As Marketing Manager, Angeline has more than 20 years of marketing management experience. She holds a BA (hons) Business Studies degree, specialising in marketing, from the University of Ulster. A Chartered Marketer, Angeline is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Comments Off on Donate to The Trussell Trust Food Bank this Christmas
This festive season, we are supporting the incredible work of The Trussell Trust, an anti-poverty charity and community of food banks, dedicated to supporting people in poverty.
Why did we choose to support The Trussell Trust this year? They provide emergency food supplies and support to those facing hardship, offering a helping hand when it’s needed most. Their long-term goal is to end the need for food banks by calling on the government to ensure Universal Credit covers household essentials.
How we’re helping to make a difference: Our employees are donating essential items to support The Trussell Trust’s south Belfast food bank.
The impact of The Trussell Trust: Between April 2022 and March 2023, The Trussell Trust supplied almost 3 million food packages – a 37% increase from the previous year. These figures highlight the growing need, and we’re committed to being part of the solution.
Join us in making a change: CARD Group Research & Insight is proud to stand with The Trussell Trust in its mission. We invite our community, friends, and partners to join us in supporting this cause and making a real difference in the lives of those facing poverty.
Learn more & get involved: Visit The Trussell Trust’s website to find out more about their work and how you can contribute. Thursday 21st December is the final day for donations before Christmas.
Comments Off on CARD Group Research & Insight: Our June Team Meeting
Our June team meeting brought together our key team members, resulting in a productive session.
One of the key factors contributing to the success of our team meeting was the strong participation of colleagues from various departments and levels within the organisation. This diversity brought a fresh perspective to the table, fostering creativity and innovation. Different voices and experiences present allowed for rich discussions and the exchange of valuable insights.
A principal focus for the meeting was on operational processes, incorporating learning from market research projects to identify challenges faced by team members, across their different roles, and collaboratively brainstorm potential solutions. This allowed us to address any challenges faced by different teams and collaboratively brainstorm potential solutions. This open discussion of operational matters, helps to foster a culture of continuous improvement, ensuring that our organisation remains agile and adaptive in a rapidly evolving business landscape.
“Team meetings are central to our market research agency, enabling collaboration, innovation, and growth. They provide a platform for sharing knowledge and collective problem-solving. We value our team meetings as opportunities to connect, to learn and to share. Our success depends on our ability to come together, align our efforts, and drive positive change,” said CEO Albert Hamilton.
As the health and safety of our team members is a priority, a segment of our meeting was dedicated to reinforcing our commitment to maintaining a safe and healthy work environment. We shared updates on safety protocols, discussed any potential hazards, and emphasised the importance of adhering to guidelines and regulations. Addressing these crucial matters collectively enables us to ensure the well-being of our team and create a culture of care and responsibility.
“Health and safety are core values that we uphold at every level of our organisation. Our commitment to providing a safe and healthy work environment comes from our dedication to the well-being of our team members. We foster a culture of safety and continuous improvement, to protect our most valuable assets – our people,” said Director of Corporate Services, Aoife Hamilton.
We concluded the team meeting with a section at one of our local bars, Town Square, providing an opportunity for team members to get together socially. All in all… a successful day.
Comments Off on We’re Now an Accredited Living Wage Employer
We are proud to announce that CARD Group Research & Insight has become an accredited Living Wage Employer. Our decision to voluntarily commit to paying every member of staff at least the real Living Wage – an hourly rate of pay above the UK Government set minimum and living wages – strategically aligns with our core values that everyone should receive fair pay and a salary that meets their day-to-day needs.
Commenting on the accreditation, CARD Group Research & Insight Chief Executive, Albert Hamilton said “We’re delighted to be recognised as an accredited Living Wage Employer. We have given a long-term commitment to our staff that they will continue to be paid at least the Real Living Wage.”
“Our decision to become an accredited Living Wage Employer reflects our commitment to our employees’ well-being. We value and invest in our employees, creating a positive work culture for all. As a leading market research company, we know that our greatest asset is our team of exceptional people – from our operations, research and analysis staff to our fieldwork teams. We want to ensure that every one of our exceptional people feels supported, recognised and valued.”
“Not only is the real Living Wage good for society, and good for our people – it is also good for business. Carrying out industry-leading market research daily, at CARD Group Research & Insight, we know the importance of evidence-informed decision-making. A report carried out by Cardiff University Business School found that 93% of accredited Living Wage Employers had benefited from their accreditation – from recruitment and retention to improved productivity and motivation. So we would encourage any employer to join us – and over 12,000 employers across the UK – in deciding to pay a real Living Wage to all your staff.”
