Consultation Services & Marketing Strategies February 8, 2017

“Research is what I’m doing when I don’t know what I’m doing.” – Wernher von Braun

Former aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun had an interesting life. Not only was he a leader in rocket technology in Nazi Germany, but later moved to the USA where he helped develop rockets that launched the US’s first space satellite, Explorer 1. When he was a kid growing up, he was inspired by speed records set by rocket propelled cars. He actually fashioned his toy wagon with fireworks and created quite a stir in his community’s main street trying to set his own speed record. His father later collected him from the police station.

The quote “research is what I’m doing when I don’t know what I’m doing” is one that is of great interest. When our agency works with a new client – be it a retail store, association, developer, or non-profit – the first logical step we take is research. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not that we don’t know what we’re doing, but many times clients will come to us with a specific issue in mind, and it’s through careful research we sometimes uncover a different direction to take.

Our agency specializes in consulting services and marketing strategies. We liken what we do to inviting company over to your home for dinner. Most times, you’ll prep for company to come. You’ll confirm who can come for dinner, and find out any dietary restrictions or food aversions. Next, you’ll set out a menu, make a shopping list, gather the groceries, clean the house, make the food, set the table, light the candles, and you’re ready. As consultants, the research we do helps you confirm your target markets, how you communicate with them, and what motivates them to purchase, donate, sign up, etc… This is done through research, focus groups, field testing, interviews, and audits. All of this then helps our agency to develop marketing strategies for deployment. This includes budgeting, careful planning, implementation, testing, tweaking, monitoring, and reporting. We know that when we have the data and information for moving forward, our clients are more confident in the strategies we’re advancing on, and we find better successes overall.

We’re not out to set land speed records, but through careful planning and implementation, our clients have gained their stakeholder’s trust, have found new ways to collaborate with other like-minded associations, and have devised new processes for doing business, all to help increase their bottom line.