perpetual analysis and action-planning – and both never cease. What Finder has achieved shows insights and measurement need to be planned ahead and uncomfortable truths must always be tackled head-on.

This means never stop in your pursuit to monitor brand health because if you do, your brand could lose dominance in the market.