![\"brand](\"https:\/\/leger360.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AdobeStock_198004311-1.jpeg\")
Why all your brand research from before the pandemic is no longer an accurate reflection of the current market, or forward-looking given the pandemic, and which studies you need to focus on to fix it.<\/em><\/p>\nDuring any given year, brands spend a portion of their revenue on market research to better understand how they are perceived by their customers and potential customers. Various brand studies are utilized to inform the planning for strategic marketing campaigns<\/span><\/a>, product positioning<\/span><\/a>, brand attributes, whitespace opportunities, and so much more.\u00a0<\/p>\n In fact, over 73 billion dollars was spent on market research in 2019 worldwide<\/a>. Consider the sheer magnitude of data and insights<\/span><\/a> uncovered by all that effort: millions of surveys, slideshows, and spreadsheets, along with millions of hours of focus groups, in-depth interviews, and presentations of results.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, ponder how quickly much of that work lost applicable value when the pandemic hit and significantly changed all our lives. Nearly two years later, we are still experiencing COVID-19, and brands continue to feel the ever-changing effects of its hold on the world. Right now, brand identity, product positioning, and marketing messages are more important than ever for you to reconnect with consumers\u2019 current perspectives and perceptions so that your brand strategies align with their lives and needs.<\/p>\n Before 2020, when is the last time you remember going shopping and seeing the bulk of the products from your shopping list being out of stock? A quick image search shows evidence of stores across the world with empty shelves where inventory is (usually) so dependably stocked up. While this has occurred less often since the early weeks of the pandemic, we are still experiencing short supply of various brands across a wide range of categories.\u00a0<\/p>\n Situations like this are what started changing traditional consumer behaviors<\/a> (what would have been shown in market research from 2019). Consumers were stuck purchasing whatever brands were available at the time, rather than the brands they\u2019ve established a loyalty with. That loyalty is one of the biggest branding research questions businesses should be asking – is my brand loyalty still as strong today as it was pre-pandemic, or do I need to work to regain it? Has my brand gained strength because of an opportunity to gain customers through my distribution channels, whether that be stronger store availability, better brand positioning relative to new issues that the pandemic created, or strong online availability while few were in stores shopping?<\/p>\n With an everlasting goal of increasing interest, purchase intent, and overall purchase behavior, brands must be able to trust market research and insights to inform their marketing strategies, brand and product positioning, and understanding of their core consumer segments<\/span>. The difference between today\u2019s channels for inspiration and those of even just two or three years ago is that today\u2019s channels are balanced quite differently. Each generation leans further and further into their mobile devices as the answer<\/span><\/a> to all their questions, so the influence of the smartphone\/tablet has the potential to vastly outweigh more traditional channels. Is your brand\u2019s influence in the shopper journey generation-centric to reach your core target?<\/p>\n Additionally, when the pandemic hit, it wasn\u2019t just younger generations going virtual. Everyone was pushed to adopt a way of life that included more internet usage than before. This is where the shopper journey map can potentially skew the furthest from its former layout because the connection available online offers such a wide array of influences for inspiring brand awareness and brand loyalty. There are more and more paths to reach the different generations through the internet, each with its own path and desired messaging technique.<\/p>\n Further still, online retail stores now outnumber brick-and-mortar retail stores by a measure of 5-to-1 in the US alone, a staggering ratio we would not have seen pre-pandemic. This increases competition for consumer interest and it increases the value of brands being able to inspire that interest via online channels. The later stages of the shopper journey map require brands to focus on these opportunities for inspiration, eventually leading to consideration, purchase, and loyalty. Is your brand approach following an outdated journey map?<\/p>\n The information you gather in brand tracking should not only show you the impact from the past month or quarter but also help you understand how to minimize brand loyalty decline while still maximizing potential gains. In order to do that, the breadth of information needed has changed from pre-pandemic days.\u00a0<\/p>\n Are the metrics you\u2019re tracking covering the full scope of the new shopper journey map and brand loyalty metrics?<\/p>\n At 360 Market Reach, we have conducted a great deal of market research to understand the changes to consumer behaviors and shopper path-to-purchase, we have tracked shifting consumer sentiment, and have learned a number of ways to both strengthen brand loyalty and find new avenues to impact potential customers in their shopping journey.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re already refreshing these key brand research contributors for your 2022 strategies, then you are clearly on top of your details. However, if you\u2019re scrambling to update these items or others similar to them, turn to our team<\/span><\/a> and let\u2019s discuss how we can help you make a difference for this year and beyond.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Why all your brand research from before the pandemic is no longer an accurate reflection of the current market, or forward-looking given the pandemic, and which studies you need to focus on to fix it. During any given year, brands spend a portion of their revenue on market research to better understand how they are perceived by their customers and potential customers. Various brand studies are utilized to inform the planning for strategic marketing campaigns, product positioning, brand attributes, whitespace opportunities, and so much more.