The value of market research and follow-up workshops has been discovered by many organizations and businesses, schools and colleges. Navigate has recently provided in-depth market research followed by a comprehensive report to a London food retailer and to a secondary school in West Sussex.
The school gave Navigate the task of researching local attitudes, facilitating a marketing and strategy workshop, identifying key themes and messages and recommending a plan for the governors to consider. The school wants:
- to be seen as the first choice for secondary school in the area
- to provide the best and most appropriate education for students
- to increase its school roll
- to have students with positive, business like and a smart image around town.
The first step in the market research project was to establish appropriate questions and themes for each target audience. These included parents, staff, governors, the local council, business owners, the general public, the community, and shops. In phone interviews Navigate talked to dozens of local people; there was also a general street survey of local businesses and shops as well as mystery shopping of the school and its competitors.
The results have delighted the head and the chair of governors. The research and workshop session will help the school to develop a series of positive Public Relations for the school. Now a strategic PR and marketing campaign will inform people and stakeholders how the school is moving forwards with keen, eager, excited participants.
The head teacher told the Navigate team in July after the workshop: "Thank you very much for undertaking the market research on our school, and also facilitating the governors' workshop. We enjoyed the session and it seemed to make the governing body team more cohesive. Thank you also for the speedy reports from that workshop. These have given the governors an important list of 'next steps' and potential ways for us to increase our school role."
What the market research involves
The Navigate market research service, which culminates in a detailed report to the client, has also proved a huge help to solicitors, travel and tourism agencies, transport, and providers of agricultural products. Researchers undertake a complete market research programme looking at your brand, key perceptions and your existing marketing to find out how relevant, consistent and coherent they are.
The research looks at messages and USPs, and give a clear focus and feedback about what your internal and external customers think about you and want from you. If something isn't working in your business, association, school or organization, the research will identify this and we can work with you to put it right.
This phase is the start of the process, and from it will flow recommendations for your marketing and communications’ approach. The tactical recommendations follow after that and put the research and strategy into action.
The kind of strategic approaches we can then take include:
1 Brand
As a result of the research, Navigate can recommend modifications and improvements to your brand, messaging and marketing approach on the basis of their research, making your brand more unique, unified, coherent and consistent.
2 Data
The most valuable asset for any business is a customer database. Creation of a relational customer database will help with profiling for acquisition and cross and upsell purposes.
3 Product
Examine and discuss with the company and respondees to the research the potential for customers to diversify into another set of products or services.
4 Customer
Look at acquisition and retention of customers. Find out from the research what respondees think of your customer service, your staff and your delivery.
5 PR
Undertake a review of your company’s PR strategy, output and target markets with Navigate’s market research expert. As a result of the review we offer
6 Content
In press releases, blogs, articles and in your website content, focus on providing: clear information, with appropriate images and simple navigation. We at Navigate can help with this.
Then we will provide a marketing report with details of recommendations to help you achieve your business objectives - whether these are sales or brand-focused.
The brand needs to appear on all promotional and contact materials. All your marketing communications should have clear and prominent details of: your
Put details on vehicles, in email sig files, as well as prominently and frequently on your website and in emailers. It is amazing how frequently these important details are omitted, garbled, wrong or hidden away.
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