CONSUMER RESEARCH MATTERS!

Marketing is a multi-faceted discipline that begins with intelligent research. There is so much promotional activity all around us that it’s all too easy to forget the vital role research can play.

Well-executed marketing uses research to inform decisions about how, why, when – and even if – to undertake all kinds of activities, including the promotion and visual brand management, which many people mistake for the totality of ‘marketing’.

The same is true for communications and social media. Top communications teams draw on research findings to finetune the tone, topics and chosen media for the content they post online, the news they share with journalists, and how they communicate with parents and other stakeholders. This is all part of the highly skilled role of managing the school’s reputation.

Confirm or disprove accepted opinion Research matters. It can confirm or disprove accepted opinion, provide insights, maintain – and even salvage – reputations, saving considerable time and money in the long term. For schools, consumer research is key to understanding what people think and feel about us. It’s this ‘magic mix’ of the rational and emotional that motivates each of us to act (or not). You can use consumer research to test ideas before committing to major expenditure or staffing commitments.

How would it be possible, for example, to introduce new initiatives in any of the following areas without asking the end users what they think? Would people use a new nursery, an after-school care service or a late bus? Is your school branding and messaging hitting the right note with prospective parents? Why do some families decline your offer of a place? Do parents support a merger with X school?

Objectivity

The best research is objective. In fact, that’s the only kind worth having! It is a real skill to avoid leading questions in written surveys. You also need objectivity in focus groups. If you’re tempted to minimise costs by running your own, be aware that moderators from within your school community are susceptible to misinterpreting the meaning or importance of what participants say simply because it’s hard to prevent personal experience from colouring our individual interpretations. Parents may also find it hard to speak freely in their presence.

Research is one area of marketing where it really pays to bring in outside help, with your resident marketing specialist as project manager. You may know your school well, but in order to have complete trust in the findings, make everything as objective as possible. The time for your ‘insider’ insights to come into their own is at either side of the research itself, firstly by articulating a clear brief, and then by deciding how best to use the findings.

Weather the storm

As I write, it is reported that the UK is headed for its longest recession since records began. Parents and schools may have hard decisions to make. Well managed consumer research is a potent marketing tool that could play a vital role in how independent schools weather the storm. ● amcis.co.uk