The Most Common Brand Research Mistakes

Okay, let’s try a sports analogy.

You wouldn’t play in a netball competition without sussing out the competition first, right? That way, when you face off with the infamous Netball Nerds or aggressive Netbrawlers, you know who to look out for. Maybe one of them has a brilliant shooter or impenetrable defence. And even if you can’t beat them at their own game, you can improve other aspects of your team’s game to still take home the trophy.

Is this sports analogy working? What we’re saying is, you need to research your competition to win. And the same goes for branding.

Here are the most common brand research mistakes to avoid. Or pivot away from.

Mistake 1: Not Doing Brand Research At All

If you don’t do brand research, you’re more likely to collapse before you even get started.

Without doing research, how will you know who your customers are, what they want and where to find them? Is there even a market for your product? How can you sell it better than the competition?

Avoid spending valuable time and money on the wrong target market or funnelled into the wrong messaging. Get it right the first time with brand research.

Mistake 2: Thinking You Only Need Brand Research Before a Launch

Nope! Although it’s most obvious to conduct brand research before entering a market, it definitely isn’t the only time.

Analysis can be carried out anytime to strengthen your brand. It can be used periodically to track consumer awareness, before launching a new product and to make sure you’re still in line with perceptions and creating the best customer experience.

Mistake 3: Not Knowing What You’re Looking For

We’ve definitely heard it before, “We’re hoping to find out absolutely everything!”

It’s a totally unattainable goal to find out everything about all your competition, but it’s also not even helpful. Ask yourself, what are the needs of my customers? Why would they choose my brand over another’s? This will help shape what to look for during your research.

Mistake 4: Killing Creativity with Research

Research measures effectiveness. And it does a really good job of identifying how helpful ideas will be for your brand. However what research can’t do is tell you whether an idea is good or not. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t run with it.

Some of the best creative ideas don’t have the research to back them up — they’re a risk. You don’t want to kill an awesome creative concept just because you don’t have the research behind it. You’re a better judge of fresh ideas than research ever will be.

Mistake 5: Underestimating the Competition

It’s easy to think you have no competition because you’re doing something totally new or differently to anyone else in the same industry, but this is a dangerous way of thinking.

Never underestimate your enemies!

You need to be familiar with how other brands work because ultimately their customer base will switch to being your customer base (if you’re doing things right). Understanding why those customers shop with those brands will give you insight into what they’re looking for.

Get as much relevant info on your competitors as you can. This might be how they are conducting business, their brand value, their prices, their strengths/weaknesses or their packaging. Knowing their process gives you a competitive edge.

In short: Brand research assists in the creation and curation of distinctive brands that connect with their customers.

There are no shortcuts with brand research, which is it’s best to engage the experts who already know what to look for and how to interpret research data. We’re here if you need! Get the ball rolling when you reach out to us today.