You have tools at your disposal that can help you know exactly what your audience wants and needs.

In our discussions with clients (from the broadcast industry as well as brands and advertisers), we often recommend the ” ask your audience” methodology to find out their needs and expectations.

This tactic is derived from a protocol developed by our research partner CROP, which involves conducting an idea generation process with your target audience to gather as much information as possible about what they would like and want, but also about blind spots (those things your internal committee would never have thought to address or consider).

In a way, that’s what the American brand Hickory Farms has done over the past few years.

Traditionally, the brand sold primarily gift baskets during the holidays, but their vision for growth has allowed them to go a step further to learn about the needs of their consumers.

How did they do it?

2 tactics mainly.

First, they launched a large email marketing program that used offers and content to learn about their audience’s interests by tracking clicks and time spent on different topics.

Then, and this is where it’s really possible to know the blind spots in particular, they looked at the thousands and thousands of search queries on their website, including those that were not returning results (needs for which the brand did not have products).

It’s through tactics like these that we help our clients learn about their audience. Let us know if you’d like to know more about how your brand can get to know the people it wants to reach even better.