A critical component of any successful public relations, branding or marketing campaign is research.

In a down economy, businesses attempt to cut costs wherever they can. Surprisingly, one of the first items offered up for the chopping block is research. Research can be costly, but it’s a critical item.

1) Would you give an industry or customer presentation with zero preparation or important details?

2) How about purchasing a car without knowing the first thing about the brand or model you are about to fork over $30,000 for?

The answer to both these questions is probably no, but we’re amazed at the number of business leaders that propose limiting or completely eliminating research from their project budgets.

Most often these decision makers feel they already have a complete understanding of their target audiences and what they want. Others don’t feel it is necessary to thoroughly look at what the competition is doing. And the scariest of all are the ones that don’t think there is any value in the research process.

Without research you are essentially operating in the dark. Good research, both primary and secondary, gives you a baseline from which to measure success. If you skimp on, or all together eliminate, this critical campaign component you are setting yourself up for failure.

Research is never a waste of time or money. Even if the results of your research confirm what you already know, it is validation well worth paying for. Chances are you will learn surprising things you weren’t expecting. And sometimes the results can be downright dramatic.

What is your take on research? Is it fundamental to all your marketing efforts or have you done without it successfully in the past?

Building and maintaining a brand is a never-ending process - in good times and especially in bad. HOW you go about it may morph based on the macro economy or your company’s micro economic environment. Today, we’re recommending that our clients use free Internet tools as much as possible. And the good news (in the midst of the bad) is that you may actually make your branding and marketing more effective! Here are some ways we’ve been using Web power to max marketing:

• Electronic media relations - centered around press releases with a number of hyperlinks, i.e., links to pages on your Website that cover the subject(s) you reference in the release, to organizations, to partner companies, etc. Put the releases out electronically over newswires, through appropriate social media channels, and they’ll optimize your search engine results and enjoy a long half life on the Web.
• LinkedIn or Facebook “campaigns” - Begin or maintain an active presence on LinkedIn if you’re a B2B company or both LinkedIn and Facebook if you’re primarily B2C. Build up your contacts/friends lists, let your contacts know what projects or products you’re working on, ask questions, join groups related to your field or that of your company and become active online.
• Conduct regular  ePromotions - Create and maintain an eNewsletter or simply go with a regular ePromotion schedule. Launch your products or services. Give recipients a discount on a product or service for a limited time period. Reprise the special offer on the home page of your Website. Use your ePromotional vehicle to get customer/client feedback on products and services. Reward them with a gift card if they respond.
• Monitor Web coverage - Track yourself/your organization using a free tool such as www.yacktrack.com, which monitors blogs, online communities, etc., to find out what they’re saying about you. Reputation management is a major component of branding and ongoing brand management.