As PR people, we like nothing better than a nice, juicy statistic to start the day, especially when consuming the latest news stories on our channel of choice.  

This could be one of the reasons why businesses often choose to use external audience research to gain a closer understanding of their customers and to elevate their brand. 

But how should they go about it, and will it add value? 

Step one: sort out your sources 

Statistics are widely used by the news media to improve our understanding of the world and to help us to separate fact from fiction. Governments rely on them to inform their decisions and policy making, and whether we like it or not, statistics are part of everyday life. 

However, if you ask most people for their most memorable statistic, you’re likely to get mixed feedback. Whether it’s politicians touting money-saving slogans that turn out to be false or companies only reporting a fragment of their overall data to give the illusion of a set answer, it can be tricky to weed out the truth.  

Among the most memorable PR statistics that had to be changed following a complaint made to the Advertising Standards authority is probably this doozy from Pedigree Pet Foods: ‘eight out of ten owners said their cat preferred it’. The slogan was changed to: “eight of ten owners who expressed a preference said their cats preferred it”. And the problem of misleading claims hasn’t gone away. A common problem is research being conducted with a very small sample, which isn’t sufficiently diverse, leading to biased findings that may not reflect wider sentiment.   

More recently, the Advertising Standards Authority stepped in to ban an ad by Premier Inn promoting rooms available for £35 per night after receiving complaints that rooms weren’t available at that price.  

Statistics aren’t all smoke and mirrors though. For some organisations, providing a regular and reliable source of data has helped to raise awareness of their brand in a crowded market. For example, where else would you go to find out the latest data about new car registrations in the UK than the SMMT or for the latest information about UK house prices than either Nationwide or Halifax? 

Step two: ask the right questions 

In PR, we often advise our clients to conduct their own research to add weight to their campaigns and support the creation of authoritative, owned content such as whitepapers and reports.  

For this type of in-depth content, we always recommend using a reputable research company to collect the data, but for social media campaigns, a less robust approach is perfectly acceptable; for example, a simple online poll could be used to provide a snapshot of consumer opinion on a specific topic.  

Whatever the aim of the research, a PR team can advise on what questions are likely to gain the best responses, and how to frame them in a way that will optimise their impact on the target audience. 

It’s important to remember that people are giving up their time to complete your company’s questionnaire, so they need to be accessible and ideally, shouldn’t take too long to complete. 

Step three: use the data! 

Once the results are in, it’s important to know how you want to use them and get started right away.  

Often, businesses go to the trouble of commissioning some thought-provoking research, only to find there is a lack of urgency when it comes to securing senior-level buy-in for what should happen next. 

But a word of warning – leave it too long and you could find that the research is out of date!  

To avoid this scenario, it makes sense to only undertake research when you are clear about what you want to get out of it. You should have an approved content plan in place to leverage the results across all marketing channels; helping you to communicate your messages to the marketplace in a timely and impactful way.  

Developing content that demonstrates a real depth and breadth of customer understanding can be immensely powerful in building a strong brand presence in your target market. 

Thinking about commissioning research? Contact our team today.