Branding: Research and studies to evaluate your brand's status
Evidence-based branding is the cornerstone of Loyalty Ecosystem. A robust investigation allows us to move from intuition to data strategy, identifying vectors of Emotional Loyalty and optimizing positioning in competitive contexts. In Gerund, we use the User Research and the systemic diagnosis to safeguard relevance and the Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) of a brand against market fluctuations.
Good branding is done with strategy, and all strategy invariably needs a good dose of research to be solid and make sense. But do you know what aspects need to be considered when conducting branding research to ensure Customer Stickiness and avoid investments with no return?
Research allows us to deeply understand each brand and its objectives; it also helps us identify strengths and areas for improvement within their respective contexts. The objective is to map the different types of users and their real perception of the brand, detecting gaps between the projected identity and the perceived experience.Service DesignWithout this data-driven validation, any change of identity represents an unnecessary operational risk that directly impacts profitability.
Here we tell you about the fundamental keys to carrying out a brand diagnosis with strategic rigor:
1. Research as a Continuous Process (Perpetual Iteration)
Good research is never static. The changes and trends in any industry force us to view this process as a continuous cycle that challenges previous learnings. In an environment where technology and human behavior are rapidly evolving, constant research allows for adjustments to Loyalty Loop to maintain competitive relevance and proactively reduce the Churn rate (churn rate).
Comprehensive and systemic approach
When conducting a brand diagnosis, we must understand that organizations are complex and comprised of multiple variables. It is imperative to integrate the various stakeholders within the organization, macroeconomic contexts, communication channels, and, of course, the User Journey of the audiences. A coherent brand is one that aligns its internal processes with its external promise to avoid Customer Friction.
3. Empathy and Behavioral Design: The Core of the Strategy
This is the most important point in Gerund. When we focus research on people, we find Insights deeply that help us integrate the brand into daily life.
A clear example was our work for Everywhere. The challenge was to identify the needs of multiple audiences for a novel service. Understanding the role of the brand for each profile was fundamental to gaining market relevance and, above all, creating a connection based on User-Centered Design (UCD) that directly impacts organic retention.
4. Actionable Insights
In branding, research must find tangible areas of opportunity that translate into Return on Investment. The best processes are those that chart a strategic course through concrete and actionable steps that impact the balance between Customer Acquisition Cost and Lifetime Value (CAC/LTV).
As Dan Zarrella said: «Marketing without information is like driving a car with your eyes closed.». In branding, this is an absolute truth. Research is fundamental to understanding our value to people, but above all to knowing how to be more valuable and profitable in their daily lives.
Branding Diagnostic Framework
* Perception Audit Identifying competitive positioning gaps.
* Touchpoint Analysis: Evaluation of friction and cohesion at each contact point of the Service Design.
* Insight Identification Discovery of unmet needs that the Behavioral Design can capitalize.
* Strategic Roadmap: Evidence-based qualitative and quantitative positioning actions to shield growth.
Is your brand strategy based on what users say or what they really need? Gerund we help you turn uncertainty into a solid and robust growth strategy through methodologies of Research validated. Write to us.
