Public relations and market research seem to be completely different at first. Public relations deals with maintaining a favorable company image, while market research involves gathering data to gain insights for better marketing. But, what if I told you that public relations and market research actually go hand-in-hand?
Read MoreAgency Growth Ideas
There's only three types of marketing, and we're not using them right.
Update 8/25/21: We wanted to revisit one of our most popular articles from last year, because, let’s face it, the world has changed and marketing changes right along with it! Take a moment to enjoy this updated take on our take of the 3 Types of Marketing (and why we’re all probably using them wrong!).
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How to Tackle DIY Research in Your Agency
If you haven’t had a chance to listen to the Build a Better Agency Podcast, you’re going to want to check this out! Drew McLellan has been helping marketing, advertising and public relations firms build stronger, better businesses for more than 30 years. He now runs one of my favorite podcasts for our industry, and that’s why I was absolutely honored when he asked if I’d come on the show to talk DIY Research for Agencies!
Read MoreBuild Your Agency's Marketing Strategy By Understanding Your Clients' 2021 Marketing Goals
The S2 Research Marketing Agency and Client Goals, Objectives and KPIs survey measured how both clients and communications firms feel about marketing measurement in 2021. The survey revealed several insights that, when employed in a marketing agency setting, can help those teams attract and retain more clients, and produce more meaningful marketing (as valued by the clients) as a result.
Read MoreStrengthen Your Marketing With Buyer Personas
If you don’t listen to the SUMMIT Podcast yet, you’re definitely missing out on some incredible content! Hosted by marketing expert and CEO of Hamer Marketing Group Kyle Hamer, the show gives an inside look at all things marketing and sales. Kyle and I met a few weeks ago to touch base, and immediately had a great conversation about Buyer Personas. Wanting to take that conversation to his audience, we connected again and had an absolutely brilliant chat about what marketers and businesses can do right now to start writing, and using, buyer personas in their marketing plans today.
Read MoreHow to Measure Customer Experience to Make Your Marketing Better
I’ve always been a fan of measuring customer experience. The concept makes sense - we’re measuring the entire process behind the hows and whys of why people are doing business with us. When Paula Y reached out to talk about The Scrappy Entrepreneur Podcast, we quickly worked into a really great discussion about the importance of customer experience market research within the worlds of marketing and business. You’re going to dig it!
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Market Research and Business Growth on the Everyday Business Problems Podcast
I got a chance to connect with Dave Crysler with The Crysler Club on his podcast, Everyday Business Problems. We talked about market research, marketing, growing businesses, and dealing with those projects amid the Coronavirus. Take a listen, and be sure to let me know what you think!
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Marketing Decision Makers & Marketing Firm Relationships Survey Report (FREE Download)
The newest FREE White Paper from S2 Research is now available! The S2 Research Marketing DECISION MAKERS & MARKETING FIRM Relationships Survey dove deep into several important facets of the client and marketing agency relationship. The study engaged with more than 350 marketing decision maker individuals at companies that have worked with marketing firms in the past, ranging across various industries and company size, with questions pertaining to agency satisfaction and the role of marketing firms moving forward.
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Test Your Knowledge With the Market Research Master Quiz!
Are you a Market Research Master? Find out now in this fun quiz! ! write a lot about market research in marketing, but now I created a fun quiz to help you, masterful marketer reading this blog, make sure your market research nuts and bolts knowledge is in tip-top shape! Read the study guide, take the practice tests, and then post your final score in the comments.
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Discussing The Future of Buyer Personas
The Research Business DAILY Report is one of my favorite resources for information on market research. Everything from insights to ideas to interesting happenings in this industry, it shows up on Bob Lederer’s program. That’s why I was honored when Bob reached out to me a few weeks ago to discuss the two-month-long How to Write a Buyer Persona project I just wrapped up.
