Using Marketing Research to Unleash your Marketing Genius

OrHow to REALLY know as much about

marketing as everyone else thinks they know

Frank Martin, CEO

RoanokeRichmondAlexandriaVB

3 Things Conferred at Birth

A sense of HumorCommon SenseMarketing Expertise

3 things everybody wants to tell you

Where you should be putting your money

How you should be raising your children

How you should be marketing your business

4 ways to develop marketing credibility

Undergraduate or graduate degreeYears of Marketing Experience in a

variety of businessesPhysician or a CEOSon or Daughter of the CEO

Marketing Crisis

CMOs are losing jobs at an alarming rate

Job is second-guessed more than any in the organization

Marketing budgets are the first ones cut, but expectations aren’t

Researchers are low on the totem pole

Problems:

We can’t even agree on what is “good marketing”

No generally accepted metrics for accountability

Perception that 1/2 is “wasted”

What’s GOOD?

Entertaining?Sells stuff?Improves image?Increases awareness or

recognition?I like it?

The Inescapable TRUTH

Marketing IS subjectiveIt’s part of the job:We face it head on

How do we get better at it?

With Better InformationWith disciplineWith unfailing curiosity about…

Why people buy from youWhy they don’tWhere your customers are coming

fromHow they hear about youWhat they want from you (and your

competition) that they are NOT gettingWhen they want it

Research is UNDER-utilized

Think it costs too much money (or that it WASTES money that could be better spent marketing)

People think they already knowResearch is boring; marketing is excitingPeople are intimidatedDon’t know how, andWonks make it too complicated

Marketing Research

Focus on Attitudes (Why?) and Behaviors (What?)

Information to help make better business decisions

Risk-reductionFinding opportunities

Marketing Research

SurveysFocus Groups and IDI’sPopulation counts and patterns

Surveys (Quantitative)

TelephoneMailEmail or InternetInterceptPanels

Qualitative Research

Traditional Focus GroupsSmall Group InterviewsIDI’sEthnographic (in home)

Population Counts and Patterns

Where people areWhere they are goingHow they are getting thereWhat they look like

What’s a marketer to do?

Introduce marketing research to your organization

It’s all about connecting with your customers and prospects

Do it better than anyone else in your organization - become - the voice of the customer

Should Have Clear Goals

Make current customers spend more each time, or spend more frequently

Get more new customers in the door

Add or improve productsIncrease market for your products

(the size of the pie)

5 Research ideas

Primary Goal: Develop EMPATHYTo make you a better marketerTo help you make smarter marketing

decisionsTo provide a foundation of

information that brings you closer to your customers

Idea 1: Talk to Customers

Talk to customers and non-customerso Call or see your BEST customerso Monthly customer focus groupso Focus groups of non-customers

Agendao Why you buy from uso Why you buy from competitorso What we could do bettero How we could make your life easiero Customer Service rating: scale of 10

Idea 2: Talk to YOUR people

Talk to people who talk to customerso Customer service personnelo Sales team

Agendao What do customers want that we don’t give

them? When customers complain - what do they complain about?

o What are competitors giving them that we aren’t?

o How can we help you sell more stuff, or make customers happier?

Idea 3: Segment your customers

Conduct an intensive internal customer analysiso Divide customers into deciles or

quintileso Where are your top 20% coming from,

and why do they choose youo How do you get more business from

the remaining quintiles?

Idea 4: Analyze the competition

Conduct an intensive analysis of your competitorso Whom they are targetingo Where advertisingo What they are sayingo Positioning strategyo Pricing o Channels of Distribution preferred

Idea 5: Make $$ for your customers

Research how your best customers make moneyo What is going on in their markets that

could affect their businesso What markets are their competitors

targeting? And how are they doing it?o What is their largest competitor

doing?

Summary

1. Talk to Customers

2. Talk to your people

3. Segment

4. Analyze Competition

5. $$ for Customers

Better marketing through better understanding