From regulatory challenges to the growing influence of politics on consumer choices, it’s never been more important for companies to have an effective public affairs operation.
But, while executives intuitively understand the need for effective outreach, public affairs departments often find themselves on the defensive during annual budget reviews. When budgets get tight, public affairs becomes a cost with an unquantifiable upside. After all, what’s the ROI on a regulation that didn’t get enacted? How do you quantify the value of a social media boycott that never took place?
If you’re seeing public affairs research as a cost, you’re missing the fundamental value created by public outreach.
Data is NOT a cost-center.
In fact, it is a revenue center.
We advise our clients that the best way to save money in the long run is by investing in data driven research. Data amplifies your efficacy with exponential effect.
Here are just five of the ways that data driven research can create value and reduce your overall public affairs budget.
- Establish the opinion baseline.
Timely research identifies the baseline opinion of your audience to establish how far you need to move the ball down the field. Without a baseline, companies may allocate a bigger budget for public outreach than is required. Research saves money by determining the appropriate campaign for the project at hand.
“Establish a foundation that’s grounded in insights,” Craig Cincotta, a senior marketing and communications director at publicly traded companies, explains at Entrepreneur.com. “Do your research and ensure that whatever products or services you support, actually fulfill a customer need.”
2. Design and test an effective campaign.
Data drives the most effective marketing campaigns. Even the most creative marketing gurus make mistakes. Research allows you to test a marketing idea before you take it live with a multi-million-dollar advertising campaign.
No organization is immune to groupthink, or false consensus bias. Research can act as an important check against these decision-making traps. For a small investment in quality research, your company can avoid the next New Coke or Ford Edsel.
3. Identify the right message for the right audience.
Your most effective overall message intended for a general audience might not be the most persuasive to an important group of stakeholders or policymakers. Armed with data, companies can tailor their messages to the right audience.
Speed, price, quality, proximity, safety… you may have a half-dozen different selling points or competitive advantages. Data-driven research provides businesses with the knowledge to identify the best and most effective message for each core audience.
4. Account for consumer contradictions.
Consumers can have mixed, or nuanced opinions. Relying on the media narrative of the moment may lead you astray when that conventional wisdom is wrong. Data-driven research helps you account for consumer contradictions and identify false narratives.
For example, the conventional wisdom is that Millennials value experiences over stuff. Just not all stuff. Samuel J. Abrams, a professor of politics at Sarah Lawrence College and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, points out that this established opinion doesn’t apply to housing. Fifty-seven percent of Americans between 18 and 29, according to a recent Los Angeles Times survey, see homeownership as an essential part of the American dream.
5. Navigate the political consumer landscape.
Consumer research surveys show that a solid majority of American consumers want to see their brands wade into social and political issues. Research can guide companies through these increasingly challenging and polarized political landscapes.
And for companies committed to being apolitical, research can help you stay true to that commitment. “Some things that don’t seem like political stances, actually are political stances,” one CMO explains to AdAge. “We started a big pivot towards sustainability. And while this seems like a no brainer, it turns out it’s actually a political issue.”
Justin Wallin is CEO of J. Wallin Opinion Research, a national opinion research firm with business, political and government clients.
