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What Do You Really Know About Your Target Consumer?

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As you may already know, an AMA is an “Ask Me Anything” session or online thread, popularized on Reddit, in which someone takes questions from the public. AMAs are conducted with celebrities, business leaders, politicians, athletes, and just about anyone you could think of. For example, a few that are active as I write this:

  • I work in a federal prison…AMA
  • I was struck by lightning…AMA
  • I have over 200 houseplants…AMA
  • I do medieval armored combat…AMA

Through AMAs we have learned, among other things, that Nicolas Cage’s favorite insect is the honeybee, that Nicolas Cage’s second favorite insect is the firefly, and that Bill Gates watches White Lotus. Who knew?!

Recently, I considered that there is an AMA-like quality to the work we do at Coleman Insights, in the sense that we facilitate the asking and answering of questions. Our clients have target consumers, and even with available performance metrics, it’s not always clear what needs to be done to attract and satisfy them. “Are they aware of my brand?” “Do they like my brand?” “What could my brand be doing to better align with their tastes and needs?” Even the most talented, experienced managers are wary of relying too heavily on gut and instinct, of being out of touch with the people they’re trying to serve, of not understanding what’s driving behavior. Our clients have questions for their target consumers, and our team at Coleman Insights uses quantitative and qualitative research tools to ask and get answers to those burning questions.

When someone says, “It’s time to call Coleman,” it’s not because they think we already have the answers; it’s because they trust that we can help them get the answers. That is, they understand and value our research process. Whether you are working with Coleman Insights or another company, it is important to be thoughtful through every step of the process.

First, at the outset of the project, engage in an in-depth conversation with your research partner about your needs and priorities. Different needs call for different research approaches, in terms of methodology, sample structure, and questions asked. For example, some needs may call for a large quantitative study, while others are best addressed with a small set of free-flowing one-on-one interviews; sometimes you need to focus on your base consumers, while other times you’d want to primarily hear from non-users. Recognize that you may need to prioritize your needs, and be open to adjusting your research approach accordingly.

There is immense value in asking the right questions of your target consumers. (Photo credit: Shutterstock)

Second, talk with your research partner about the fielding process, i.e., the process of completing interviews and collecting data. Consider trade-offs that may exist between cost/speed and quality.

Third, understand at the beginning what to expect at the end. That is, make sure you are on the same page with your research partner about the final deliverable. In some cases, you may want to invest in a full-service experience with analysis, recommendations, and hands-on implementation assistance; and in others, all you may need is the delivery of a no-frills data set.

With a trusted research partner and a thoughtful approach to the process, you’ll be well-positioned to get the most out of an investment in AMA time with your target consumers.

Ask Me Anything

Ask Me Anything – Episode 1: Brand Research vs. Content Research

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Welcome to our new Ask Me Anything webinar series!

Each month will feature a different topic, as we cover questions related to research, branding, and marketing strategy in audio entertainment – all in just 15 minutes!

In our debut AMA episode, consultants Jay Nachlis and Meghan Campbell, along with moderator and Director of Client Services Kimberly Bryant, discussed “Brand Research vs. Content Research”. Watch the 15-minute video below:

Questions We Answered:

  • 02:48 – What is the difference between brand research and content research?
  • 04:01 – Can you give an example of when a radio station would use both brand research and content research?
  • 06:42 – Are you seeing any trends in research which explain why non-com radio brands are performing well in PPM measurement?
  • 09:09 – Should there be more innovation in on-air programming (vs digital platforms) and how do you research that?
  • 11:23 – Our radio station has never done research. Our music and personalities are on target, but performance has been down. Where do we start with research?
  • 13:19 – What are some branch research trends you are seeing today?

 

Blog

Why Brands Need Research in the New Remote Reality

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Like many companies when the COVID-19 lockdowns began in March 2020, Coleman Insights transitioned to a remote environment. The nearly 7,500 square feet of office space more than 25 of our employees (including those employed by our Integr8 Research “sister” company) had worked out of for years sat unused for months, including the new conference room with all the latest display technology we added to our office just two years earlier.

As I’m sure was the case for many others reading this, being away from the office gave me a weird feeling. Our team had worked hard to create a sense of “place” in those 7,500 square feet, and suddenly, that place that we spent so many hours in every week was no longer a part of our lives. It was unsettling, especially amidst all the other uncertainties that accompanied the pandemic.

Then, a funny thing happened—our staff adapted, and most found that not only were they more productive working from home, but they preferred it. That led me to decide that having a remote workforce permanently was the right move for us, and earlier this year, we successfully negotiated a lease termination with our landlord. As of October 1st, the only centralized physical presence of our company is in an office-sharing facility in Raleigh, where we occasionally gather for meetings and social functions.

The last few weeks before we moved out felt strange and elicited surprisingly emotional responses from many on our team, including me. We spent weeks selling and donating furniture and other office equipment—I’m proud to share that the 85-inch monitor in our conference room now hangs in the conference room of the Exchange Family Center, a non-profit our company supports through our Pledge 1% initiative, and that some public school teachers in our area have new desks courtesy of Coleman Insights—and seeing the dismantling of what we had built drove home for me that things were never going to be the same.

The remnants of Coleman Insights’ dismantled cubicles

What we did at Coleman Insights was the right thing for us, but I acknowledge that moving to a remote environment is not for every company or every employee. Nonetheless, there is no denying that there has been a significant and likely permanent shift to working from home, and companies like ours are not alone in eliminating the requirement that employees come to an office or other jobsite every day.

This means that when, how, and where a sizeable portion of the target audience of your radio station, podcast, or streaming platform uses your brand has changed. That does not even consider how your target audience’s tastes, needs, and what they are seeking from your brand have changed, even if many of those consumers have resumed the patterns their lives followed prior to the pandemic. In other words, if there was ever a time to conduct strategic research, it is now.

In a recent Plan Developer study we delivered to one of our radio station clients, we identified that the presence of radio listeners in the station’s target audience who primarily worked remotely had doubled from 16% to 32%. Other estimates suggest that even as many companies have “returned to normal,” the increase in the number of employees working remotely at least part of the time is substantial and likely permanent.

Even as many aspects of our lives have “returned to normal,” things will never be the same as they were before 2020. Your target audience may be in different work situations, their commuting patterns may have changed significantly, and they have likely used the last two-plus years to sample new media in quantities never seen before. Their opinions on the world may have shifted, along with their music tastes. Perhaps most significantly, for many of those in your target audience, the number of shared experiences they have with others may have declined substantially, adding to an even more fragmented media landscape than existed before the pandemic.

If your radio station, podcast, or streaming platform has not updated its strategy based on new information on the behaviors, tastes, and perceptions of your target audience, you are likely falling behind competitors who have. While we may not be 100% past the pandemic as I write this, there have been enough permanent changes to the world your target audience lives in to make updating your strategic plan based on fresh data a necessity right now.