Market Research that Inspires: Pillar 3 of the Stunning and Strategic Branding Theory
You’ve created your brand vision and built it around what’s going to attract your ideal client, so how do you make sure you’re going to stand out in your industry? Through market research!
Think about the big brands your ideal client already connects with. Why do they connect with them? What draws them to the brand’s aesthetic?
Maybe it’s the typography, the colors, the type of imagery, or the tone of voice and the approach that they’re taking.
Taking the time to deepen why your clients like this brand, really observing things, allows you to bring elements into your own brand that you already know your client is going to like.
In this blog post, I’m going to take you through the ins and outs of market research, and how you can do it in a really effective way.
Market Research Isn’t Something You Can Skip
Larger brands have the budget to do A/B testing, knowing what really resonates with their clients. These brands have taken the time to know EXACTLY what style of photo their clients like, what language their clients prefer, and even how often their clients like to be engaged.
If you know a big brand that your client likes, then studying and spending a lot of time with it allows you to find elements you can incorporate into your own brand’s style.
Try really listening to their language, seeing how they relate to their clients so that you can mimic the same tone in your own copywriting.
Define Your Vision and Identify Your Client BEFORE Market Research
Everyone wants to avoid doing the same thing twice, right? In order to avoid a TON of revisions, it’s important to start with Pillar 1 and 2 BEFORE heading into your market research. And here’s why.
Starting with your brand’s vision allows you to get grounded in what you’re after and building towards, reducing distractions along the way. Think about how much inspiration overload you’d have if you didn’t clearly define your brand’s goals. In any process, whether it’s social media, website, or branding, you have to really clarify your vision on what you want things to look like so you’re able to stay focused.
Pillar 2 is so important because it takes the you factor out of the equation. Your branding isn’t all about you, after all. If you want to build a brand that makes money, you HAVE to put yourself in your client’s shoes and think about what’s important to them and their customer experience.
Understanding the client journey and how they got to your business, then knowing their pain points and how you can solve them with clear messaging and visuals is KEY in actually converting clients.
Completing these two pillars before setting out in market research helps you deeply understand your own style and remain empathetic to your client’s needs.
Look Beyond Your Industry
I can’t stress enough that when you’re doing market research, it’s so important to look BEYOND your industry.
Why?
While yes, it’s important to have a pulse on what’s happening within your industry so that you can see what people are interested in and really shine as the leader, you also don’t want to get caught up in looking so in-depth at your competitors that you begin to shift your personal style to match what you think you SHOULD be doing.
Instead, study brands outside your industry that you know your clients are spending money with, identifying what your client likes about them so you can bring that energy into your own branding while still remaining true to yourself and style.
Avoid the Comparison and Replication Trap
If you’re a business coach and you specialize in helping people drive sales, and there’s another business coach that does the same thing, and you have the same overarching theme in your branding, then what sets you apart?
Nothing—except you.
While it’s good to look up to others in your industry, you don’t want to end up copying them and losing everything that’s unique to you in the process.
Maybe your approach is very conversational, or maybe it’s really structured. Maybe there’s something unique about how you got here. When building your brand, it’s important to think about those qualities, because those are the things that are going to attract your audience and clients.
Sometimes it’s the things we shy away from or want to hide because maybe you think you’re not good enough, but it’s the truth about your story that’s going to have people relate and identify with you, gaining you traction a whole lot faster!
Studying brands that aren’t your direct competitors allows you to take elements you like while not creating an exact mirror of something that’s already out there. This way you can be strategic and still unique!
Bringing Market Research into our Template Studio
It was so important that for every template we designed in our shop, we positioned it as the industry leader. You have to be positioned design-wise, immediately right off the bat, as professional. This tells your clients you can ‘hang’ with the other brands that they’re looking towards right now.
When you’re first launching your business, you might not have the audience or following, or even many sales under your belt, but if your clients can understand your vision and direction through your branding, they’re likely to get invested in the journey with you.
These templates are designed to actually get you to where you want to go.
Effective Market Research in Action
I had a clarity call with a client who’s a coach, and she was so focused on studying other coaches, thinking she needed to be super polished and professional, that she was really feeling a disconnect between that and who she actually is.
I asked her about her outfit, where she shops, and why she likes those brands. She was telling me all these things about them, and I had to stop her. “That’s your brand,” I said. “That’s you! ”
Those were the qualities we needed to pull in.
To pull out your personality, refer back to the brands you’re already connected with because most of the time, they’ll identify your personality traits for you.
Being aware and having a pulse on what’s happening in your industry is important so that you can know what services might be profitable for you. But don’t stop there.
Look outside your industry for inspiration in design and aesthetics, being mindful of what you really connect with, and translating that into something that represents you and is there for your clients.
