Mankato, MN Visitor Segmentation Study

Many destinations find themselves marketing to a vague shadow version of their visitor . . . created out of instinct and assumption. But a shadowy target can be hard to hit . . . and even harder to pin down. How then can a destination bring their target markets into sharp focus?

Consider the case of the greater Mankato CVB in Minnesota. In an effort to fine-tune its 2012 marketing plan, the DMO turned to the research department of North Star Destination Strategies to paint a precise picture of its top visitor segments.

Specifically, North Star was charged with creating comparative profiles of different visitor types, identifying current visitation patterns and uncovering critical consumer perceptions regarding the area. To increase reliability, a mixed method approach was implemented using a quantitative online survey and geo-demographic profiling and targeting.

The biggest takeaways from the visitor research:

Friends and family visitors are the largest visitor segment, but they don't just stay with their families. Some stay overnight in hotels, providing bed tax. In addition, many of these individuals have visited up to four times.

The Mankato Marathon is drawing visitors from farther away. Knowing that Mankato hosts the marathon, and because the city is pedestrian friendly with scenic riverside trails, it is becoming known for running, walking and outdoor exercise.

According to Shannon Gray, North Star's Director of Research, these findings have tremendous implications for Mankato. "A growing trend is for people to pick a destination to visit based on where they have friends and relatives. That way they can 'kill two birds with one stone' and see a cool community while catching up with friends and family. It also guarantees that they have a personal tour guide. Residents do the heavy hitting in convincing their friends and relatives to visit but the Mankato CVB had done no internal marketing. As a result of this research, the CVB is now beginning to look inward, considering ways to create resident ambassadors for the tourism brand."

A Dollop of Place

Have you ever looked at something so beautiful that you literally had to grab your jaw off the floor? Or give your arms a vigorous rub because the goose bumps have left you feeling cold? You know you’ve seen something majestic and awe-inspiring when the hair on the back of your neck perks up or your heart flutters.

While vacationing in the beautiful Beaches of South Walton, Florida, I stumbled across such an experience. My family and I were waiting for a table at a local restaurant. Trying to pass some time, we ventured into some nearby stores. We noticed a large canvas drying in the evening sun outside an art gallery and it immediately piqued my interest. I’ve always been a sucker for art, but this…this was mind boggling.

My inadvertent stop at Justin Gaffrey’s art gallery in Seaside, FL was the highlight of my trip. After spending several days in the area, I’d experienced all of the sights, sounds, textures, beach landscapes and national forests one man can endure. But Gaffrey’s work, ironically, made the place come to life. I’ve never interacted with art in that way before…and Gaffrey’s heavy-handed placement of a dollop or smear of paint perfectly captured the essence of South Walton.

Not only did his work embody the pleasure and experience of South Walton, it also fostered a sense of curiosity about the place it so accurately depicts.

From a community branding standpoint, South Walton is lucky to have an artist that enhances the experience of the destination. Not only did South Walton leave an impression, but that impression was further reinforced by the beautiful strokes of Gaffrey’s work.

Do you have an artist or other talent in your community that you should boast about? How can you use your skilled artists and artisans to bring your community’s brand identity to life?

~ Adam

The Secret Waterfall of Cocachimba

We do a lot of brand research to uncover the strategic brand essence for each destination we work with. Part of that research is to talk to stakeholders and residents to understand their perceptions of the place they call home. One of our first questions is the simplest, “What are your main tourism assets?”

Just as interesting as what people say, is what they DON’T say.

To illustrate my point, we need to go to Peru. That’s, right, pack your bags! We’re off to Peru - Cocachimba, Peru to be exact.

Cocachimba is a small village of about 200 situated in the verdant and dreamlike forest landscape of the Andes in the Amazon. The village has been around since the 1950s, but it’s about 20 miles from a centuries-old city of about 25,000 people.

And talk about a tourism asset! Cocachimba has a whopper - the third-tallest waterfall in the world.

What’s even more incredible than this 2,531-foot waterfall? That it remained "undiscovered" until just six years ago.

In his article for Slate Magazine, author Joshua Foer explored the falls and the town, and tried to get at the heart of why this amazing asset could have remained secret for so long.

Although the village is a bit secluded, villagers did frequently interact with outside communities. Outsiders knew about the village. But not the waterfall.

How could this be? It is the 3rd largest waterfall in the world! !

The answer may sound familiar - a local explained, "We could see Gocta from town…it was always there. But the population just wasn't interested."

