Across the globe, we’ve had our fair share of challenges over the past three years – moving straight from the pandemic into war, climate crisis and economic disruption. Our CEO Rebecca Brooks writes for Forbes about what we’ve learned from past upheavals that we can apply today in her latest article, “Using Audience Insights To Handle The Great Reprioritization.” 

She touches on how consumers are reprioritizing all parts of their lives and the need for brands to deeply understand this behavior in order to stay competitive and relevant. Bringing in two key examples of brands who flourished during and after the pandemic, she illustrates that “Market research shouldn’t stop just because the world is changing. In fact, the smartest companies continue to seek, and even elevate, initiatives that can deliver audience understanding.” 

The ongoing disruption and reprioritization that we are experiencing is driving people to be more promiscuous in their purchase behaviors, something we’ve covered extensively over the past few years. They are on the lookout for products and services that will meet their changing needs, which are constantly in flux. One way to keep a close eye on this type of behavior is through market research initiatives that build audience understanding. Rebecca writes: “We saw first-hand during the pandemic just how valuable the ongoing pursuit of audience understanding was to business success, even for companies – like those in the travel industry – with the cards stacked against them.”

There are data streams coming in from all fronts, and businesses need to have a comprehensive strategy in order to bring it all together holistically. Adding first-party market research data into the mix, through a variety of methodologies, can help to provide context and depth to other data streams. She concludes with “Building this kind of data-driven foundation, which gives you a detailed view of your audience’s priorities, needs and feelings, is the best path toward success, especially when behaviors are changing so quickly.”

Read the whole article here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2023/03/30/using-audience-insights-to-handle-the-great-reprioritization