Businesses tend to perceive market research as a “one and done” part of the process in the early stages of a project, campaign launch or overall business rebrand - limited to an output of data that will be used to inform development and sales teams of who their target audience is and what messages they want to hear. While this information is clearly important, the methods used in early market research can also be utilized by sales teams to increase renewals and upsells on an ongoing basis from existing clients. With the support of internal research teams or supplier-side consultants, sales teams can employ research techniques that will not only provide the insights necessary to increase overall revenue, but also improve the relationship between the company and their clients or customers.

When considering the post-COVID landscape, one of the more difficult sectors to predict is higher education. With many potential students having postponed their enrollment during the pandemic, will they come back for undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral degrees or seek out different paths? And for those who do return, how will their expectation for learning and campus lifestyle have changed?

Unlike the Lord of the Ring’s “one ring to rule them all,” there is never one message that will resonate with all of your customers. This is true for your own employees as well. With the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies have turned the lens on themselves. This has largely taken the form of gathering opinions on remote work and maintaining team collaboration, but some companies have sought input from their employees on how to keep not only themselves, but also their customers safe. In today’s political and social climate, addressing the safety concerns of your employees is another area where one message is not going to get through to everyone.