Get closer to designing a brand that makes sense for you and your clients by taking our brand archetype quiz.
You’ve created your brand vision and built it around what’s going to attract your ideal client, so how do you make sure you’re going to stand out in your industry? Through market research!
Think about the big brands your ideal client already connects with. Why do they connect with them? What draws them to the brand’s aesthetic?
Maybe it’s the typography, the colors, the type of imagery, or the tone of voice and the approach that they’re taking.
Taking the time to deepen why your clients like this brand, really observing things, allows you to bring elements into your own brand that you already know your client is going to like.
In this blog post, I’m going to take you through the ins and outs of market research, and how you can do it in a really effective way.
Market Research Isn’t Something You Can Skip
Larger brands have the budget to do A/B testing, knowing what really resonates with their clients. These brands have taken the time to know EXACTLY what style of photo their clients like, what language their clients prefer, and even how often their clients like to be engaged.
If you know a big brand that your client likes, then studying and spending a lot of time with it allows you to find elements you can incorporate into your own brand’s style.
Try really listening to their language, seeing how they relate to their clients so that you can mimic the same tone in your own copywriting.
Define Your Vision and Identify Your Client BEFORE Market Research
Everyone wants to avoid doing the same thing twice, right? In order to avoid a TON of revisions, it’s important to start with Pillar 1 and 2 BEFORE heading into your market research. And here’s why.
Starting with your brand’s vision allows you to get grounded in what you’re after and building towards, reducing distractions along the way. Think about how much inspiration overload you’d have if you didn’t clearly define your brand’s goals. In any process, whether it’s social media, website, or branding, you have to really clarify your vision on what you want things to look like so you’re able to stay focused.
Pillar 2 is so important because it takes the you factor out of the equation. Your branding isn’t all about you, after all. If you want to build a brand that makes money, you HAVE to put yourself in your client’s shoes and think about what’s important to them and their customer experience.
Understanding the client journey and how they got to your business, then knowing their pain points and how you can solve them with clear messaging and visuals is KEY in actually converting clients.
Completing these two pillars before setting out in market research helps you deeply understand your own style and remain empathetic to your client’s needs.
Look Beyond Your Industry
I can’t stress enough that when you’re doing market research, it’s so important to look BEYOND your industry.
Why?
While yes, it’s important to have a pulse on what’s happening within your industry so that you can see what people are interested in and really shine as the leader, you also don’t want to get caught up in looking so in-depth at your competitors that you begin to shift your personal style to match what you think you SHOULD be doing.
Instead, study brands outside your industry that you know your clients are spending money with, identifying what your client likes about them so you can bring that energy into your own branding while still remaining true to yourself and style.
Avoid the Comparison and Replication Trap
If you’re a business coach and you specialize in helping people drive sales, and there’s another business coach that does the same thing, and you have the same overarching theme in your branding, then what sets you apart?
Nothing—except you.
While it’s good to look up to others in your industry, you don’t want to end up copying them and losing everything that’s unique to you in the process.
Maybe your approach is very conversational, or maybe it’s really structured. Maybe there’s something unique about how you got here. When building your brand, it’s important to think about those qualities, because those are the things that are going to attract your audience and clients.
Sometimes it’s the things we shy away from or want to hide because maybe you think you’re not good enough, but it’s the truth about your story that’s going to have people relate and identify with you, gaining you traction a whole lot faster!
Studying brands that aren’t your direct competitors allows you to take elements you like while not creating an exact mirror of something that’s already out there. This way you can be strategic and still unique!
Bringing Market Research into our Template Studio
It was so important that for every template we designed in our shop, we positioned it as the industry leader. You have to be positioned design-wise, immediately right off the bat, as professional. This tells your clients you can ‘hang’ with the other brands that they’re looking towards right now.
When you’re first launching your business, you might not have the audience or following, or even many sales under your belt, but if your clients can understand your vision and direction through your branding, they’re likely to get invested in the journey with you.
These templates are designed to actually get you to where you want to go.
Effective Market Research in Action
I had a clarity call with a client who’s a coach, and she was so focused on studying other coaches, thinking she needed to be super polished and professional, that she was really feeling a disconnect between that and who she actually is.
I asked her about her outfit, where she shops, and why she likes those brands. She was telling me all these things about them, and I had to stop her. “That’s your brand,” I said. “That’s you! ”
Those were the qualities we needed to pull in.
To pull out your personality, refer back to the brands you’re already connected with because most of the time, they’ll identify your personality traits for you.
Being aware and having a pulse on what’s happening in your industry is important so that you can know what services might be profitable for you. But don’t stop there.
Look outside your industry for inspiration in design and aesthetics, being mindful of what you really connect with, and translating that into something that represents you and is there for your clients.
Get closer to designing a brand that makes sense for you and your clients by taking our brand archetype quiz.
