Market research and strategic planning

Understanding your customers and their world

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Creatively working in the customer's mindframe

Semiotics
Exploring the world people live in using semiotics, means studying the 'data' people absorb as part of everyday life. This includes newspapers, marketing material, social media, TV programmes and more
Desk research
Scouring research papers, museum archives and company information to filter for important facts, eliminates the need for undertaking primary research in some cases.
Customer interactions
Speaking to customers in situ, in groups and alone in depth, uncovers their motivations and behaviours. Using images as metaphors also helps to identify thoughts and feelings people are unaware of

Three core services

Choose services separately or link them together where relevant

Market Research

Qualitative research is a speciality. Techniques include in-depth interviews,focus groups, observations and accompanied visits. Semiotics is a recent addition as a way of understanding customers from the outside-in.

Strategy and Planning

Marketing campaigns are given clear meaning and longevity, when underpinned by strategy and planning. This includes understanding competitor landscape, defining the target market and setting clear objectives.

Customer Experience

Mapping current customer experiences highlights gaps and challenge areas. Designing ideal customer experiences, provides clarity for activation and communication opportunities. It can also be used for the foundations of service design.

Caroline Southard

Director

Caroline Southard has spent over 20 years helping clients understand their customers more deeply. In this time, her work has enabled companies to innovate and progress their products and services, generating multi-£million profits. Insights have been found through her wisdom and business experience to probe more deeply at relevant ‘crunch’ spots in a conversation.

Caroline has a particular interest in the relationship between thinking, feeling and doing and also subconscious motivations to behaviour. Therefore, her research work has taken her into a range of business industries, covering new product development, proposition iteration, advertising campaign development and also message, ad and product testing.

Industries

Publishing

Offline and online

Finance

High street banking, investment banking and insurance

Science and Tech

AI, publishing and online

Charities

Animal, Science and Arts

Education

Post Graduate and Exam boards

FMCG

NPD, U&A

Telco

Mobile and landline

Work with me to make progress in your projects

You can achieve your aims quickly, save yourself money and enjoy an interesting, business-enhancing experience.

As a consultant, I work independently using my expertise in market research or semiotics or strategy work to undertake a project. I collaborate with you at relevant stages and personally take responsibility for the tasks. This saves you time and utilises me as an external, expert resource.

As a collaborator I work cross-functionally too. This is either with members of your team or my specialist associates. We use the best of our combined knowledge and experience to make progress together on a project. This usually encompasses customer experience, strategy and marketing planning work.

As a creator, I make something from scratch. Either with you, with your team or on my own. Custom-designed work has included new service design, training courses, creative thinking off-sites or completely new approaches to achieving project objectives.

Companies I've worked with