Four Ideas to Kickstart Your Brand Research
By Levina Kusumadjaja
Unsure if you have enough information or access to start a brand research?
I was also worried about not having enough information too. Having studied Masters online, I understood the value of collecting a lot of information for a research project or paper. Having more information is definitely helpful for the research process. However, this didn’t mean that you and I cannot do a brand research just because we only have access to several customers of the brand. When you choose to focus on what you already have, the possibilities become endless.
You can get great insights for your current project and your current clients, regardless of how many or few customers you can get access to. Something as simple as having conversations with people about the brand you are researching is already valuable. Here are 4 ideas that you can start with if you want to try brand research for your brand strategy project:
Send out a survey
While a survey may not go deep on what customers think or feel about the brand, it can be a super valuable tool to understand patterns. If you don’t have a lot of time and budget to do the research, this can be a great alternative. Think about it—it doesn’t cost a lot and it’s easy to build and distribute. Whether you can get a hold of a lot of customers or only a handful few, it will still be valuable to collect information from the customers.Set up discovery calls with the team behind the brand
Spend time with the people behind the brand. The founders, the CEOs, the long-time employees, the interns, the creative director, the engineers—whoever you can get a hold to who interacts with the brand internally. Have a one-on-one open conversation about the brand and create a safe space for the team to share their honest thoughts. Ask them about what the brand is all about and what the internal culture is like, dig deeper on whether the way the brand behaves vs. its values are aligned. It doesn’t have to be anything formal. Make it casual, make it raw, and make it fun!Set up a fun group chat with loyal customers
Another key group to talk to would be the customers. Find a group of customers who are excited and willing to jump on a call to talk about their experience with the brand. And what do you do? Just talk! Ask them about when they first find out about the brand and what made them buy. Invite them to share about what made them stay loyal with the brand and what their hopes and dreams are for the brand. If the time and space allows, dig deeper on their before-after transformation from using the brand’s products and services.Set up a blind perception testing Here’s a fun experiment to kickstart your brand research: get a group of 10 people who have never heard of the brand and just ask them what they think about the brand. Think of it as a blind date. Have them interact with the different touch points of the brand—social media, website, and visuals. If possible, you can even have them test out the brand’s product and service. Use the experience to gauge how the brand makes people feel. Sometimes the most candid first impressions can tell us the most accurate perception that a brand gives.
What now?
That’s really it. Just take these ideas, try them, and see how it goes. Don’t overthink it and lean in to your curiosity. Keep in mind that your goal is to understand the brand and the customer better, and how you can help the brand connect with the customer—eventually. Meanwhile, have fun meeting new people and discovering fresh insights about your client’s brand!
Cheers!
Levina
P.S. If you're curious to learn more about brand research, here are links to other articles on brand research:
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About the author:
Levina is a writer based in Indonesia. Because of Melinda Livsey, she recognized the power of brand strategy for every creative. She is sharing about her learnings as she goes to help creatives have fun in their growth and journey of building brands. Connect with her on LinkedIn and say hi!