As marketers, we make many recommendations without knowing the outcome for sure. That’s not surprising. At its core, marketing is a creative venture.
But often we’re working without any real data about what will resonate with the buyers we’re trying to reach — because we don’t have any research at all, or because the information we do have doesn’t help us create impactful marketing.
Effective marketing requires relevance, and relevance drives engagement. No one will receive an email that says, “Hello, Female 25-49!” and feel like engaging with it.
Relevance is all about WHY.
Relevance is about understanding the difference between the shopper who buys a scented candle to help them escape from the stress of their day and the one who needs just the right look for that arrangement on the mantle.
Between a buyer who feels confident they have the information they need to make a purchase, and one nervous about making the wrong choice because of what they don’t know.
Between an alumnus who goes to the Homecoming game to cheer on their alma mater, and one who goes in the hope of sitting next to a valuable prospective client.
Between a student who wants a college close to home, and one for whom the whole point is to get as far from home as possible.
These are the insights that can help us craft compelling, engaging and highly relevant marketing content and messaging — marketing that gets the people we want to sit up and take notice.
Marketing that works.
Our attitudinal segmentation research identifies different groups within an audience based on WHY they’re buying — or why they’re not…
Custom Built
Your Audiences, Your Questions
Our segmentation studies are completely custom-built for every client’s unique needs. Stop relying on packaged research reports and syndicated data to try and understand how your client’s prospects are choosing between relevant alternatives with relevant selling propositions in the relevant geography.
We develop a survey based on the information you and your client most need to know, designed to answer questions, test assumptions and settle debates. You won’t have to select from a list of existing questions and hope they provide you the information we need. And you won’t be buying anyone else’s research.
If you have access to your target audience through your email list or partner organizations willing to help, you’ll invite them to participate in the research at no cost to you. If you don’t, we can get you the appropriate respondents through our network of world-class panel providers.
Your Segments
Unlike mass-market cookie-cutter segmentation tools, we aren’t placing your buyers and prospects into predetermined audience segments. We’ll analyze your data to identify the attitudes driving your target customers, and your segmentation won’t look like anyone else’s.
Statistical Reliability
Focus groups and other forms of qualitative research have their place, but what they can’t tell you is how prevalent attitudes are in the larger audience — or the extent to which they’re driving purchase decisions for larger groups of buyers. Our research gives you confidence that you are making marketing decisions based on relevant, reliable data.
Actionable Insights
Better Personas
Personas are a helpful tool in reminding marketers and other team members of your ideal audiences. However, personas based on demographics alone leave little to inspire creative thinking, and can even lead clients to make the wrong assumptions about prospects based on their age or gender.
Attitudinal segmentation gives you everything you need to build accurate, easy-to-understand personas driven by motivations — giving your team everything it needs to develop highly relevant, compelling messaging.
One of our agency clients refers to our research as a “road map for persona development”.
Compelling Content
Your study can assess the appeal of potential marketing messages, as well as test interest in various types of content you could offer.
But one of the most exciting things is to watch how the segment attitudes and interests drive new ideas — concepts for new content, new promotions, new events, new messaging and even new products and services that you team didn’t consider before learning what’s really driving your target audiences.
Targeted Prospecting
Understanding your audience segments allows you to make strategic decisions about your best prospects — and also gives you the insight to avoid spending on audiences who aren’t your best fit.
Even audiences that share many demographic characteristics and buy the same products don’t buy for the same reasons — and it’s possible we’ll find segments that prioritize things you don’t offer (or don’t want to). Sometimes they’re switchers and aren’t worth the investment to court them. Sometimes there’s a competitor that’s just much better at doing something they want. And sometimes what they want isn’t worth the cost, or the trouble.
Even among segments you do want there can be differences in the resources they use for information, the influences that guide their choices, and whether or not they use social media to research and discuss your category. These insights can help you save money by focusing your spending where it will have the greatest impact.
Future Segmentation of Customers and Prospects
Because our research is statistically reliable, you can with confidence use the identified attitudes to easily segment new visitors to your site, stores or email list by incorporating a short questionnaire into your initial contact process. Understanding an individual’s segment will improve interaction with prospects from the first contact.
You can also use this short questionnaire to identify the segment of current customers who didn’t complete the original survey.
Engaged Respondents for Ongoing Research
While our studies are anonymous, we do invite respondents to volunteer for more research at the end of our surveys. Participation is optional, and the survey responses of those who choose to participate remain anonymous. For the 40-60% of respondents who typically volunteer, you’ll have contact information, segment identification and opt-in for further surveys, interviews or focus groups.
This group will allow you to gather more feedback on a particular topic, test new concepts and creative, and drive advocacy for your brand with a group of highly engaged individuals at minimal cost.
Relevant Services
For common questions about our research, check out the FAQs.
