However, we have encountered clients in the past who don’t see the value in conducting research before embarking on a branding project. We believe that it is always beneficial to have some level of insight and understanding of the customers before starting any kind of brand-related project.
In this blog post, we look at some of the common questions we get asked on research projects. Things like how we approach branding projects with clients who have not conducted any research, the recommended number of people to speak to when conducting customer research, how to approach research projects for new brands without any customers, and how we come up with research scripts and questions.
We firmly believe that a foundation of customer insight and understanding is necessary for creating a successful brand strategy. If a client comes to us without any research, we would have to explain that with our methodology and the way we approach projects, research is a vital piece of a branding project. However, if the client has done some research, we are happy to work with it and expand on it where possible. Nevertheless, we usually add our own layer of insight to make sure that we hear everything firsthand.
To get a better understanding of the importance of a research project read our blog piece on Research for brands: why it’s important.
We recommend speaking to between 15 and 20 customers when conducting research. This number allows us to hear everything we need to hear and to develop a comprehensive understanding of the customers’ needs and preferences. We have conducted larger research pieces in the past, and while they can be valuable, we find that beyond 20 people, we start hearing the same set of questions and answers. Anything less than 10 to 15 people, we find, does not provide the full story.
Conducting research for new brands can be challenging since they have no established customer base to speak to. In such cases, we create a ‘first best customer’ persona and we try to recruit as many people who fit that customer profile as possible and talk to them. This approach can also be useful for established brands looking to break into new markets as well. Speaking to people outside of the immediate customer base can provide valuable insights and help tap into a broader audience.
Our research process starts with a workshop with the client. During the workshop, we embed ourselves in the client’s life and absorb as much information as possible. Once we have done that, we take a subjective look at what we’ve heard from the business and determine the questions that need to be validated by consumers and create a research script using that. The customer research calls are about validating, or disproving, the things we have learned in the workshop to ensure that the brand and its customers are on the same page. Learn more about what we do once we have validated these insights here: Research projects: our approach
At Make Us Care we believe research is a crucial aspect of developing a successful brand and incorporating customer insight and understanding into every project we undertake is irreplaceable. By ensuring we speak to the right people, and the right amount of people and by writing the most effective research script from the business’s internal insights, we can help brands better understand their customers and develop a successful brand that resonates with their audience.