For companies market research is a strategic part of the business and an invaluable source of information that helps them measure success, stay relevant, track their competitors’ performance and be prepared to face market changes.
Through market research methods such as surveys, focus groups, interviews etc., companies are able to find out how their marketing campaigns have contributed to an increase in sales or how customers perceive the quality of their products and services. By conducting market research, companies also want to test the market before launching a new service or product or collect data and insights on consumer behavior changes and trends that might influence their businesses.
If we move from the business sector to the non-profit sector, the need for marketing research remains the same or it could even be greater if we consider the fact that environmental NGOs work to solve challenging and complex issues related to wildlife and ecosystems, climate change, urban pollution, protected areas, waste, water, food, energy, unsustainable lifestyles and consumption patterns etc.
In order to solve these environmental issues, NGOs, before developing and implementing projects and public communication campaigns, should use marketing and social research instruments to gather data on people’s values, attitudes and perceptions towards the environment and insights on the cultural, social, political and economic contexts. This data should be the starting point of every initiative that aims at making people, companies or authorities act pro-environmentally. Moreover, at the end of their public communication campaigns or projects, NGOs need to evaluate the effects of these initiatives on the attitudes and behaviors of their audiences and, ultimately, they need to measure the impact, that is the system-level changes or the long-term results.
But why is this research oriented approach so important for environmental NGOs?
Here are 5 reasons why environmental NGOs, whether big or small, need to embed social marketing research methods in their public communication campaigns and core projects:
1. There is no more time for assumptions
For companies, making business based on assumptions, leads to bankruptcy. For NGOs, carrying out projects and campaigns based on assumptions results in failing to create real change and solve the pressing environmental issues of our times.
2. Donors are getting more and more demanding
Individual donors and funders want to know the real impact of the organizations they support, not only the direct outputs of projects and campaigns. They need to see the long-term impact and the social and environmental changes created by the organization’s activity.
3. Environmental non-profits need the buy-in of the local communities
Developing community-based projects without analyzing first the attitudes and perceptions of the locals regarding your cause or without analyzing their needs and interests can result in the lack of cooperation from the local community during the implementation phase of the project.
4. You can’t manage what you don’t measure
By measuring and understanding the impact and effects of their projects and campaigns, NGOs can learn what works and what doesn’t, thus being able to improve their organizational goals, strategies and activities.
5. The reputation of the organization depends on it
Being able to back up the success claims regarding the organization’s initiatives through concrete data and insights attracts the trust of stakeholders and creates a stronger reputation.