\u00a0 In fact, over 73 billion dollars was spent on market research in 2019 worldwide. Consider the sheer magnitude of data and insights uncovered by all that effort: millions of surveys, slideshows, and spreadsheets, along with millions of hours of focus groups, in-depth interviews, and presentations of results.\u00a0 Now, ponder how quickly much of that work lost applicable value when the pandemic hit and significantly changed all our lives. Nearly two years later, we are still experiencing COVID-19, and brands continue to feel the ever-changing effects of its hold on the world. Right now, brand identity, product positioning, and marketing messages are more important than ever for you to reconnect with consumers\u2019 current perspectives and perceptions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18627,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" During any given year, brands spend a portion of their revenue on market research to better understand how they are perceived by their customers and potential customers. Various brand studies are utilized to inform the planning for strategic marketing campaigns<\/span><\/a>, product positioning<\/span><\/a>, brand attributes, whitespace opportunities, and so much more. <\/p> In fact, over 73 billion dollars was spent on market research in 2019 worldwide<\/a>. Consider the sheer magnitude of data and insights<\/span><\/a> uncovered by all that effort: millions of surveys, slideshows, and spreadsheets, along with millions of hours of focus groups, in-depth interviews, and presentations of results. <\/p> Now, ponder how quickly much of that work lost applicable value when the pandemic hit and significantly changed all our lives. Nearly two years later, we are still experiencing COVID-19, and brands continue to feel the ever-changing effects of its hold on the world. Right now, brand identity, product positioning, and marketing messages are more important than ever for you to reconnect with consumers\u2019 current perspectives and perceptions so that your brand strategies align with their lives and needs.<\/p> Before 2020, when is the last time you remember going shopping and seeing the bulk of the products from your shopping list being out of stock? A quick image search shows evidence of stores across the world with empty shelves where inventory is (usually) so dependably stocked up. While this has occurred less often since the early weeks of the pandemic, we are still experiencing short supply of various brands across a wide range of categories. <\/p> Situations like this are what started changing traditional consumer behaviors<\/a> (what would have been shown in market research from 2019). Consumers were stuck purchasing whatever brands were available at the time, rather than the brands they\u2019ve established a loyalty with. That loyalty is one of the biggest branding research questions businesses should be asking - is my brand loyalty still as strong today as it was pre-pandemic, or do I need to work to regain it? Has my brand gained strength because of an opportunity to gain customers through my distribution channels, whether that be stronger store availability, better brand positioning relative to new issues that the pandemic created, or strong online availability while few were in stores shopping?<\/p> With an everlasting goal of increasing interest, purchase intent, and overall purchase behavior, brands must be able to trust market research and insights to inform their marketing strategies, brand and product positioning, and understanding of their core consumer segments<\/span>. The difference between today\u2019s channels for inspiration and those of even just two or three years ago is that today\u2019s channels are balanced quite differently. Each generation leans further and further into their mobile devices as the answer<\/span><\/a> to all their questions, so the influence of the smartphone\/tablet has the potential to vastly outweigh more traditional channels. Is your brand\u2019s influence in the shopper journey generation-centric to reach your core target?<\/p> Additionally, when the pandemic hit, it wasn\u2019t just younger generations going virtual. Everyone was pushed to adopt a way of life that included more internet usage than before. This is where the shopper journey map can potentially skew the furthest from its former layout because the connection available online offers such a wide array of influences for inspiring brand awareness and brand loyalty. There are more and more paths to reach the different generations through the internet, each with its own path and desired messaging technique.<\/p> Further still, online retail stores now outnumber brick-and-mortar retail stores by a measure of 5-to-1 in the US alone, a staggering ratio we would not have seen pre-pandemic. This increases competition for consumer interest and it increases the value of brands being able to inspire that interest via online channels. The later stages of the shopper journey map require brands to focus on these opportunities for inspiration, eventually leading to consideration, purchase, and loyalty. Is your brand approach following an outdated journey map?<\/p> The information you gather in brand tracking should not only show you the impact from the past month or quarter but also help you understand how to minimize brand loyalty decline while still maximizing potential gains. In order to do that, the breadth of information needed has changed from pre-pandemic days. <\/p> Are the metrics you\u2019re tracking covering the full scope of the new shopper journey map and brand loyalty metrics?<\/p> ![\"woman](\"https:\/\/leger360.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AdobeStock_399081940.jpeg\")
Brand Loyalty \u2013 Is my brand stronger or weaker than I might expect?<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\nShopper Journey Maps \u2013 The New Map Is Quite Different<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Sample](\"https:\/\/leger360.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Shopper-Journey-Map-v1.jpeg\")
Brand Tracking Programs \u2013 Are Your Efforts Taking Full Effect?<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n
Why all your brand research from before the pandemic is no longer an accurate reflection of the current market, or forward-looking given the pandemic, and which studies you need to focus on to fix it.<\/em><\/p>
Brand Loyalty \u2013 Is my brand stronger or weaker than I might expect?<\/span><\/strong><\/h2> Shopper Journey Maps \u2013 The New Map Is Quite Different<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>
Brand Tracking Programs \u2013 Are Your Efforts Taking Full Effect?<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>