How to do brand research when you’re a small business
Sweaty palms, hearing your heartbeat in your ears, a twisted-up stomach that’s making you regret lunch… Stage fright is a real thing.
Will they like what I have to say?
Will it connect with them?
Will it help them?
… Or will I fall flat on my face?
In a world where so much of our communication happens behind a screen, the “publish” button in your newsletter platform or the “go live” button on Instagram is essentially the digital version of stepping out into the bright stage lights.
We all know how it feels to start talking – on social media, to our email lists, during a launch or sales call – only to feel dreadfully unsure of what to say or how to connect.
And we’ve all heard the advice that the best cure for stage fright is just doing it. To publish the post, hit the button, or write the email. And then to do it again, and again, and again. Practice makes perfect and all that.
BUT.
What if I told you there was a way to make that “just do it” part easier?
It’s not glamorous or fancy. Actually, it’s pretty simple – but when it comes to giving you the confidence to step out onto the stage (literal or metaphorical), it’s consistently underrated and passed over.
It’s called research. And it takes the guesswork out of your brand and message strategy.
Why should you do brand research?
A study by Hinge Marketing shows that companies that do brand research see better growth and profitability than firms that don’t. Even if you’re only doing research now and then, it’ll have an impact. Regular research gets even better results.
Why is this so important? Let’s look at a few reasons.
Connecting with your audience
The research process helps you understand the real problem your customers are facing (instead of guessing or making assumptions). And when you know why they’re struggling with something, you can craft messaging tailored to meet them where they are.
It also gives you language to connect with them authentically and meaningfully. By listening to them and using the same language in your messaging, you prove that you’re paying attention and that you get them. It builds the know, like and trust factor essential for connection.
Positioning yourself against competitors
Research gives you valuable insight into how you solve your customer’s problem in a way that is different from everyone else in your industry. Because when you know what makes you different from the rest, you have a way to stand out to your customers and explain why they should choose you and not someone else.
Understanding brand perception
It helps you understand how your brand is seen and perceived. You can try to build that sense of connection we just talked about… but is it working? Knowing where your brand is succeeding and where you have work to do is critical to developing a roadmap for building that relationship with your audience (the right audience!) in the future.
More confidence, less risk
With all of these pieces of information in hand, brand research helps you make better and more informed decisions. You’re trading in guesswork for precise data that allow you to know what’s working, course-correct where needed, and set focused priorities for your path forward.
When’s the right time to start?
Because it’s such an essential part of the decision-making process, research is vital when you’re facing a moment of change or about to launch something important to your business’ growth. A few examples:
When you’re launching a new product or service
When your audience has changed
When you’re considering a new name or rebrand
When you want to hire and grow your team
But there are also times when it’s less about a big milestone and more about solving a problem that’s nagging you in your day-to-day. Things like:
When your growth has slowed, or you want to grow faster
When you want more clarity about how to stand out against your competitors
When you’re struggling to explain who you are / what you do
When you’ve outgrown your brand or feel it doesn’t reflect you anymore
In the end, the goal of doing brand research is to make decisions easier so you can be focused and intentional about your marketing, your messaging, and your business growth. When you’re facing a decision in your business and feel uncertain about how that will affect your brand, you need to start with research.
A simple approach to brand research for small business owners
So here’s the thing. When you google “brand research” like I did when researching this post, it gets overwhelming fast.
There are lots of really in-depth resources out there, which are fantastic if you have the capacity and resources to go down the rabbit hole. (If that’s you, this article from Hubspot is a good place to start.)
But for small businesses and solopreneurs, that might feel like overkill. Or if you’re just getting started, you might not even have the detail needed.
So let’s simplify it a bit.
Two focus areas: Audience and Competitors
There are two very broad areas of focus for your brand research. Depending on the decision you’re trying to make or the information you need, you may want to cover them both, or you may decide that one area is more relevant and do a deep dive there.
Insight into your audience
Dig into what your ideal customers want and need and why that matters. What are they struggling with? Who do they look to for help and guidance? How would their life be better if they could solve that problem?
You’ll also want to look at brand perception here and try to understand what your audience thinks of you. What words would they use to describe you? How do they feel when they buy from or interact with you? How do they describe the difference between you and your competitors?
Insight into the marketplace (i.e. your competitors)
Look at what else is happening in your space and how you can position yourself to stand out. Who else is doing what you do? How do they brand themselves and talk to their customers? Where do you do things better or differently from the crowd? What are some of the things that drive you crazy about your industry? (This last one can be a great indicator of where you’re different or how you stand apart.)
How to collect your data
Collecting your data happens in two steps:
Step 1: Compile a list of questions you want to ask, like the ones I’ve listed above. (A site like Attest is also a good resource.)
Step 2: ASK and LISTEN. Here are a few ways to do that — pick and choose which ones work best for you:
Surveys: This could be after a specific buying experience or a more general email to your list asking them to provide their feedback.
Customer interviews: You can set up customer interviews specifically to conduct research, either 1:1 or in a group. Regular customer interactions like sales or discovery calls, coaching calls, or check-ins can also be a great place to get information.
Amazon review mining: This is a fantastic research technique when you don’t have an audience yet. Here’s how to do it: look for books or products that are similar or cover topics similar to what you sell, then read the feedback customers leave in reviews. What language do they use? What questions do they have? What is helpful to them? This post from Joanna Wiebe at CopyHackers will show you how to get started.
Social media: Group discussions and forums, Insta polls, and posts with questions are all great places to do research. Tools like SparkToro, BuzzSumo, or AnswerThePublic can also be an excellent way to collect information.
Analytics tools: Looking at user analytics isn’t a direct conversation with your audience, but it can be hugely helpful in understanding who your customers are, where they find you, and how they interact with your brand. Google Analytics is a great place to start, but don’t forget about other data sources like your social media platforms and email service provider too.
How to record what you learn
As you begin to get answers, RECORD them. You can store data in any number of ways, and it doesn’t have to be fancy!
Personally, I use a Keynote doc for competitor analysis, and a combination of Miro and Google Sheets for audience research. Miro is for high-level observations and insights, and Google Sheets is for reviewing and sorting survey responses and specific Voice of Customer snippets (see that CopyHackers article again for more on VOC).
Don’t overcomplicate this part. You could use Evernote, a Trello board, Airtable, or whatever works best for your brain and how you organize and visualize information.
However you store the results, I recommend sorting them into a few basic categories.
Problems your customers are trying to solve
Fears and struggles they’re experiencing in relation to those problems
Desires (practical): What OUTCOMES do they want?
Desires (emotional): How do they want to FEEL?
Words and phrases your audience uses that resonate with you
Wrapping up
When you’ve done your research, you’ll find that you’ll have data: notes, feedback, ideas, and a real sense of where you fit in the marketplace and how your customers see you.
And all of a sudden, branding and messaging won’t feel like a shot in the dark – instead, it feels like a conversation with a friend, and everything about communicating with your audience becomes easier and more fun.
That’s why research is so essential to the brand strategy process. It means you can confidently speak to your audience – no more digital stage fright! – because you know them, what they want, and how you do that differently (and better!) than the rest of your industry.
That’s also why it’s essential to do research early in the process. What you learn here – the insights you gain, the data and language you’ll pick up – will infuse the rest of your strategy as you move forward.
If you need extra support…
I hope I’ve sparked a few ideas here for how you can make this happen in your own business. That said, if you know you need this but aren’t comfortable doing it on your own, I can help.
Brand research is essential to the Elevated Brand Blueprint process and something I also do for custom consulting projects.
Reach out today for more info — I’d love to talk about what would work best for you!
