“The Way we’ve Always Done It” Will Kill Your Business

In today’s dynamic business landscape, relying solely on ‘how we’ve always done it’ won’t yield the best results. As a media company, specializing in market research and consumer insights, we take our responsibility to encourage clients to think outside the box very seriously. It’s vital to present our clients with innovative approaches for gathering insights that meet (and exceed) their needs now and set them up for a successful, fruitful future. But we know that change is hard.

When working with clients apprehensive about evolving from ‘the way we’ve always done it’ to the intimidating ‘unknown,’ we know we must present a strong case for why it’s important and how we might go about it. Of course, we recognize that each client has their own set of circumstances, marketplace challenges, and business objectives that make the solutions we provide unique to them. But there are some universal truths that guide our strategy, discovery, and approach for all our clients.

First, objectively, we understand that consumer behavior and market trends are constantly evolving. To stay ahead of the competition a business must adopt flexible and innovative research methodologies. Simply put, no one can afford to overlook emerging consumer preferences or niche markets. Creative research approaches, tailored to align with the client’s unique goals and challenges, uncover hidden insights and a deeper understanding of target audiences.

This doesn’t mean we won’t still use surveys and focus groups. But what it does mean is that we use them differently and in coordination with other methods. How we ask questions, how we interact with consumers, who we talk to and why, and much more, may need to evolve to optimize each touchpoint with them. This optimization and innovation in our approach often delivers faster results and great cost-saving effectiveness.

Second, if you aren’t leveraging a multi-faceted approach, you’re missing out. There are mountains of data available these days. But making sense of the data is where the challenge lies. We partner with you to understand and use what you already know, fill in the gaps with custom research, actively track and monitor sales/ advertising/ communications channels, and utilize advanced tools and technologies to deliver real-time insights. Without a multi-faceted approach, you’ll miss opportunities and trends that mean the difference between growth and going out of business.

The next challenge we face is the fact that change is just really, really difficult. To help ease clients’ minds it might help to think of it like ROI. Except in this case, it’s ROC, ‘Return On Change.’ We think of ROC much like ROI because change IS so hard, just like investment. Heck, ‘change’ IS an investment. It’s an investment in the unknown. Scary stuff indeed.

So why risk it? Simply put, you must stay relevant and competitive. The current sales and advertising funnel for most products looks completely different from 5 – 10 years ago. Most products and services can’t rely on focusing solely on ‘bricks and mortar’ and eCommerce alone. Today, businesses must stay on top of emerging trends, new sales channels, and ‘overnight’ market share challengers just to maintain, much less grow. Embracing innovation in your market research approaches can be a key differentiator to help you stand out in crowded markets.

For example.
Do you really think Stanley, a mostly blue-collar, ‘working man’ brand just a few years ago, simply DUMB-LUCKED their way into their Stanley Cup Craze era?
Not a chance.
They created it. And masterfully, I might add.

In fact, we’re so confident in what embracing innovation in your market research can do for your business that we’re happy to work with you to educate stakeholders through training and workshops on the benefits of thinking outside the box in market research. Furthermore, we believe that once leaders embrace innovation in market research, the company culture overall begins to evolve into a Culture of Innovation, where experimentation and outside-the-box thinking are encouraged. And when all your teams and departments feel empowered to think on the company’s behalf, businesses thrive.

If you’d like to know more about how to build your own custom, holistic research strategy for your business or brand, feel free to contact us.

Our ‘In the kNOW’ series tackles the burning questions we all want to know about right NOW. If you have questions you think we should ask, topics we should explore, or things you’d like to learn more about, shoot me a note at tellmemore@nuvoodoo.com.