From June 2022, a new Social Value procurement policy announced by the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland has required that social value makes up at least 10% of award criteria in relevant public tenders. It also requires that any staff working on those contracts are paid at least the Real Living Wage. This has been an important development, coming after effective lobbying from Social Enterprise NI and others across the sector, that CARD Group welcomes and aligns strongly with our core organisational values.
What is the Real Living Wage?
The Real Living Wage is an independently calculated hourly rate, set by the Living Wage Foundation. This rate ensures employees receive fair compensation based on the current cost of living, enabling them to meet their basic needs and have a decent standard of living.
The Living Wage Foundation awards The Living Wage accreditation. This is an organisation that recognises businesses in the UK that demonstrate their commitment to paying their employees a wage that will provide a comfortable standard of living.
For a list of all Real Living Wage accredited employers, and to find out more about becoming accredited, visit: https://www.livingwage.org.uk/
Comments Off on Brand Health Tracking: Measure & Analyse Brand Health
Brand health tracking is a key component of any successful marketing strategy. Strong brands can lead to increased customer loyalty, improved customer experience, and ultimately, greater sales. But how can businesses measure and understand their brand health? Enter brand tracking.
What is brand health tracking?
Brand health tracking involves monitoring and analysing various metrics related to a brand. These metrics can include brand awareness, customer engagement, share of voice, net promoter score, purchase intent and more. Tracking selected metrics over time enables businesses to gain valuable insights into their brand’s strengths and weaknesses, and make data-driven decisions to improve their marketing strategy and customer experience.
Measure conscious and subconscious consumer perceptions
One of the most significant benefits of brand tracking is its ability to measure both conscious and subconscious customer perceptions. Tracking both types of perceptions, means that businesses can gain a better understanding of both prospective and existing customers perceptions of their products or services. Brands can then use this data to adjust their marketing strategies, create new content, and improve customer service to better meet their target audience needs.
Measure the impact of marketing campaigns
Another benefit of brand tracking is that it allows companies to measure the impact of their marketing campaigns. Brands can get a sense of how their marketing efforts resonate with consumers. This information can be used to fine-tune marketing campaigns and ensure that they are effective in driving brand awareness and sales.
Identify trends and opportunities
Brand tracking can also help companies identify trends and opportunities in the market. The analysis of data over time, enables companies to spot shifts in consumer behaviour and preferences, and adjust their marketing strategies accordingly. This can help companies stay ahead of the competition and capitalise on emerging trends before they become mainstream.
Evaluate brand equity
Brand tracking can also help companies evaluate and measure brand equity over time. Companies can get a sense of how their brand is perceived by consumers and how it stacks up against the competition. This information can be used to make strategic decisions about brand positioning and messaging and to ensure that the brand is positioned for long-term success.
Gain target market insights
Brand tracking can also help businesses understand how their products and services are performing in the market. Tracking purchase intent and market research data provides businesses with insights into their target audience’s preferences and purchasing habits. Businesses can then adjust their product offerings and marketing strategies to better meet their audience’s needs.
Measure brand reputation
Another benefit of brand health tracking is its ability to measure brand reputation. Tracking share of voice and net promoter score, allows businesses to measure how their brand stacks up against the competition. They can also track changes in these metrics over time to measure the success of their marketing efforts and customer experience.
Social listening and brand monitoring
Social listening is another important aspect of brand tracking. Monitoring social media platforms means that businesses can track brand mentions, understand customer sentiment, and respond to customer feedback in real time. This can help businesses improve their customer service and build stronger relationships with their audience.
Tracking customers sentiment via brand mentions on social media and other online platforms is useful but omits vital demographic groups. Not all customers are vocally sharing their opinions online so you may be missing the perceptions of a large segment of your target market if you are only performing online market research.
Brand health tracking systems
At CARD Group Research & Insight, our brand behaviour tracker is incredibly effective at tracking brand health. Our system provides valuable insights into a brand’s performance and enables data-driven decisions to improve a brand’s marketing strategy.
Measuring and tracking brand health is crucial for any business looking to build a strong brand, improve its customer experience, and increase sales. Brands can gain valuable insights into their audience’s preferences and adjust their marketing strategies accordingly. If you’re looking to improve your brand’s performance, get in touch with us today.
Comments Off on CARD Group Research & Insight Expands with New Belfast Office
We’re pleased to announce the opening of our new head office in Belfast. Located in University Street, the larger office space will accommodate the growth of the company and help expand its client base in Northern Ireland.
