By Samantha Litfin – Marketing Manager
In the mid 1980’s Coca Cola decided that they knew what their customers wanted and introduced a new product, New Coke, based on their assumption that taste was the single most important cause of market share decline at the time. They were wrong! Their mistake caused millions of dollars’ worth of damage to their brand and their bottom line.
More recently, global music moguls U2 and IT juggernaut Apple thought they knew what their customers wanted, automatically downloading the band’s latest album directly into the library of 500 million iTunes subscribers. The backlash experienced by both parties suggests that lasting damage may have been inflicted upon the two allied “superbrands”.
It has been consistently proved, over and over again, even by massive companies that have more than enough resources to know better … marketing research matters. Collecting, reviewing and analysing your data is key to future business success in a highly competitive industry.
So if you are still not convinced that marketing research is important to your business, here are 5 reasons why it matters!
- Market research centres your business on your consumers
- It keeps you focused on what is important
- It allows you to pursue the most lucrative growth opportunities
- It keeps you relevant and future-oriented
- It improves your decision-making capabilities and reduces your risk.
eConsultancy, in conjunction with Adobe, delivered the Digital Trends in the Travel and Hospitality Sector report, of key importance was the question “In the context of your digital strategy, in what areas is your organisation most lacking skills and capabilities?”
The top answer? Data.
There’s that word again … data! As a hospitality venue, you have nothing but data, your member contact, family and friend’s details, dining and drinking habits, gambling information, competition preferences, online engagement, and the list goes on.
As data becomes more plentiful it is becoming increasingly difficult to turn it into actionable information, which explains why data science appears so high on the above list. Contrary to common misconceptions, there is always time for market research. You can never have enough research, and marketing research is applicable to every industry; it is highly relevant for every organisation, is easily relatable and does not have to cost you a small fortune to take advantage of it.
Marketing Research can be successfully used for a myriad of purposes, including:
- Optimising your brand strategy and positioning
- Identifying and better understanding the wants and needs of your target market
- Elevating your messaging and communication
- Innovating your products and services with impact
- Assessing your industry and competition to gain advantage
Just in case we haven’t made it clear yet …. Marketing Research matters! When done correctly you gain decision making power that impacts your whole organisation. If done incorrectly or ignored, it could end up costing your company financially and strategically.
There is no guarantee that today’s champions will be tomorrow’s champions. Markets are constantly changing and there is never a shortage of up and coming competitors with their own new products and services that are looking to unseat the market leaders. Staying one step ahead of the competition calls for research that addresses not only how well you are doing, but understanding the perceptions your customers have about you and your competitors.
Independent marketing research of your customers is the most reliable way to objectively understand where your vulnerabilities are, and give you the means to address customers’ pain points before they defect. If you are looking for help on where to start, contact Samantha on (07) 3878 9355 or at samantha@dws.net.au and we would be happy to answer any questions you may have and discuss the right research options for your needs.
