At Koski Research, Engagement IQ studies are our corporate playground – they’re the area where we test new theories, learn and have a little fun.
As a proprietary research tool, Engagement IQ asks questions in four simple areas, to wit:
Likability – how positive or negative do you feel about the person or company?
Lunchability – would you have lunch with the person or company CEO?
Postability – would you post something about the person or company on Facebook?
Readability – would you read an article about the person or company?
In past Engagement IQ studies, we’ve compared Pope Francis and Donald Trump , and have even looked at gamification of research questions in today’s environment, a la Tinder – i.e. would you “swipe left” or “swipe right” on a given brand?
Our ultimate goal with Engagement IQ is to deliver insights around engagement with companies based on sentiment, positioning in the news and social media. And we’re always trying to dig deeper and push the limits of our understanding, and by extension – yours.
With the above in mind, we’ll suggest that reliance only upon “old school” and traditional marketing metrics may cause you to overlook important, conceptual aspects of engagement.
Traditional marketing research looks at functional attributes like ease of use, level of service provided, performance, etc., as well as emotional attributes such as caring, trust, and leadership. While these are still important facets to measure, today’s consumers – particularly Millennials – often seek more experiential engagement with brands.
So, just as Koski Research has evolved its methodology and techniques when it comes to Engagement IQ, we’ll suggest that researchers should evolve customer engagement surveys to include some conceptual “new school” metrics that can account for some of the “fuzzy-but-important” experiential and emotional connections that consumers seek.
Doing so will help researchers gain more meaningful insights into the behavioral aspects, like purchasing and recommending, required to build and sustain high-value brand relationships in the digital age.
While customer experiences for every brand are different, Koski Research proposes that you consider eight key metrics around “engagement intelligence,” for future studies addressing the Millennial generation and beyond:
1. Is your brand Authentic? Can customers relate to your brand? Are you believable in what you deliver?
2. Is your brand Transparent? Do they believe you do what you say, and say what you do?
3. Is your brand Empowering? Do you provide an experience that makes your customers feel empowered?
4. Is your brand Inspiring? Do your products and services inspire your customers to take action?
5. Is your brand Socially Responsible? Are you doing the right thing for humanity?
6. What social media would consumers use to follow or learn more about your brand? i.e. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
7. Would consumers post something about your brand on these social channels? Is it compelling enough for them to comment and share in their realm?
8. When do consumers look up your brand? At home? At work? When traveling?
Adding these “intelligence” metrics to your next engagement research program can provide you with a more actionable measurement of engagement, and a deeper understanding of where and how to target brand messages.
By asking the right questions about these aspects of your brand, you can gain a deeper understanding of brand dynamics, as well as the functional and emotional needs of your consumers. More sophisticated understanding of interplay between brand attributes and consumer perception will ultimately encourage consumers to metaphorically “swipe right,” and act favorably towards your brand.
If you have comments, thoughts or feedback, we’d be pleased to hear from you. And if you’d like to learn more about how to ask the right new school questions for better insights, drop us a line . Thanks!