Are you doing the right things with your marketing?
We all believe that we know our customers and their likes and dislikes. It is all too easy to make unintentional assumptions about their needs and how well we are meeting their expectations. To a point, our customers will stay with us and keep buying from us until something in the marketing environment changes. This may be the introduction of a new product or service, a new brand arriving on scene, a new digital service, a competitor changing its positioning or pricing and so on. Until one of these happens, our belief that we are ‘doing the right things’ with our marketing is continually reinforced.
The danger is that we become complacent despite our knowing the need to keep innovating.
As marketing development experts, we undertake a wide range of different research projects. However, the most rewarding for us and our clients tend to be the ones that reveal where there are gaps between what the customer needs and expects and what the organisation’s marketing delivers.
What should you do?
Qualitative research is an excellent way of gaining the information needed to make key marketing decisions that will deliver real value to you and your customers.
Focus group solutions
We typically explore needs and expectation gaps using qualitative focus groups with existing and prospective customers. These may look at one or more elements of the marketing mix including:
· Packaging
· Websites
· Social media
· Digital communications
· Branding
· Customer service
· Positioning
· Price
· New product or service development and design
· New marketing campaigns
· Future needs
· Competitors’ perceptions
· Benchmarking
· Satisfaction
· Events
· Advertising
· Brochures
The most effective method that we use, from a cost and insight perspective, is as follows:
· Three focus groups staged at suitable venues in key geographic areas for your organisation
· 8 to 10 attendees per group with a mix of your customer and prospect types. For example, those customers that are perceived to be satisfied or unsatisfied, different customer profiles, customers by revenue, prospects by profile and so on
· Creation of a discussion guide in conjunction with your information needs for use in the groups
· All groups are moderated by a highly experienced moderator
· Audio and video recording for analysis purposes
· Transcription of the audio recordings
· Full analysis using computer-aided qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS)
· A face to face presentation including key findings and clear strategic recommendations
What do you get as a result?
You will find out what your customers reallythink. We have yet to undertake focus groups that have not revealed key unknown insights from customers and/or prospects.
You will receive a set of strategic recommendations based upon the insight gained from a strategic marketer with over 30 years’ experience across a wide range of market sectors.
You will have clear evidence to support decisions on your marketing strategy and tactics. This will provide you with the intelligence needed to convince others in the organisation that the planned marketing actions are valid. For example, it will provide justification for investment and assist with Cost Benefit Analysis.
What to do next
To discuss how focus groups can deliver the information that you need contact us now.
Bax Interaction are Cambridge based marketing development experts, established in 2005. We deliver research projects for organisations across a wide range of sectors and geographies. Our MD is a highly experienced marketing researcher, lecturer, author and member of the market research society.
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