Focus: Leveraging Research to Find Your Audience
brandRUSSO is a strategic branding agency – and as a branding agency, we are believers. Here we believe in the promise behind the brand, and that by changing the conversation we can inspire and motivate consumer behavior.
But before we can even begin to think about changing the conversation, we have to first figure out who it is we are talking to.
Sounds simple enough but defining who your audience is requires more than just identifying who they are. It takes getting to know them. Learning where they live, work and play. Understanding what motivates and inspires them, and more importantly, discovering how what you provide can enhance and improve their lives.
Our process, which we call Razor Branding™, permeates all levels of marketing, advertising, digital and social media – focusing on 4 key elements: Focus (the who), Promise (the why), Connection (the what), and Harmony (the where & when).
While each of these elements are important to building a successful brand, none will work without first identifying and getting to know your audience.
Focus in Action: Research for Results
Most businesses aim for one specific audience: “everyone”.
By now you have probably figured out that this is not the right answer. Sure, you can have multiple audiences, but if your goal is to reach “everyone,” chances are you will end up connecting with no one, regardless of what you spend.
Sharpening your focus to identify your target audience allows you to dedicate time to sending the right message to the right people – at the right time and through the right platforms.
The Science of Branding
Razor Branding develops brands from the inside out, establishing a series of branded touchpoints that form emotional connections with the consumer. Developing these connections relies heavily on understanding the psychographics of audience behavior and not just demographic profiles that rarely tell the whole story.
Demographics vs Psychographics:
demographics: the statistical characteristics of human populations (such as age or income) used especially to identify markets
psychographics: market research or statistics classifying population groups according to psychological variables (such as attitudes, values, or fears)
Basically, they’re two sides of the same coin, and you can’t tell a full story with just one or the other. By combining statistical data and emotional insight, we can paint a picture – or multiple pictures – through consumer insight and personality profiles.
Thinking about your target audience and their brand choices helps our team craft strategies and messages that motivate behavior and inspire brand loyalty.
Lean into What You Learn – The 5 Rs
While Razor Branding™ is a process that builds upon itself, another set of principles is interwoven into every step we take: the 5 Rs – Realize, Resolve, Reinvent, Relate, and React. The 5 Rs break down what branding is and isn’t.
For the purpose of this discussion, we will take a closer look at the first of the 5 R’s, Realize. It sets the tone for Focus, helping to define why it’s so important to identify and understand who it is you are talking to.
- REALIZE: The Consumer Owns the brand
Your brand is defined by an emotional connection between you and your audience. While you can help influence their perceptions, you cannot dictate how they truly feel.
Questions to ask:
- What “mental real estate” is yours to own?
- What emotions do you evoke?
- What differences can you authentically claim?
- Why should your audience care?
We appreciate you taking the time and look forward to learning more about how we can help bring a little bit of focus to your brand.
RUSSO is a Branding Agency– and as a branding agency, we are believers. Here we believe in the promise behind the brand, and that by changing the conversation we can inspire and motivate consumer behavior. To learn more about Razor Branding, or to sign up for our blog and podcast, visit brandrusso.com, or CLICK HERE to schedule a meeting with one of our Business Development Managers.