“We are delighted to open our new Belfast office, which provides additional space for both our Belfast-based staff and for visiting staff normally located in England, Scotland, and Wales,” said Chief Executive Albert Hamilton. “We have ambitious plans to expand our client base in Northern Ireland, and this new office is a significant step towards achieving this goal.”
“We believe that our new office in Belfast will help us to better serve our clients in Northern Ireland and beyond,” said Albert. “We are excited to continue expanding our business and helping our clients to achieve their goals.”
CARD Group Research & Insight works globally with a diverse range of clients, offering a wide range of services, including market research, consumer insight, and customer experience analysis. The company’s team of experts is committed to providing exceptional services to its clients.
The new Belfast office offers a central location which is easily accessible by car or public transport, making it convenient for clients to visit.
As many clients need their suppliers to adopt environmentally sound working practices, CARD Group’s Carbon Neutral pledge allows clients to achieve their research goals while meeting their Scope 3 emissions targets.
Our dedication to our pledge has resulted in the removal of inefficient electric heating, installation of high-grade double glazing, replacement lighting fixtures with low-energy LEDs and installation of new insulation among other upgrades. We will continue to upgrade our new building in line with our pledge.
For more information about our services, please get in touch.
Comments Off on Customer research agency collaboration with Queen’s University KTP
Customer research agency, CARD Group Research & Insight, recently completed a knowledge transfer partnership with Queen’s University Belfast.
The knowledge transfer partnership was set up to develop a new customer research system incorporating advanced methodologies.
Chief Executive Albert Hamilton had been developing an innovative customer research idea and wanted to build a system to access deeper customer insights.
“I needed to be able to give clients these new customer insights. I knew that traditional market research systems used by market research companies would not be capable of achieving what I wanted to accomplish,” Albert explained.
Albert knew he needed to recruit someone highly skilled to lead this project.
Queens University Knowledge Transfer Partnership
A timely email in 2017 from the Queen’s Knowledge Transfer Partnership office, led Albert to believe this could be the route to finding someone with the right skill set. Albert met with the Head of KTP, Lorraine Marks to explore how a KTP might work for his business.
“Lorraine put me in touch with Dr Lisa McFetridge from the School of Maths and Physics whose work involved statistics. That meeting was just fantastic! Lisa just seemed to already know how she could help me develop what I wanted. She completely got it. So much of a KTP project success is down to the academic partner you are put in touch with – and that is where the skill of the KTP Office comes in by making the right introduction for you.”
“Our Associate, Aedan Beatty, was exactly the person we needed for this project. Our customer research project focused on customers’ online buying trends using tools and models such as Discrete Choice Modelling and Latent Class Modelling. Aedan’s high level of expertise was ideal and we successfully developed a brand new and innovative customer research product”, said Albert.
“Our new system is scientifically backed and our clients have experienced how it delivers highly accurate consumer insights. The questions asked now are not only rational questions, as is usual in market research, but our new model allows us to access deeper perceptions than rational responses and behaviours to give additional sub-conscious responses that can be understood and prioritised.”
Predicting Consumer Preferences
We incorporated advanced statistical modelling techniques that are effective at predicting both stated and unstated consumer preferences. This is important for both new product development and for developing the strategy for existing products and services as it provides information regarding customer needs. Our data driven system makes it possible to understand how consumers genuinely feel and shows you how to improve your marketing strategy.
A change to product or service attributes to meet the needs of the target market allows a company to improve their marketing strategy to appeal to its target audience more accurately. These attributes can be aligned with the factors analysed and understood to be important to customers and will therefore influence their purchasing decisions. For example, price, quality, and brand strategy will affect whether a person will make a purchase, while formulation and reassurance will influence repurchase. This will provide a better understanding of the customer experience, predict consumer preferences and importantly, sales.
Customer research agency project completion
As an SME Albert says that employing an Associate through KTP for three years is a worthwhile investment. This collaboration is part-funded, with assistance available throughout the recruitment process from the academic partner and the KTP Office.
The customer research agency project ended in March 2022. CARD Group Research & Insight remains in regular contact with Dr Lisa McFetridge: the company is hosting two Masters’ student placements and is about to host a Doctoral student, all of whom are under Lisa’s supervision.
