By Chris Hayes, EVP Brand Strategy

This 18th Century quote from my high school lit class got me thinking about a conversation I had with a marketing director from a well-known cross-channel brand a few weeks ago. He mentioned his company would like to do comparison research on their catalog covers to determine which ones were preferred by their customers. He had been pushing for this for some time and was excited because his company had not typically done this in the past.

I told him that what he was doing was really more of a test than research. While both involve learning, there’s a subtle but important difference between the two that marketers sometimes miss when they use the terms interchangeably.

A test is intended to establish the performance of something before it is given widespread exposure. Research is about investigating or studying something in order to generate accurate, useable insights… insights that can then be tested. In other words, testing is about knowledge while research is about understanding.

I’m not suggesting that one is better or more important than the other. Customer research and testing are both about new learning and both are critical to the long-term health and success of a brand. This has never been more important than it is today as brands struggle for even the smallest advantage over their competition.

Research is certainly not a new concept… it’s been a part of marketing programs for years. What is new (and exciting) is the addition of sophisticated scientific and academic disciplines like neuroscience, psychology and even behavioral economics to the research mix. Added to a research program, each can provide deeper and more powerful insights into the minds of customers.

At J.Schmid, we recommend that our clients conduct customer research on a regular basis for the long-term health of their brand. Whether designing a catalog cover or probing the hidden motivations of the customer, research can offer valuable information that ensures all brand work is driven by real and actionable customer insights.

Our philosophy is simple: Customer insights drive our best strategic and creative thinking, and they help us do, as we like to say, great work that works. Smart strategy and on-target creative make strong, enduring brands.

If you’d like to learn more about how research and testing can benefit your brand, I’d love to hear from you. E-mail me at chrish@jschmid.com.

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