Basically, it enables you to have more informed insights about your own business and the wider marketplace. It can help you identify how your customers and potential customers view your business and how you can identify gaps in customer expectations and satisfaction. It also helps you make calculated decisions, thus minimising risk, with any strategic changes you may have for the business.
In DesignStrategy we follow a proven methodology with our approach to understanding your needs and that of your customers:
This begins with questioning if the core brand elements are present?
At the core of every brand sits a vision along with a mission statement that is used by a company to explain, in simple and concise terms, its core purpose for existing. However, in most cases, the vision may never be achieved as it is aspirational. It is a statement that captures, in writing, the essence of where you want to take your business, and how you can inspire your staff and yourself to reach this goal. Most, if not all businesses are built upon a set of core values which defines the culture of the organisation. These core values should always be embedded into the DNA of a company as they are a set of beliefs and guiding principles upon which your business and its behaviours are based.
In contrast, your mission statement defines what your organisation does and its reason for existing. Fundamentally, it is the challenge you set out to solve in the first place. This in turn, defines your core purpose which is usually one sentence or a short paragraph, explaining why you are doing what you are doing in order to change the current business landscape so you can realise your organisations vision.
What are the 5 things I need to have next?
Let’s be honest, this takes time. In order to do it right you need to give it the respect it deserves. After all you want this business to be there for the rest of your working life. Basically, the five elements of research that you need to undertake are:
- Brand Positioning
- SWOT Analysis
- Stakeholder Analysis
- Materiality Analysis
- Developing a Business Strategy