Commenting on the KTP experience and what advice he might offer to other businesses considering the programme, Albert says: “Our new market research system exists as the result of our partnership with Queen’s. Lisa supported the Associate in his work, sharing her expertise, and Aedan embedded the specialist modelling knowledge in our systems. Our new product allows us to make ourselves distinct from other market research companies in our industry. We can now bring something new and individual to clients. It is definitely helping us to grow our customer base.”
“The test of the value of something is whether you would do it again. And absolutely I would work on another KTP project, without a shadow of a doubt.”
“Would I recommend KTP to other businesses? Yes. I’m very pleased with our new customer research product.”
Chief Executive Albert Hamilton established CARD Group Research & Insight, a Belfast-based market research agency, that next year is celebrating 20 years in business. Specialised in both qualitative research and quantitative research, CARD Group Research & Insight works with companies across the UK, Ireland and beyond.
Comments Off on Psychographic segmentation; vital for optimising tight marketing budgets
Psychographic segmentation is increasingly gaining attention globally as marketers strive to discover more effective ways of connecting with consumers.
Marketers are often asked to find growth in a contracting marketplace or with static or reduced budgets or resources. When just maintaining the current customer base can be considered a win, finding growth can look like a distant prospect.
Market segmentation has often been based on geographic segmentation, demographic segmentation, or behavioural segmentation. Psychographic segmentation is about how people live, think, and feel. It focuses more on why customers make certain choices and aims to understand a person’s motivation.
Psychographic segmentation divides customers, and prospective customers, into segments according to their intrinsic characteristics. These characteristics or segmentation variables include activities, attitudes, beliefs, values, perceptions, personality, social status, lifestyle, habits, interests and opinions.
“Psychographics are a customer’s inner feelings and predisposition
As more products and services enter markets, and competition increases, each brand must find new ways to remain competitive. To more fully understand customers in the target market, psychographic segmentation is a competitive advantage that more and more businesses are turning to.
At CARD Group Research & Insight, we use behavioural economics to delve even deeper, tapping into the consumer’s subconscious to more fully understand the motivations that drive their purchasing behaviour.
Behavioural Economics
Behavioural economics can be used to explain the non-rational reasons for making a purchase. It can also be used to anticipate how groups of consumers are going to act.
Behavioural economics bypasses ‘rational’ thinking to access subconscious thoughts. Combining behavioural economics with psychographic segmentation provides brands with highly accurate customer insight.
Psychographic segmentation and the consumer’s subconscious mind
Psychographic segmentation enables marketers to pinpoint more specific customer segments.
These more specific customer segments mean that marketing budgets will be more effectively spent, and businesses will have the consumer insight to develop appropriate products and services.
This type of segmentation facilitates the selection of appropriate channels and the development of a meaningful message to resonate with each customer segment.
Psychographic research and analysis can, however, be challenging for marketers to implement. We have therefore developed a system based on advanced analytics that accesses the consumer’s subconscious to discover their true thoughts and feelings whilst bypassing external biases and influences.
Our system enables us to quantify the subconscious preferences of consumers throughout the decision-making process. Providing vital information for marketing and product development departments, advanced analytics are very effective for anticipating consumer preferences; both stated and unstated.
Using Psychographic Segmentation in Marketing
Following a psychographic segmentation research project, our reporting includes vital consumer insights that inform a marketing strategy. Clients use this information for effective product development, messaging, imagery, calls to action, positioning, channel selection, and more.
If you are looking for a consumer insights and market research company to assist you with developing your psychographic segmentation or would like to find out more about our advanced analytics system, please please get in touch.
Comments Off on Market research companies and 4 reasons why you need a good one
Market research companies provide public and private sector organisations with consumer insight to enable them to meet consumer needs.
Evidence-based marketing provides an organisation with information on which to base strategic decisions when developing products and services that appeal to consumers.
Optimise your budget with market research companies
Discover which strategies will be most effective with regard to pricing, product development and marketing communications. Businesses will be able to avoid wasting resources; both time and budget, on ineffective strategies that miss the mark.
Conducting market research will improve your understanding of how to target the correct segments effectively in your industry.
Increase engagement amongst your target markets
Reaching customers is becoming increasingly challenging as more channels become available. A market research company will help you discover which channels will most effectively reach your customers and prospective customers.
Often, companies make assumptions as to which channels their target markets use. This method wastes budget and renders their strategies much less effective.
The best market research companies will also provide customer insights for developing the right messaging strategy and optimising your marketing content. For example, which features you should advertise to particular target markets, for each product and service. As different customer groups prioritise different features, customer research specialists can assist with selecting the correct ‘hook’ when advertising.