It just never occurred to the villagers that their amazing waterfall was all that special. It’s just something they saw everyday. As Foer says, “Even the biggest diamond ring eventually becomes invisible to the person wearing it.”

Wow.

Seems unbelievable, right? But from my time at North Star, I can tell you, we’ve heard very similar sentiments…

• “We have an Irish name, but we don’t have a lot of real Irish connections.” Research quote from North Star branding client Dublin, OH, which now successfully leverages its connection to Ireland (see case study).
  

• “We have the river but also history and unique towns, plus not every community is right on the river.” Research quote from North Star branding client Susquehanna River Valley, which now uses its unique river feature as a competitive advantage
  (see case study).
  

• “The Black Canyon is probably unique. I guess we could promote that more.” Research quote from North Star branding client Montrose, CO, which now connects prominently to the amazing National Park located in its back yard (see case study).

We, as residents, sometimes forget or even take for granted those features which make our home so unique as a destination. The repetition of seeing it day in, day out (and for DMOs, marketing that asset day in, day out) desensitizes us to that “specialness.” It’s easy to forget that it’s a great big world out there – and that there are no two places alike on Earth. Maybe your destination doesn’t have the 3^rd largest waterfall in the world, but it does have something totally unique to its place.

Does your community have its own secret waterfall that gets taken for granted? What can you do to broaden your perspective about your destination’s special assets? How can you make others see them with fresh eyes?

~ Jennifer
jennifer@northstarideas.com

Don't Gamble with Your Brand

During a recent trip to Carson Valley in Northeastern Nevada our destination branding team stayed at the beautiful Carson Valley Inn and Casino. In order to get the full experience, I of course had to try my hand at blackjack. Now, I admit, this was a lot of fun… but I promise I was also there to learn. We often get some of our most unbiased research findings from undercover interviews and the blackjack table seemed like the perfect spot to chat people up!

I learned all about what brought people to the area, what they love about the region and more! What I didn’t expect to learn was something about myself.

I’m not an avid gambler. Don’t get me wrong, I have plenty of other vices, gambling just isn’t one of them. Fortunately, everyone at the table was happy to offer advice. Some decisions were no brainers, like always hit on a soft 14. Others were more subjective, like what do I do with a 16? As I struggled with whether to hit or stay, I was told by my fellow gamblers that whatever I chose I should stick with that decision every time. Consistency is key!

What a great reminder of what we tell our community branding clients all the time. We’re frequently asked how often a community brand should be changed and our answer is always the same – if it is grounded in research then it should outlast the careers of everyone involved. In fact, some of our most successful clients have had their destination and community brands in place for going on 10 years! (Augusta, GA; McKinney, TX; and Columbus, IN) We get tired of our brands and marketing materials long before the consumer; the key to making an impact in the marketplace is consistency.

As you might expect, I took the advice and sure enough, it paid off . . . and just in case you’re wondering – I stayed. I always stay on 16.

~ Samara
samara@northstarideas.com

Visitor Research Reveals Loyalty to the MS Gulf Coast

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been almost a year and a half since the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. During that stressful time, we at North Star Destination Strategies were worried sick about our friends in Mississippi -- what would happen to their delicately balanced ecosystems, the seafood industry, tourism? As it turns out, the damage from the oil wasn’t nearly as damaging as the perception that there WAS oil and devastation. Long after the crisis was over and beaches were clean, would-be visitors continued to delay their travel plans, and as a result the tourist revenue so crucial to the MS Coastal economy slowed to barely a trickle.

With the help of some restitution funds from BP, we launched a large-scale tourism research project to try and understand the perceptions that consumers have of the impact of the oil spill on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and what was really keeping them away. More importantly, what would change their minds and bring them back?

By combining what we found from focus groups, a quantitative survey, and follow-up perception calls, we uncovered A LOT. Perhaps most interesting though, was the powerful influence of word of mouth advocacy on visitation. The people who DID end up going in the months following the oil spill did so out of a strong passion for the area, and came back to their friends, family and neighbors with the all-clear—something along the lines of “everything’s back to normal, there is no oil. On top of that, there are great deals to be had and there are no crowds! You should go!” This, and not the influence of expensive advertising campaigns or news testimony from natural experts, often was what convinced those on the fence pull the trigger to return to the Coast.

