The Invisible Thread: 3 ways research uncovers the story your brand isn't telling

No.1 - Decoding the Silence: How to Hear What Your Customers/Employee Aren't Saying

In the noisy world of customer and employee feedback, social media chatter, and market data, there's a quiet symphony playing. It's the unspoken narrative of your brand, carrying truths that often slip through the cracks of formal surveys or focus groups.

Think about it. For every customer who fills out a survey or employee who vents at the water cooler (or over zoom!), how many are silently forming opinions? Making decisions? Feeling things about your brand they can't quite articulate?

This silent majority isn't shouting from the rooftops. They're not flooding your inbox with feedback. But they're out there, and their silence speaks volumes.

It's in the ‘hesitation’ before they click 'buy' or take the job. It's in the product they almost purchased but didn't. It's in the feature or initiative they use in ways you never intended. It's in the conversations they have about your brand when they think you're not listening.

These unspoken truths? They're the bedrock of your real brand story. They're the invisible forces shaping how people truly perceive and interact with your brand.

Why is this parable important, you ask? 

Well, sometimes the most important information lies in what isn't said, rather than what is. Like a seasoned detective, we need to look for the clues in the gaps:

1. Analyse the topics customers/employees consistently avoid in feedback.
2. Study the hesitations in interviews. What questions make people pause?
3. Examine customer service logs. What issues do customers dance around?

As Seth Godin once said, “Don't find customers for your products, find products for your customers.” 

By reading between the lines, you're doing just that - uncovering needs, objections, even desires your customers and employees might not even realise they have or struggle to verbalise.

To help better understand this in application, we recommend conducting a ‘Silence Audit’. The Silence Audit is a strategic exercise designed to uncover the topics, issues, or aspects of your brand experience that customers/employees aren't talking about. It's based on the principle that what's not being said can be just as important as what is.

Here's how it works:

By conducting a Silence Audit, you might discover something completely new:

• Features or services customers/employees want but don't know to ask for
• Aspects of your brand that customers/employees take for granted (which could be leveraged in marketing)
• Pain points that customers/employees are hesitant to mention
• Opportunities for innovation that your competitors haven't addressed

Side note: the goal of a Silence Audit isn't just to identify what's missing, but to understand why it's missing and what that means for your brand. These insights can lead to product improvements, new marketing angles, or even entirely new business opportunities!

The Data-Story Bridge Framework:

1. Data Point: This is your starting point. It's a specific, measurable piece of information from your research. For example, it could be '68% of users abandon our app after the first use' or 'Customer/employee satisfaction scores dropped by 15% in the last year.' The key here is to choose a data point that's significant and potentially impactful for your brand. It should be something that makes you pause and think - 'We need to understand this better.'
2. Context: Here, you zoom out and look at the bigger picture surrounding your data point. What's happening in your industry? What changes have occurred in your company? What external factors might be influencing this data? For instance, if your data point is about app abandonment, the context might include recent UI changes, competitor actions, or shifts in user behaviour across the industry. This step helps prevent misinterpretation of the data by ensuring you're not viewing it in isolation.
3. Hypothesis: Based on the data and context, form an educated guess about what might be causing the result you're seeing. This is where you start to bridge from pure data to potential human motivations or behaviours. For the app abandonment example, a hypothesis might be: 'The new UI might be confusing for first-time users, leading to frustration and abandonment.' Your hypothesis should be specific enough to test, but open enough to allow for unexpected insights.
4. Human Story: This is where you bring your data to life. Create a narrative about a fictional (but realistic) person that illustrates your hypothesis. This story should feel authentic and relatable. For example: 'Sarah, a busy mum, downloads our app to help manage her family's schedule. Excited to get started, she opens the app but is immediately overwhelmed by the number of options. After a few frustrated attempts to create an event, she closes the app, intending to try again later when she has more time. She never reopens it.' This step helps you empathise with your users and see your data from a human perspective.
5. Validation: Finally, you need to test whether your story accurately represents reality. This might involve further quantitative research, like A/B testing different UI designs, or qualitative research, like user interviews or usability studies. The goal is to see if your human story resonates with real users and if addressing the issues in your story actually impacts the original data point. For instance, you might conduct user testing sessions with new users to observe their first interactions with the app and see if their experience matches Sarah's story.
6. This framework helps you move between quantitative data and qualitative insights, ensuring that your understanding of the numbers is grounded in human experience. It combines the rigour of data analysis with the empathy and insight of storytelling, leading to more holistic and actionable insights for your brand strategy.

