Back up your ideas with research, strategy

Instead of telling investors an allegorical story about how you expect customers to receive your product, Patrick Comer, CEO and founder of New Orleans-based Lucid, says entrepreneurs should invest in market research to find answers to their business queries. 

Comer, one of Baton Rouge Entrepreneurship Week’s keynote speakers, says a great customer experience can start with great market research by the business, whether it be a microbusiness, a startup or a large company. With research, the business can arm itself with an informed strategy. 

“You can’t go out and buy a good customer experience and hand it to customers,” Comer says. “You have to develop it, understand it. You can buy tools, hire people and have a strategy, but any strategy without insights is just movement without direction. Understanding what customers need or want, how they’re reacting to your thoughts, ideas and products is vital to making sure your strategy is on point.”

Comer shared the story of McDonald’s launching the Arch Deluxe sandwich in the ‘90s as an example of a company “missing the mark.” In an attempt to shed its childish reputation and be perceived as more sophisticated, the restaurant launched the Arch Deluxe sandwich. Comer called the endeavor “a failure of research.” Before launching, the corporation testest the market it thought would buy the product but did not test the market that was already buying their products. 

By using research technology, businesses owners can continually refine and adjust their strategy or products based on the evolution of their ideal customer. 

“When every business can cheaply leverage the insights of their actual target audience, we believe a more perfect world is created, one that enables the customer to be the driver of innovation,” Comer says. “Strategies don’t have to be static. Your five-year plan—what does that even mean nowadays? … You have to be fluid and adaptable. Flexibility is the key to survival.”

BREW continues tomorrow morning with a panel on addressing racial inequity, “RESOLVE Redux: Advancing the Conversation,” starting at 9:30 a.m., followed by “The ARTS of Marketing: Pushing the Movement Forward” at 10:30 a.m.

Check out BREW’s homepage for the full agenda.