The question above was asked in September of 2010. The question was open-ended, and we coded the answers into the categories listed. Turns out, some people had run TOWARDS the MS Gulf Coast at the same time others ran away, simply out of a deep love and sense of dedication to the destination. We called these folks “Passionate Advocates” and were amazed at the impact they had in influencing the travel plans of others—they encourage, cajole and push their friends, family, neighbors and colleagues to head back to the Coast, sometimes teasing them for believing news drama, sometimes holding them captive while forcing them to look at their vacation pictures and videos (ok, maybe “captive” and “forced” are a little dramatic, but you get the idea). We’ve always known word of mouth is powerful—hence our Brand Advocacy metric that goes into every survey we do. This, though, was on a scale we’d never seen before. Now, almost a year and a half later, tourism continues to improve largely because people are sharing their stories and assuaging the fears of others. How powerful!

What has visitor advocacy done for your destination lately? Do you have a group of passionate advocates? Are you leveraging their love to spread the word about all you have to offer?

~ Shannon

Unexpected Connections in Greene County

Recently we began working with Greene County, Ohio on a destination branding study. I grew up in Columbus, and so I quickly volunteered to be a part of the In-Market team. Any excuse to return to the company of my Big 10 compatriots (football season can be bleak for a Buckeye fan like me living in Tennessee – especially since most of my co-workers are SEC fanatics!)

Greene County is large – 416 square miles to be exact. During our drive tour, we found it to be a diverse collection of towns and communities that range from bustling to quirky to a little bit country. We sampled delicious cuisine while watching a fountain show at the Greene, stood in the field where the Wright brothers perfected their flying machines, sipped lattes with local artists at Brother Bear’s Coffeehouse in Yellow Springs, toured the state-of-the-art event facilities at Wright State’s Nutter Center and even learned a thing or two about masks and wigs at Foy’s Halloween store in downtown Fairborn – the largest Halloween store in the state! Another thing we noticed throughout our trip was that we kept crossing over the County’s bike path system. These trails connect the whole county – city to city – and actually traverse the country as far south as Cincinnati!

I thought I knew a little bit about Greene County, having grown up nearby. I even recognized a few stops along our familiarization tour – restaurants, buildings, the occasional cow on top of a sign – but the area still held a few unexpected smiles and surprises.

After one (ahem) a couple (ahem) okay, several pit stops for ice cream at Young’s throughout the week, my North Star teammate, Jennifer Williams, and I felt we could use a little exercise – and we immediately were drawn again to the bike paths. We were eager to explore the county we’d come to know throughout the week from a new perspective.

We coasted down the trail (mostly because it was downhill, the trip back was not quite as easy) passing through Glen Helen National Park, a beautiful welcome center with an art gallery, and stone steps that lead you all the way down to the river.

We saw firsthand how the path crisscrossed the major thoroughfares and roadways, connected to neighborhoods and park trails, and acted not just as a promenade, but also a gathering place for residents and visitors alike. We met local families, retirees from the east coast, artists who wanted to be near the creative vibe of yellow springs, and people with military ties to Wright Patterson AFB.

Eventually our path led us to a secluded horse farm, a hidden treasure tucked away alongside the bike path. Connecting our experience not just with the world of man, but with the world of nature.

And then sadly (because it was getting late, not because our legs felt like jelly, really!) it was time to turn around and head back home.

As I thought about how the bike paths of Greene County made this community feel connected in more ways than just the physical passage it provides, I couldn’t help but wonder how other counties, regions, and communities feel connected.

What connects your community?

~ Anthony

Community Branding: Hickory, NC Case Study

The strategic core of a strong community brand should be sustainable . . . enduring through years, careers and even cultural and economic changes. But in some cases, the way you represent that core must shift to keep pace with your progress, ensuring ongoing relevance.

Such was the situation with Hickory, NC. Stakeholders in this captivating community described it as "the former furniture capital of the world," referring back to a time when Hickory was a hotbed of furniture design and manufacturing. But as the industry changed, many jobs were lost and the city's connection to furniture became tenuous. Looking to reconnect with reputation relevancy, Hickory leaders turned to North Star Destination Strategies to answer the question, "Who are we NOW?"

"A brand represented by furniture manufacturing was no longer accurate," explains Don McEachern, North Star CEO. "But a strong correlation to the industry still exists in many people's minds. We needed to uncover a more germane brand identity for the city's core strengths."

