{"id":23301,"date":"2023-02-17T08:00:58","date_gmt":"2023-02-17T13:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hingemarketing.com\/?p=23301"},"modified":"2023-02-17T09:38:33","modified_gmt":"2023-02-17T14:38:33","slug":"brand-tracking-is-easier-than-you-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hingemarketing.com\/blog\/story\/brand-tracking-is-easier-than-you-think","title":{"rendered":"Brand Tracking for Professional Services Firms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever wondered how challenging it would be to measure the return on your brand investment? For professional services firms, it may be easier than you think.<\/span><\/p>\n

Like all good marketing initiatives, brand tracking should start with a fundamental understanding of your buyers. Our research shows that, while asking a friend or colleague for a recommendation remains\u2014barely\u2014the top way businesses search for a new professional services firm, this approach is being overtaken by digital methods such as web search, and reading online articles\/blog posts.<\/span><\/p>\n\"\"\n

As digital communications continue their steady rise in prominence, it\u2019s imperative to understand how your target audience searches for insights and expertise to address their business problems.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brand Tracking Tools<\/h2>\n

Once you understand your buyers\u2019 search channels you can choose the appropriate tools to monitor your brand.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, tracking your professional services firm\u2019s online brand is more important than ever. And while the <\/span>latest marketing technology<\/span><\/a> can often be overwhelming, marketing professionals may already have many of the tools they need to track their digital brand over time.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Brand Tracking?<\/h2>\n

Brand tracking is the process of measuring changes in brand perception over time. It quantifies a return on brand investment and supports brand strategy decisions.<\/span><\/p>\n

With enough data and the right tools, you can measure this perception almost instantly. For example, consumer brands with large social followings can <\/span>track their brands in real-time<\/span><\/a> using social listening tools to measure what is being said about their brand, campaign, competitors, and product or service. Unfortunately, most professional services firms don\u2019t have a large enough social following to make this kind of real-time brand tracking practical.<\/span><\/p>\n

But that doesn\u2019t mean professional services firms can\u2019t utilize brand tracking.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brand tracking in the B2B space boils down to two main approaches:<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. Gathering\/monitoring experiential feedback<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Surveying your buyers<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Both approaches are critically important. Firms that deploy both of these techniques are far more likely to achieve superior results from their brand tracking efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n

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    Download the Professional Services Guide to Research<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    Gathering and Monitoring Experiential Feedback<\/h2>\n

    Capturing the right information at the right time is essential to a successful inbound marketing strategy \u2014 and it\u2019s equally important in brand tracking. In-the-moment experiential feedback allows you to take the pulse of your brand.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    By understanding your buyers\u2019 search channels (see chart above) your firm will know which channels you need to monitor for critical experiential feedback.<\/p>\n

    Brand Tracking Examples<\/h4>\n

    For instance, many professional services firms leverage their website for lead generation<\/span><\/a>. Potential buyers are willing to exchange an email address for premium content \u2014 a critical milestone on the buyer\u2019s journey. Measuring content downloads is a good example of operational data that can be tracked over time. But how valuable was the content they downloaded? One way to find out is to send a simple automated follow-up email asking if they found the content useful. Combining these metrics will tell you the <\/span>quantity<\/span><\/i> of downloads and the <\/span>quality<\/span><\/i> of the content.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Other methods of collecting experiential feedback include embedding listening posts within your marketing content. For example, you might ask for feedback from your webinar attendees, or put a 1- to 2-question popup survey on your website. Simple techniques like these can help you understand how your buyers view your firm. You can also monitor comments and reactions to digital content, such as blog posts or LinkedIn posts, to gauge audience sentiment toward your brand.<\/span><\/p>\n

    These are just a couple examples of how experiential feedback can be collected at key listening posts along your buyer\u2019s journey. While experiential feedback is a great way to monitor buyer engagement with your brand, it doesn\u2019t always paint the full picture. To get a more holistic understanding of how buyers view your brand, you\u2019ll need to conduct a brand tracking survey.<\/span><\/p>\n

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    Download the Professional Services Guide to Research<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    Surveying Your Buyers<\/h2>\n

    Do you have a solid understanding of how your buyers view your brand today? If you do, then you probably already know what your key performance metrics are. If you don\u2019t, consider conducting a <\/span>brand survey<\/span><\/a> to establish your firm\u2019s baseline performance. Once your brand baseline is established, your firm will have a great starting point to track brand performance over time.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Only by understanding how buyers see you \u2014 your strengths and weaknesses \u2014 can you know where to focus your attention. This is where a\u00a0 brand survey of your audience comes in handy. The data you gather allows your firm to establish powerful baseline metrics such as:<\/span><\/p>\n