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How I Wrote My Buyer Persona – A Follow-Along Guide for Marketers
Writing a buyer persona can be intimidating, especially now that the world has gone fruitloops. To help marketers counter that challenge, I’ve written a step-by-step process to writing buyer personas using survey data. Why surveys? Well, now is a bizarre time in the world, and surveys are a great way to work your way around the clutter to discover the right insights. Follow along, and be sure to download the free companion Sample Buyer Persona too
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The Power of the Starbucks Gift Card – The Market Research Mega Cost-Saving Technique Used by the Pros
If you’re thinking about doing a market research survey, adding a Starbucks gift card can be a powerful tool to get more people involved! A coffee gift card giveaway increases your total survey response rate, which really helps when you’re working with a tighter market research or marketing budget. Add this tool to increase your survey response rate and effectiveness without breaking the bank.
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Insights, Ideas and Interruptions – The Reasons Research is like Rocket Fuel for Marketing Brainstorms
I spend a lot of time on this blog helping marketers understand what is an insight and how do they find marketing insights for their specific audiences. But instead of talking about how to do market research today, I instead wanted to focus on the power of market research at the next step in the marketing process – the brainstorm! One of my favorite things to do is present on research data. The challenge in presenting great market research, I’ve found, is that the presentation gets interrupted a lot. And that’s exactly what I want to have happen!
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How to Write a Buyer Persona NOW (And by NOW, I mean during the Corona Era)
I had a friend recently ask me about the buyer persona writing process, so he could put together one for his own audience. And to me, that sounded like an absolutely awesome idea for an article. Unfortunately, we’re navigating some rough waters right now with the impacts of the Corona pandemic, and one of the major areas I’ve noticed the hit is actually in how I suggest write personas for marketing.
Read MoreTalking Creativity and Market Research with Alex Raffi
Creative Director Alex Raffi invited me this week to an interview on his show, Creative Courage, and we ended up having an awesome conversation! If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you know that I believe the link between research and creativity is huge, and that’s exactly what we got to talk about in this incredible interview.
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Get Your Copy of the "Survey of Marketers" Research Report!
All marketers can agree, not all marketing is equal. But how exactly do members of the marketing industry really feel about the value of various commonly-used marketing tactics? That’s what S2 Research set out to explore in this April 2020 Survey of Marketers.
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Use Marketing Surveys During the Quarantine
As different as things are, I actually think more highly of marketing surveys now than ever. There’s a whole lot of value happening in the world of market surveys right now, and if you’re a marketer trying to figure out how to market in an intra-Corona world, take a few minutes to read the below ideas, and maybe consider how market research surveys could give you a jump in the Bizarro World we’re all living in right now.
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Actionable Insights Explained – What Marketers Need to Know About Using Market Research Insights
Actionable insights in marketing are one of the most important aspects of market research. But what exactly is an actionable insight? That’s the question I wanted to tackle today. Whether you’re working with a market research partner or conducting market research for marketing on your own, the ability to convert an insight into an actionable insight is one of the most critical parts of the market research process.
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Corona Virus is Forcing Marketing’s Hand
We live in a fast-paced world, and demand has changed. Consumers value speed and convenience as much as quality and cost. It’s the reason why Amazon accounts for 5% of literally all retail in the U.S., why on-demand television is seeing double-digit growth year-over-year, and why almost every fast-food restaurant and fine dining establishment has reluctantly partnered with food delivery services. Why, then, is the idea of a world going exclusively virtual and on-the-go such a challenge for so many businesses today? It’s because change is hard.
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10 Marketing Situations When Marketers Should Use a Market Research Survey
Market research surveys are one of the most well-known market research tools. But ‘when to actually use a survey’ is often a matter of debate among the actual marketing community.
Campaign Setup?
Brand Awareness?
Customer Satisfaction?
New Market Research?
All of the above are actually excellent survey opportunities. And several more super common marketing situations can be just as enriched with the use of a great market research survey tool.
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