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In a rapidly shifting marketing landscape, it has never been more important for marketers to have up-to-date and deep insights into consumer behaviour and what matters to their client’s specific target audience. Below, The Growth Distillery’s head of audience growth Sabrina Chan reveals new data about customers and how brands can leverage these insights for greater success.
A lot is keeping Australians up at night and there’s never been a more critical time for brands to play a bigger role in meeting the needs of their customers. Aligning your brand with the beliefs and expectations of your audience isn’t just good practice, it is a non-negotiable.
Our new study from The Growth Distillery, ‘Needs of the Nation’ is a collaboration with The Research Agency (TRA), and gives marketers the essential building blocks to understand their audiences more deeply, providing guidance on where to focus Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts to better meet audience needs.
At its heart, this research highlights what truly matters to Australian consumers and how brands can leverage this understanding to unlock growth and drive meaningful impact. It is a call to action for marketers to approach CSR with authenticity, empathy and prioritised focus.
The research identifies three building blocks that are critical to getting closer to your customers:
1. Prioritise efforts to the issues that matter to your consumers
We asked 6000 Australians aged 18 years and over what issues they expect corporations to engage in. It is no surprise that there is an increasing expectation for brands to address the societal issues Australians care most about – cost of living, environmental sustainability and community welfare, to name a few. Aligning your brand to where your consumers are is critical in developing a common purpose and being sensitive to what they care about.
2. Know the role consumers expect your brand to play
One of the study’s most striking findings is that across the issues that we measured, Australians more often than not expect corporations and brands to play a role in supporting social good – be it to inform, educate, influence or advocate. More than two-thirds of Australians expect corporations and brands to play an active role that goes beyond the provision of information when it comes to cost of living. Similarly for the environment, Australians are five times more likely to want corporations to advocate and lead the charge rather than stay silent. However, it’s not as simple as ‘taking a stand’. Australians are discerning and it takes time for a brand to build its authority and evolve its role from a passive one like an information provider to advocating and shaping the social agenda. Knowing where you have permission to play and building up brand credentials over time can help foster deeper brand affinity with consumers.
3. Tailor your message to your audience’s mindsets to win their hearts and minds
Australia is a highly diverse population, characterised by varying mindsets and values – be it traditional or progressive, individualistic or collectivist, aspirational or content. Taking a one-size-fits-all approach to CSR messaging risks alienating more than it engages. Instead, tailoring the messaging to reflect the unique attitudes and priorities of your audience ensures it delivers the desired emotional impact and receptivity it was designed to achieve.
Today, CSR is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s a must-do for brands that want to remain relevant, grounded in a shared purpose and committed to their customers. The ‘Needs of the Nation’ study provides a roadmap for doing just that, helping brands find their voice, their purpose and their path to sustainable growth.
Sabrina Chan is head of audience growth at The Growth Distillery.
