Customer research, for free

Staying connected when budgets are tight

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Times are tough, marketing budgets are lean. With teams under pressure to deliver more from less, the amount of money being spent on primary research is also in decline.

But there is a risk to this. Stop listening and you’ll start drifting – away from real needs, tensions and opportunities. Regular consumer check-ins can help you stay on point and retain relevance as the consumer and cultural landscape shifts.

So instead of freezing research, maybe it’s time to get creative in how you think about it.

Research doesn’t have to be large-scale surveys, focus groups, or even customer interviews. There are plenty of ways to build understanding of your audience without spending any money at all.

Here are a few places to start.

Get out in the world

Leave your laptop behind and go on safari in the real world. 

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Visit the places where your core consumer ‘lives’ – where they shop, work, eat, exercise and spend their leisure time. Put yourself in those places to see what they see. What brands and messages are loud? What’s new and exciting, and what feels tired?

Visit the places where your product is sold. How does it show up in-store? Is your understanding of the brand represented here – are consumers seeing what you want them to know?  

Watch how people browse the aisle and, if the moment feels right, ask them a couple of questions about why they’ve selected what they have. You may be surprised how willing people are to share their opinions and give advice.

Go where your product is used or consumed (if you can - easier for beer than for bleach!). See in real time the ecosystem that it lives in: the mood, the context, the associated brands.

Mine the business

It’s likely that people in the business already know something you don’t.

Have a coffee with your customer service team to hear what the recurring pain points and bugbears are. What do customers not understand? What’s frustrating or disappointing them? What moments of delight could you lean into more?

If you have retail premises, talk to the staff. They will have observations about how people navigate the product ranges, what they ask, what they like and dislike, what ultimately persuades them to buy – or not. 

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Send out a short company-wide survey, and/or invite your colleagues to an open forum to share their experiences with your product – as users, not paid up advocates. Listen with an open mind to where your product and brand are delivering, and where there are gaps between intention and real-life experience.

Talk to your trade partners to find out what they think of your brand versus others. They will have a view on the shifts and emerging trends in the category, and how your brand fits into this evolving landscape. They may have a perspective on what their customers like and dislike about your brand.

Dive in online

Just as you safari in the analogue world, do the same in the digital one. 

Look at the social feeds of your competitors, and other brands relevant in the lives of your customers. This helps build a picture of the culture they’re immersed in, the messaging they’re absorbing, the commentary they have on what they see.

If you aren’t already, dig into your customer reviews. Whilst reviewers may represent specific sub-sets of your audience, they will often deliver sharp pointers on where you’re delivering - and how you’re disappointing.

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Look at relevant published studies from large research houses and business consultants, industry bodies and academic institutes. There is a wealth of data available on consumer preferences and shifting behaviours which can contextualise what you’re observing in your own business.

Enhance what you’re already doing

If you have any customer connects in place, think about how you can maximise their usefulness. 

For instance, if you send out a standard ‘how did we do?’ survey, add the option to provide audio/video feedback. For some, it’s a lower friction response method and often you’ll get more depth from people talking vs typing.

Small design tweaks like this can turn routine feedback into richer insight.

Final thought

None of this replaces robust primary research, but it can help you tune in to your audience, so every pound you spend on marketing activity is on point. 

In leaner times, curiosity and a sleeves-rolled-up attitude might just be your most underutilised assets.

Get creative, and get out there!