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How can market studies inform decision-making and refine business strategy? In an age of information overload and uncertainty, an increasing number of decision-makers are turning to market studies to cut through the noise and fuel their decision-making process with reliable, useful, and factual data.
To discuss this, we had the pleasure of speaking with Alice Bidet, Production Manager at Infopro Digital’s Research Institute.
On the agenda: the different types of studies and their applications, the impact on brand positioning, best methodological practices, and current trends in the industry.
What are the different types of studies, and how can they help decision-makers better understand their customers and make informed decisions?
We offer a range of customized solutions for clients looking to conduct tailored studies. For customer and product studies, we have satisfaction surveys to evaluate a product or service that’s already launched, as well as concept studies to assess a target audience’s interest in an offer concept, its positioning, and pricing. For brand studies, we conduct brand awareness and image studies to gauge respondents’ knowledge of a brand and assess its image. We also support clients with advertising or communication campaign evaluations by conducting pre-tests or post-tests.
In recent years, we’ve also conducted trend studies to shed light on challenges in their sector (e.g., environmental transition in construction) or emerging trends (such as B2B decision-makers interest in generative AI). These studies help our clients make informed business decisions and establish a communication strategy rooted in factual and quantifiable data.
What are the main benefits of a study for a company?
A study enables decision-makers to grasp their market and its challenges, understand their customers’ expectations, and assist them in their decision-making process. The study serves as a valuable decision-making tool for a company and is an asset in supporting its development strategy. Key questions addressed include: What messages should be communicated? To whom? What are the expectations of the customer base? What prices should be proposed? For instance, a company may need to survey its clientele before launching a new product or service, or it may require information before entering a new market (such as internationally or in a specific sector like e-commerce).
How can studies help refine a brand’s message and positioning?
We primarily conduct quantitative studies that yield numerical data. These studies provide precise answers to our client’s challenges and offer nuanced results based on various respondent profiles (by sector, role, company size, etc.). When a company wants to track its customer perception over time, we offer a barometer (either annual or biannual) to compare study results year by year (for instance, to assess brand awareness annually and measure the effectiveness of communication efforts made during the year).
These studies also serve as an excellent means to communicate study results through various content formats (articles, white papers, videos, etc.) and events. Our content agency, Stories supports our clients in their content-creation efforts
What are the key elements of a good study?
To conduct a successful study, it is essential to clearly define the study’s topic and subsequently identify the target audience to be surveyed. The choice of methodology is also crucial—whether it is a quantitative or qualitative study depends on the study’s objective and the target audience. Additionally, it’s important to consider what will be done with the results, how to communicate them, and when to do so. All these elements should be anticipated and discussed before the study begins to ensure thorough preparation. We support all our clients in defining the study projects they undertake.
What are your clients’ main expectations currently, and how can you address them?
In terms of expectations, our clients are increasingly demanding when it comes to the specificity of the respondent targets to be surveyed. The more tailored the study topic is to the client’s issue, the more precise—and therefore complex to reach—the target becomes, especially when it involves usage data. To address this, we survey our respondents using our exclusive proprietary contact database, which consists of 4 million contacts categorized based on firmographic targeting (role, industry sector, company size, etc.), as well as through our intent-based databases, which are collected based on respondents’ behaviours and reading habits on our media platforms (we specifically have intent segments focused on decarbonization and cybersecurity). Additionally, some of our clients seek rapid results at a lower cost. To meet this demand, we have recently introduced flash studies with shorter and more affordable formats, offering quicker results delivery (within two weeks, for example). Clients retain full ownership of their study results and can communicate them as they wish once the results are delivered. They also have access to all the data to delve into analyses according to their needs