BUS631: Brand Management

6a. Evaluate brand attitudes as part of a consumer focus group

• How can you evaluate brand attitudes?
• Why are focus groups important in marketing?
• How can a focus group help you to evaluate attitudes about a brand?

In marketing, consumer focus groups are important for a variety of reasons. They can assist a brand manager in understanding how consumers may feel about certain brands. This type of insight can be useful as you attempt to see how people might use or have specific attitudes about certain products. Once you have a better understanding of these brand attitudes, marketing may become more focused on those key ideas.

Brand attitudes are the attitudes that consumers have about products or the brand. These attitudes are key ideas that may influence how successful or unsuccessful a product may be. By using information from a focus group, a brand manager may better understand the product and then use that information to better market the product.

To review, see:

• From Information Experience to Consumer Engagement
• PESTLE Analysis

 

6b. Analyze how a qualitative market research project measures brand sentiment

• What are examples of qualitative market research?
• How can qualitative market research be used to measure a consumer's attitude?
• How can brand sentiment be measured?

Qualitative market research can be conducted to assist with understanding consumers' attitudes or sentiments about products and brands. Qualitative market research may consist of direct feedback through focus groups, interviews, ethnographic research, observations, or videos created by users in their homes. This type of research is useful to help understand how people may feel about a brand.

The information gained from qualitative market research can be used to help promote the products or brand. Measuring brand sentiment comes through direct feedback from potential consumers, and this information may be gathered in numerous ways. This can be very useful information to gather, and that information may be used to better understand the product and will assist in marketing.

To review, see:

• From Information Experience to Consumer Engagement

 

6c. Evaluate the importance of a quantitative market research program

• How can you develop a qualitative market research program?
• Why is it important to develop a qualitative market research program?
• What can you do with the information gathered in a qualitative market research program?

As mentioned in the previous section, qualitative market research is useful to assist in understanding consumers' attitudes or sentiments about products and brands. Developing a qualitative market research program may consist of one or more of the following consumer feedback: focus groups, interviews, ethnographic research, observations, or videos created by users in their homes.

By creating a qualitative market research program that is specific to the needs of the brand, a brand manager can tailor the information gathered to assist with understanding how consumers feel about a brand or product.

To review, see:

• The Marketing Environment

 

6d. Analyze how brand research impacts brand positioning, presentation, and communication to the consumer

• How might brand research be used in marketing?
• How can brand research be used in brand positioning, presentation, and consumer communication?
• Why is it important to conduct brand research?

Brand research helps a brand manager gain insight, create ideas, and potentially achieve a competitive advantage over the competition. By focusing on products, brand research will help to create a strong brand because the information gathered in the research will be used to better promote and focus the marketing for that brand.

Brand research allows a company to impact brand positioning, presentation of the products and brands, and then better communicate that information to the consumer. It is important that the research be conducted prior to developing promotional materials for new products because this information should be added to those materials.

To review, see:

• SWOT Analysis: Mastering Strategic Management

 

6e. Evaluate the importance of competitive intelligence scanning as macro trend analysis

• What is competitive intelligence scanning?
• How can a brand manager use macro trend analysis?
• Why is it important to evaluate the importance of competitive intelligence in marketing?

Competitive intelligence scanning is the act of researching the competition and information about their brands and then using that information to better develop the promotion of a brand. By researching the competition, you will have a better idea of how they promote their brand, what their most important points for promotion are, and what potential new trends you may discover.

A macro trend analysis reviews trends in the industry to help better understand brands and how consumers might relate to those brands. These macro trends are important to help you better understand the industry in which your brand survives. It is important to evaluate these trends as potential uses for your own brand promotion. An example of this might be the newly expanding work-from-home trend; a few macro trends might include the use of Zoom for video conferencing or DocuSign to sign documents. These are brands that support the work-from-home trend and have developed as a direct result of the increasing needs of the people who complete this work.

To review, see:

• Analyzing the Organization's Micro-Environment

 

Unit 6 Vocabulary

This vocabulary list includes terms you will need to know to successfully complete the final exam.

• brand attitudes
• brand research
• competitive intelligence scanning
• consumer focus groups
• qualitative market research
• macro trend analysis