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Guesswork is not a form of research
We usually know what message we want to get across in marketing
or communication, but what about those on the receiving end?
When we're trying to explain, persuade, or sell, wouldn't
it be useful to know what knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs our
communication will face?
If we are aiming for more than just awareness —
if we're seeking to change perceptions or modify behaviour —
wouldn't it be a help to know what perceptions we're dealing with?
Put like that, the answer is obvious: Research.
But in day-to-day marketing and communication the reality
is often completely different.
Faced with a challenge, the temptation is to do something
— anything — and the sooner the better.
Sometimes immediate action is required and a strategy
is obvious.
But usually we do ourselves and our communication or
marketing a disservice when we don't first find out what we're likely
to be dealing with on the receiving end.
It is a rare marketing or communication challenge which
is a completely "green fields" exercise. Even with the
launch of a new product, service, or company, there will be existing
habits, practices, and perceptions, which will influence how, or
even whether, an audience responds.
Brave (or incompetent) marketers assume they know the
answers or are willing to risk budget and effort on the basis of
assumption, third-hand information, or none at all.
Worse still are "leaps of reasoning", often
based only upon demographic analysis.
An example of this was a publication which found reading
books was the favourite activity of people who made up its readership.
From this, the assumption (reasonable you might think) was made
that readers would be interested in book reviews.
The change in content had to be reversed when readers'
comments indicated it was not what they wanted to read.
Subsequently the publication commissioned more detailed
research which included the questions: What would you like to read
more of in this publication? Book reviews came out well down the
list.
With an understanding of existing perceptions and what
or who influences them, we are better placed to develop an effective
marketing or communication strategy.
When your team is considering different approaches
and individuals are championing favourite strategies, research can
provide an independent picture which is hard to argue against. It
is based on information that really counts, from those on the receiving
end.
The actual communication will be more focused too.
When advertising creatives, marketing copy writers and public relations
professionals get a clearer picture of the audiences they are trying
to reach and how they think, they will produce more effective material.
Getting budget for research should not be the issue.
Instead of regarding it as an unproductive cost, see it as an investment
to ensure more effective marketing. You can even use research to
define the budget your marketing requires.
If Murphy had thought about marketing and communication,
he would have included something in his Law to say: "Any form
of research is better than none".
By way of clarification, he might have added: "Guesswork
is not a form of research".
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