Brand Research
The trick to finding top brand research specialists is to identify your needs. Do you need help with competitor analysis? Or do you need a researcher to perform audience segmentation? The cost of your project will depend largely on your scope of work and the specific skills needed to bring your project to life.
Visuals and voice come together to form a unique brand identity that separates your business’s products and services from those of the competition. Brand research specialists can help you understand your target market so that you can build a brand that will connect with them.
So how do you hire brand research specialists? What follows are some tips for finding top brand research specialists on Upwork.
How to shortlist brand research professionals
As you’re browsing available brand research consultants, it can be helpful to develop a shortlist of the professionals you may want to interview. You can screen profiles on criteria such as:
- Industry fit. You want a brand research specialist who understands your industry so they can help you figure out how best to reach your target market.
- Project experience. Screen candidate profiles for specific skills and experience (e.g., creating a quantitative survey with SurveyMonkey).
- Feedback. Check reviews from past clients for glowing testimonials or red flags that can tell you what it’s like to work with a particular brand research specialist.
How to write an effective brand research job post
With a clear picture of your ideal brand research specialist in mind, it’s time to write that job post. Although you don’t need a full job description as you would when hiring an employee, aim to provide enough detail for a freelancer to know if they’re the right fit for the project.
An effective brand research job post should include:
- Scope of work: From surveys to focus group interviews, list all the deliverables you’ll need.
- Project length: Your job post should indicate whether this is a smaller or larger project.
- Background: If you prefer experience with certain industries or brand research techniques, mention this here.
- Budget: Set a budget and note your preference for hourly rates vs. fixed-price contracts.
Ready to collect the information you need to forge your own unique brand identity? Log in and post your brand research job on Upwork today.
BRAND RESEARCH SPECIALISTS FAQs
What is brand research?
Brand research is the practice of collecting the data and insights needed to build a brand that will resonate with your target audience. Brand researchers can conduct surveys, investigate competitors, interview focus groups, and perform other research techniques to help you discover your brand identity.
Here’s a quick overview of the skills you should look for in brand research professionals:
- Brand research
- Data analysis and reporting
- Qualitative market research (e.g., focus groups, in-depth interviews, participant observation)
- Quantitative market research (e.g., surveys, polls, questionnaires)
How much does it cost to hire a brand research specialist?
Rates can vary due to many factors, including expertise and experience, location, and market conditions.
- An experienced brand research specialist may command higher fees but also work faster, have more-specialized areas of expertise, and deliver higher-quality work.
- A freelancer who is still in the process of building a client base may price their brand research services more competitively.
Which one is right for you will depend on the specifics of your project.
How long should you contract a brand research specialist to complete your project?
As difficult as it is to estimate how long it takes to perform brand research, budgeting time is very important to keeping your project on track.
Be prepared to budget more time for more-demanding brand research projects. For example, distributing a customer satisfaction survey to your existing customer base will typically take less time than assembling a focus group for an in-depth interview.
What are the steps involved to hire brand research specialists?
Here’s how to hire brand research consultants in four simple steps:
- Identify your project needs, whether it’s audience segmentation or competitor analysis.
- Define the scope of work and write a detailed job post. Be specific about deliverables (e.g., spreadsheets containing branding details of competitors).
- Review proposals and shortlist potential brand research specialists for unique skills needed to bring your project to life (e.g., conducting an ideation workshop to refine the messaging for a product launch).
- Interview brand research talent to gauge whether they’re the right fit for your project. Here are some sample interview questions.