Sponsor Spotlight: NGI Solutions - Newcastle Startup Week

One of the key principles of business growth is understanding your product-market fit. This can be driven by key brand messages, customers and competitors. To obtain this data, you need to dig. And you need to dig deep. This is exactly what our Newcastle Startup Week sponsor NGI Solutions specialises in.

NGI Solutions is a research, marketing and PR agency, providing an all-round solution to help companies identify their key customers and brand messages. Examples of NGI’s clients include Hadrians Wall, Nestle, Newcastle College and The National Trust.

NGI Solutions are constantly looking for new ways to help companies build their brand most effectively. Earlier in 2019, they launched their own research panel ‘Northern Voice’ which gives businesses access to a wide range of customers who are willing to share their data with companies to provide genuine feedback.

NGI Solutions is also a registered provider for a number of North East growth funds, meaning they can help some small organisations secure funding or subsidies.

So why is data so important? What are some of the key opportunities for businesses?

1. Data can help you make sure you are using the right messages on the right channels

When investing into platforms, you want to make sure you get bang for buck. One of the biggest pains in business is a lack of understanding why financed campaigns may not be working efficiently.

What is the right message for your brand? How does this impact memes? Find out on the NGI Solutions Blog.

You may have heard the terms:
“We need to go digital!” and “We need to be on social media.” However, without objectives and clear drivers, these are unlikely to produce desired results.

To get the most out of your campaigns and platforms, make sure you are sending the right messages to the best audiences at the right place.

To achieve this, start with asking yourself why you do what you do, and explore who may share similar values alongside a willingness to pay.

Next, try and understand where these individuals can be found online (channels usage) and what their key pains and gains are, which can help shape your message. Platforms like NGI’s Northern Voice can be very useful in exploring this market research.

2. Data can help you make informed business decisions

Business decisions are most likely to succeed when they are informed. This means having access to appropriate data that can help balance the pros and cons of your decision most efficiently. Potential questions to ask yourself can include ‘what value will customers derive from the outcome?’ and ‘is this the decision the most cost-effective way to maximise that value?’

To get access to the right data, businesses will occasionally have consultations with key stakeholders. In addition, they may use information from existing industry reports and competitors (where public).

“Done correctly research can play an integral part in a communications strategy. In the planning stage of a strategy it allows you to create objectives for your communications plan, identify your current or potential key audiences and gather feedback on past activity. Once activity has begun on a strategy, research can help you check what you are doing is working and evaluate its success.”
– The Importance of Research in a Communications Strategy – NGI Solutions Blog.

3. Measured right, data can help you increase engagement.

Rather than going out to conduct research every time you make a decision, it may be useful to evaluate what data you already have and what you can or should be measuring. Which platforms are actively in use? How are customers responding to your messages now?

When measuring your data, make sure it contributes to your understanding of your customer segments and their pains and gains. This goes beyond measuring numbers. It requires insight of what types of content work well, ideally among different target audiences. For example, rather than investing £100 in a campaign that will reach 10,000 people who have no intention to buy your product/service, with the right data you could invest £100 in a campaign that reaches 3000 people but of whom 600 are potential customers (hypothetically). That’s where data adds real value to your campaigns.