You’ve created your brand vision and built it around what’s going to attract your ideal client, so how do you make sure you’re going to stand out in your industry? Through market research!
Think about the big brands your ideal client already connects with. Why do they connect with them? What draws them to the brand’s aesthetic?
Maybe it’s the typography, the colors, the type of imagery, or the tone of voice and the approach that they’re taking.
Taking the time to deepen why your clients like this brand, really observing things, allows you to bring elements into your own brand that you already know your client is going to like.
In this blog post, I’m going to take you through the ins and outs of market research, and how you can do it in a really effective way.
Market Research Isn’t Something You Can Skip
Larger brands have the budget to do A/B testing, knowing what really resonates with their clients. These brands have taken the time to know EXACTLY what style of photo their clients like, what language their clients prefer, and even how often their clients like to be engaged.
If you know a big brand that your client likes, then studying and spending a lot of time with it allows you to find elements you can incorporate into your own brand’s style.
Try really listening to their language, seeing how they relate to their clients so that you can mimic the same tone in your own copywriting.
Define Your Vision and Identify Your Client BEFORE Market Research
Everyone wants to avoid doing the same thing twice, right? In order to avoid a TON of revisions, it’s important to start with Pillar 1 and 2 BEFORE heading into your market research. And here’s why.
Starting with your brand’s vision allows you to get grounded in what you’re after and building towards, reducing distractions along the way. Think about how much inspiration overload you’d have if you didn’t clearly define your brand’s goals. In any process, whether it’s social media, website, or branding, you have to really clarify your vision on what you want things to look like so you’re able to stay focused.
Pillar 2 is so important because it takes the you factor out of the equation. Your branding isn’t all about you, after all. If you want to build a brand that makes money, you HAVE to put yourself in your client’s shoes and think about what’s important to them and their customer experience.
Understanding the client journey and how they got to your business, then knowing their pain points and how you can solve them with clear messaging and visuals is KEY in actually converting clients.
Completing these two pillars before setting out in market research helps you deeply understand your own style and remain empathetic to your client’s needs.
Look Beyond Your Industry
I can’t stress enough that when you’re doing market research, it’s so important to look BEYOND your industry.
Why?
While yes, it’s important to have a pulse on what’s happening within your industry so that you can see what people are interested in and really shine as the leader, you also don’t want to get caught up in looking so in-depth at your competitors that you begin to shift your personal style to match what you think you SHOULD be doing.
Instead, study brands outside your industry that you know your clients are spending money with, identifying what your client likes about them so you can bring that energy into your own branding while still remaining true to yourself and style.
Avoid the Comparison and Replication Trap
If you’re a business coach and you specialize in helping people drive sales, and there’s another business coach that does the same thing, and you have the same overarching theme in your branding, then what sets you apart?
Nothing—except you.
While it’s good to look up to others in your industry, you don’t want to end up copying them and losing everything that’s unique to you in the process.
Maybe your approach is very conversational, or maybe it’s really structured. Maybe there’s something unique about how you got here. When building your brand, it’s important to think about those qualities, because those are the things that are going to attract your audience and clients.
Sometimes it’s the things we shy away from or want to hide because maybe you think you’re not good enough, but it’s the truth about your story that’s going to have people relate and identify with you, gaining you traction a whole lot faster!
Studying brands that aren’t your direct competitors allows you to take elements you like while not creating an exact mirror of something that’s already out there. This way you can be strategic and still unique!
Bringing Market Research into our Template Studio
It was so important that for every template we designed in our shop, we positioned it as the industry leader. You have to be positioned design-wise, immediately right off the bat, as professional. This tells your clients you can ‘hang’ with the other brands that they’re looking towards right now.
When you’re first launching your business, you might not have the audience or following, or even many sales under your belt, but if your clients can understand your vision and direction through your branding, they’re likely to get invested in the journey with you.
These templates are designed to actually get you to where you want to go.
Effective Market Research in Action
I had a clarity call with a client who’s a coach, and she was so focused on studying other coaches, thinking she needed to be super polished and professional, that she was really feeling a disconnect between that and who she actually is.
I asked her about her outfit, where she shops, and why she likes those brands. She was telling me all these things about them, and I had to stop her. “That’s your brand,” I said. “That’s you! ”
Those were the qualities we needed to pull in.
To pull out your personality, refer back to the brands you’re already connected with because most of the time, they’ll identify your personality traits for you.
Being aware and having a pulse on what’s happening in your industry is important so that you can know what services might be profitable for you. But don’t stop there.
Look outside your industry for inspiration in design and aesthetics, being mindful of what you really connect with, and translating that into something that represents you and is there for your clients.
Get closer to designing a brand that makes sense for you and your clients by taking our brand archetype quiz.
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