With a little peek behind the scenes, we are only a few weeks away from kicking off Hinge’s 11th consecutive High Growth Study!  Today, we want to pull back the curtain and explain why we bother going to all that trouble—and why you might want to do something similar.

We conduct research like this for five reasons:

  1. To learn about the firms that buy our services
  2. To position ourselves as thought leaders
  3. To differentiate our firm
  4. To provide a well of ideas for content
  5. To implicitly make the case for our services

In a moment we will describe each of these reasons. But first let us explain what we mean by research.

When we say research in this context, we mean formal research on your target audience. There are many other kinds of research—market viability research, client satisfaction research, pricing research, to name just a few. While each of these can answer specific questions you may have, they can’t be used in as many ways as audience research.

Why? Because when you conduct research on your audience, you can collect data that will also be interesting to the people you serve.

For example, suppose you are an accounting firm that wants to understand how prospective clients in your region are feeling about the economy. That’s very useful information for you as you plan for growth or decide whether to enter a new market. But those are valuable insights for your clients, as well. Because you are surveying organizations just like them, the information is relevant and meaningful as they do their own planning.

Now let’s turn to the reasons Hinge conducts research. We suspect your reasons would be no different.

Why We Conduct Research (And Why You Should, Too)

  1. We learn about the firms that buy our services – Buyer behavior and preferences–how they build their lists of firms to consider, how they whittle down those lists, and how they make their final selection–are always changing. By conducting regular research on our audience, we can see those changes, as well as emerging trends. Equipped with this intel, we can adjust our marketing accordingly.
  2. It positions us as thought leaders on a topic our audience actually cares about – When you publish original research you elevate yourself to a different level. At Hinge, our research gives us the data and credibility to claim we understand how high-growth firms market themselves differently. As a result, we are perceived as pioneers and thought leaders in the type of marketing and branding that leads to profitable growth.
  3. It differentiates us – Conducting research like this isn’t easy. That’s why so few firms do it. It’s also why the market leaders do. When you offer something valuable that your competitors don’t, it can be a very tangible way to separate your firm from the rest. At the same time, our professional advice and services are supported by real data. Hinge’s research is a pillar of our differentiation strategy.
  4. It provides a well of ideas for our content – Content marketing can be difficult for some firms to sustain. When you do audience research, however, you have a deep pool of insights you can dip into to inspire a stream of blog posts, webinars and speeches. Thank you, research!
  5. It makes the case for buying our services – Often, prospective clients know they need services like yours, but they struggle to convince the stakeholders in their companies. We hear over and over again how useful our data was in making the case to hire us. And even if a buyer wasn’t considering our firm at first, the fact that we were the ones with the data often put us on the list.

You don’t have to conduct as much research as we do at Hinge to make a difference. Some firms put out a study once a year, or even less often. Like publishing a book, research gives you an opportunity to talk about your firm in a different way—and can change the way people perceive your business. That’s powerful!