Garner support from senior executives
Data-driven decision-making garners support from the marketing department from more senior executives. Evidence showing marketing strategies are grounded in data will give senior executives more confidence when approving new marketing budgets and strategies for the business.
Track and evaluate marketing strategy performance
Regular market research and brand tracking can ensure your marketing strategies are achieving the desired results. This type of market research, when conducted on a regular basis, can provide early indications of when a marketing strategy needs to be adjusted in order to continue to be effective.
Ongoing evaluation by market research companies also provides evidence of the success of marketing campaigns.
If you would like to find out more about our key market research services, our solutions, the tools we use and the work that we do, please do get in touch. We service local, national and global clients across a broad range of industries, from retail to hospitality to town centre management, and more. Click the ‘project enquiry’ button now.
Comments Off on Customer research company insights into tools for effective market research
Customer research company, CARD Group Research & Insight focuses on understanding consumers. As consumer research is key to successfully marketing a product or service, it’s vital to employ an experienced customer research company with expertise in your industry.
Understanding both conscious and subconscious customer needs, preferences, attitudes, motivations and buying behaviour, means that companies are better placed to develop more successful marketing strategies for their brands, products and services.
How do behavioural economics improve the consumer experience?
As customer understanding grows, marketing management teams can target key consumer segments more effectively. The marketing team will be able to develop new products and new services as solutions to meet the needs of those customers, refresh existing products and services, and develop the brand to satisfy those needs.
Using behavioural economics within a market research project, the business or organisation will gain competitive intelligence, will more easily identify changes in purchasing intent and behaviour, and generally, increase chances of success as more information becomes available to inform decisions regarding strategy.
In recent years, the COM-B model of behaviour has become more popular. The COM-B model identifies three factors that need to be present for an effective behaviour change: capability, opportunity and motivation.
Quantitative research
Mathematical analysis and data are used to draw conclusions about companies and their markets.
Quantitative research data helps to analyse interest in your brand, product or service.
Quantitative research tools
Quantitative tools often used include:
Surveys
Polls
Questionnaires
Analytics
Quantitative research characteristics
Some characteristics of quantitative research are:
Previous customer research:Factors relating to the market research topic are studied before initiating a quantitative research survey.
Large sample size: The sample needs to be large enough so that it represents the target market.
Close-ended questions: This type of question is normally used.
Data presentation: Quantitative data is usually presented in table, chart or graph format.
Quantitative research is useful for the following types of questions:
Who are your best customers? What are their ages, gender, locations etc?
What level of brand awareness is in the market?
How many people are interested in purchasing your product or service?
Comments Off on Improving the food product development process with food market research
Food market research is critical to the food product development process. In an increasingly challenging marketplace, extensive planning and research is required to produce successful food and beverage products.
New food product development objectives include acquiring new customers, expanding into new geographic markets, boosting profits, and growing market share. Food market research is often used when developing new food concepts, adding to existing product lines and when making modifications to existing products.
Most food product market research tends to focus on additions and modifications as entirely new concepts are rare and involve a higher level of risk.
Food product development
Prior to launching a product, food market research can help with multiple aspects of developing a new food product; from uncovering the needs of the market to giving an indication as to whether a new product will meet those needs.
Aspects that should be explored in food research include the following:
Is the purpose of the product clear?
Who are the potential customers?
What customer segments exist in the market?
Do potential customers see the benefit of the product?
What needs do the potential users have?
What needs does the product meet?
What products are currently bought by potential users to fill those existing needs?
Why do those products not fully meet the prospective customer’s need?
How likely is it that a prospective customer would buy the new product?
The answer to all of these questions need to be found, but in a way that does not create bias. Bias in a market research survey will lead to false information which can have a catastrophic effect when developing a new product.
Promotion
In addition to new food product development, aspects such as package design, advertising, in-store promotions, coupons and discount options all need to be evaluated, then designed and then re-evaluated. Focus groups, friendship groups, cluster groups and diary studies are just a few of the methods used for evaluation.
Pricing
Food market research is also beneficial to inform the pricing strategy. It can be used to uncover the price that a prospective customer be prepared to pay for the new product.
Place (Distribution)
Food research can be used to find out how and where prospective customers would expect to be able to buy a product.
Growth and Maturity Phases
Food market research may be used throughout the lifespan of a product. Areas such as pricing, customer satisfaction, views on the product, comparisons with the strengths and weaknesses of competitors’ products should all be analysed. This kind of market research can discover potential opportunities for further product development.
