As another General Election looms, Shaun Cooper, chairman at Ragdoll Research in Bristol, looks at the parallels between politics and marketing
Over the next six weeks we are going to hear so much about polling and how the political parties are planning to target different groups of our society, even quoting specific segments or clusters. We will also hear about how the country is divided down into different demographic lines – age, economic or ethnic backgrounds or whether they drive a white van and live in Essex.
No single political party, or for that matter any business or brand can serve all ‘consumers’ in their market. The needs are simply too diverse or costly to serve. This is a lesson we can learn from. As marketers, there is a surprising amount of crossover between marketing and the next six weeks of political action.
We need to be prepared and equipped to segment our market, dividing it into groups with like-minded demographics, attitudes and need states etc, helping us to understand their values and what we mean to them in return.
At Ragdoll Research, we found recently a number of our clients inviting us to find innovative ways to help them grow their businesses by targeting new customers or helping them to develop new products for specific customer groups. Growth is a hot topic in 2017, another area where politicians and business leaders have a common agenda.
From our experience working with some of the fastest-growing companies in the South West, we’ve developed a ‘Market Growth Model’ that identifies the total value of the market or potential value of your customer base, as well overall profiles and behaviours of those closest to proposition.
All this helps clients prioritise their marketing efforts. On the side, we also take a step back from the traditional market research brief and consider four key factors before finalising our approach:
1. Is your market share growing or declining?
2. How is your market structured?
3. How are you currently using technology and communication to develop a more customer-
centric solution?
4. What data do we already have on our customers?
Brands that respond best to what customers want now are most likely to succeed, as opposed to brands that simply target new customers with new messages or use relevant comms channels. Agencies or clients that gain a clear insightful understanding of customer needs and attitudes will drive profitable growth from a more confident position. Essentially, we help to reduce the risk and maximise the opportunity.
Another common theme that aligns to both marketing and politics, and that we are likely to see adopted during the election campaign, is how advocates are being used to test core messages, support the campaign and whether it inspires them to promote policy to their peer group or local community.
Typically, we identify between 10% to 25% in each customer base who are motivated to get involved in referrals or recommending brands, a figure anyone of the political parties would love to have too. Currently, less than 2% of the UK electorate are members of a political party – ‘getting the core vote out’ is likely to be an issue for all parties.
Messaging is another point where marketing and politics enter similar worlds. With advances in digital, the power of social media and unprecedented access to information, the voter or consumer is more informed and demanding than ever. Too often, we uncover insights from our segmentation studies that reveal consumers have been left confused from some of the past marketing or messaging – too much choice or not enough personalisation, inflexible pricing or too many different pricing options and too much communication or not enough.
Customers are no different from the voters – they demand simpler and more transparent choices that help make their lives easier and from a brand they trust. No longer can the political parties or brands take for granted that, because they voted one way last time or they buy a particular brand today, they will do so again tomorrow.
In six weeks, we may have a new government and a completely different view on Brexit. However, that is a different story and one that will unfold over the coming weeks. So, in conclusion, any market segmentation study is not the end, but the start of a journey that keeps you abreast of the changing market and needs of your consumers.
Companies are embracing data and digital to help transform their business models by becoming more customer-centric, and gaining greater clarity about how to serve their many different customers. Now that is something our politicians can learn from!
Shaun Cooper is chairman of Ragdoll Research, a leading research agency that provides qualitative and quantitative data, mystery shopping services and brand consultancy.
Contact: info@ragdoll-research.com; tel: 0117 9102800