The origins of The Data-Story Bridge

This framework was developed as a response to the growing divide between quantitative and qualitative research in marketing. It draws on Brené Brown's emphasis on the power of storytelling in understanding human behaviour, and Nate Silver's approach to using data to make predictions while acknowledging the importance of context and human interpretation.

The 'Data Point' and 'Context' steps are rooted in Silver's statistical approach, while the 'Human Story' step is inspired by Brown's narrative inquiry methods. The 'Hypothesis' and 'Validation' steps bridge these two worlds, encouraging researchers to move back and forth between data and story.

Why this framework works

This approach forces us to look beyond the numbers and imagine the real people and situations behind them. It combines the rigour of data analysis with the empathy and insight of storytelling. By bridging data and stories, we can uncover deeper insights and more innovative solutions.

Here's how to implement the Data-Story Bridge:

1. Gather your team and select 3-5 key data points from your recent market research.
2. For each data point, work through the framework:
3. Write down the data point.
4. Discuss the context surrounding this data.
5. Brainstorm hypotheses about what might be causing this result.
6. Create a short story or persona that illustrates your leading hypothesis.
7. Identify ways to validate or refute your story through further research.
8. Once you've created your Data-Story Bridges, discuss:
9. What new insights have emerged?
10. How do these stories change your perception of the data?
11. What new questions or research directions have opened up?
12. Use these insights to inform your next steps, whether that's additional research, product development, or marketing strategies.

As Cathy O'Neil warns, ”Big Data processes codify the past. They do not invent the future.” By using the Data-Story Bridge, you're not just codifying the past - you're imagining possible futures and the human stories that might unfold within them. This approach allows you to harness the power of both quantitative and qualitative research, leading to more holistic and human-centred insights.

The Invisible Thread Revealed

As you tune into the undercurrent, ask probing questions, and seek out the human element in your data, you'll start to see that invisible thread emerge. It's the story your brand has been telling all along, without even realising it.

This thread might reveal uncomfortable truths. It might challenge your assumptions. It might even suggest a completely new direction for your brand. But one thing's for certain - it will be authentic. And in a world where consumers and employees crave authenticity above all else, that's the most valuable insight of all.

So, are you ready to dive beneath the surface and uncover the story your brand isn't telling? The invisible thread is there, waiting to be discovered. All you need to do is look…and listen…a little deeper.

That’s a Wrap

As we wrap up this exploration of the invisible threads, it's clear that uncovering these hidden stories requires expertise, insight, and a deep understanding of both data and human nature. This is where Belong Creative steps in as your strategic partner in Brand Strategy, Customer Value Proposition (CVP), and Employer Branding.

At Belong Creative, we're not just brand strategists – we're story archaeologists, silence interpreters, and bridge builders between data and human experience. We understand that your brand needs to have a strong presence both online and offline, and we have the experience and expertise to help you achieve this goal.

Our research-led brand strategy aligns with and supports your objectives and goals, ensuring that every aspect of your brand communicates your unique value proposition. Our creative approach increases visibility and cut-through for your brand, helping you stand out in a crowded marketplace. We craft humanised brand messages that inspire action from the right audience, turning potential customers into loyal brand advocates.

But perhaps most importantly, we offer a smooth, warm, and enjoyable project experience. We believe that the process of uncovering your brand's true story should be as rewarding as the outcome.

Our proven Brand Strategy development process takes you from defining business goals through research, value proposition development, creative concept exploration, and finally to launch and performance tracking. We're with you every step of the way, ensuring that your brand strategy is not just a document, but a living, breathing part of your business.

So, what's the next chapter in your brand's story? If you're curious about uncovering those hidden narratives, or if you're simply intrigued by the idea of looking at your brand through a new lens, we'd love to chat.