Research EmPOWERs

Today I spent time with the research guru of the communication and marketing team here at FPL. I have to admit, I could have talked to him WAY longer than the 30 minutes that was allotted.

We started off speaking to brand strategy and the conversation led to research and how vital the skill is in communication. I couldn’t help but inform him I teach our communication research class at Ohio Northern University and warn him of how I wanted to pick his brain about concepts we teach from our university textbooks. 

I began asking questions about the importance of research. Answers spoke to how the customer can play a critical part in gathering and validating research. Essentially it empowers the decision making process.

Decisions here at FPL are made based on foundational empowering research.  After digging to find key themes, FPL employs a validation process to build upon those key themes…an evaluation process if you will. I know my students grow weary of hearing me address the importance of pre- and post-test as a form of benchmarking, yet today the research guru spoke to the importance of this research and how FPL implements these tests regularly. (Oh good, I’m not losing all touch on reality!)

Furthermore we talked about the value of both qualitative and quantitative research. In academia there are camps on both sides, and few that try to make peace between the two. Here at FPL they find value in both—and rightfully so.  For example, although the research team may be doing a focus group with very ridged and structured guides to lead the discussion for quantitative purposes, sometimes the most fruitful information is what’s not said or how it is said (qualitative).

Like every solid research plan, FPL’s research is constantly refined. Conducting solid research allows FPL to pick up on things it might otherwise miss.  Because there is such a diverse customer base, research is essential to find what messages and ideas are reaching and resonating with core constituents. Without this insightful research, communication plans are reverting back to the outdated “spaghetti and see what sticks” model.  Not a good plan when you are making decisions that cost both time and money. 

In public relations, we are taught to conduct campaigns using the RACE model. R = research. This isn’t a new concept, but it is refreshing to see a corporate entity utilizing resources to engage with this all-important task. Empowering those who make decisions with the data to support foundational campaign building. Kudos to FPL for realizing and tapping into this critical, and oftentimes overlooked, step in preparing a solid communication campaign.