Research found that like the tree, Hickory is best characterized as strong, tough and lovely. There is an inherent skill, quality and artistry in the things the city and residents do to continually make Hickory a better place. This spirit of seeing, being and creating anew is what makes Hickory so special and unique today . . . and it definitely was at the heart of the city's era of furniture fame.

North Star recommended targeting the makers and doers of the world with a brand positioned on the collective spirit of craftsmanship. The strapline, "Life. Well-Crafted" celebrates the city's dedication to detail, quality and artistry. The ability to insert different ideas in place of "Life" makes this line infinitely flexible, which is mandatory for a communitywide brand. Visuals profile "craftspeople" using their tools - whether a spade, a medical laser or an espresso machine - as they work at their craft. Warm, natural colors of blues, greens and browns play off the city's combination of strength and beauty.

Action ideas for integrating the brand into Hickory's sightlines and psyche:

• Develop brand merchandise such as a memorable welcome gift for new businesses and residents in Hickory.
  
  
  
• Create a "Handcrafted in Hickory" program for all locally owned or operated businesses, retailers or individual that MAKE anything authentic, original and handcrafted. Products should receive a series of stickers or tags that creators can place on them. Use a QR code on the tags to tell the story of the item.
  
  
  
• Establish a functional art program throughout downtown with a series of handcrafted benches from local artisans.
  
  


• Develop a communitywide "Makers and Doers" civic award to recognize those regular citizens who go above and beyond in helping others or helping make the community a better place to live.


• Establish a regular column in your newsletter called "Makers and Doers" that showcases the people who make things happen every day in Hickory.
  

Brand Advocacy: Measuring your Most Effective Marketing

Soft, fuzzy concepts are notoriously hard to measure. Customer engagement, loyalty, attitude, and satisfaction are just a few of the metrics that corporations and market research companies have struggled to track and connect to profits in meaningful ways for years. But things are a little different when you’re talking about the customers of communities—after all these aren’t products that people buy and use on a daily basis, but places. Places where they visit, live or do business. A place experience is more complicated than a product experience and can be influenced by any number of factors, like the people you meet, the food you taste, customer service, the downtown atmosphere at whatever time you happen to go downtown, the cost of housing, the information available on things to see and do, etc. Here at North Star Destination Strategies, we’ve found that one particular soft concept is more important than any other in measuring the strength of your reputation (what people say about you when they’re not around) and that is advocacy. Webster defines advocacy as “the act or process of supporting a cause”. We define it as the kind of marketing you just can’t put a price tag on, because it’s that powerful.

Brand advocacy is your visitors’ or residents’ willingness to recommend visiting or living in your community, thus the likelihood that they will provide an enthusiastic referral to someone else. North Star has been measuring brand advocacy for over six years, adapting a well-known consumer metric from corporate market research theory called the Net Promoter Score*. We borrowed foundational logic from the study of “The Ultimate Question” and applied it to our BrandPrint communities as well as an ongoing sampling nationwide. We ask survey respondents to score, from 1-10, their likelihood of recommending your community. Those who score a 9 or a 10 are called “Promoters”—they actively recruit new residents, visitors and businesses through positive word-of-mouth marketing. By making a strong recommendation, they are willing to risk their own character, trustworthiness and overall reputation for no tangible reward. And they do it for free.

Click HERE to access a Brand Barometer Sample

This is word of mouth at its finest. Word of mouth recommendations are easily the biggest influencer of travel behavior, and those looking to relocate put an awful lot of stock into what they hear as well. A recent benchmarking survey by TRAVELSAT© found that 4 out of 10 international visitors actually choose their destination based on recommendations from their trusted inner circle. With the rapid evolution of social media and the ease with which information is disseminated online, expression marketing is growing, and what your consumers are saying about you matters more now than ever before.

What percentage of your consumers are promoters? Do you have programs in place to help them spread the good news about your community?

*Research conducted by Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company and Fred Reichheld, author of “The One Number You Need to Grow,” Harvard Business Review (Dec. 2003).

~ Shannon

The Last Frontier of Community Branding

Stepping off the plane in Petersburg, Alaska, I knew I was in for something unexpected. For the uninitiated, Alaska brings to mind vast snow-capped mountains, 24-hour daylight and cold winds even in summer. But Petersburg proved that even in a state with such a strong visual image, there are nuances that make individual cities truly unique.

Petersburg is a lush green island filled with the kind of people you only read about in books. Inviting, interesting, caring (about each other and the environment), strong and resilient. You just don’t see that character combination very often in today’s world. The harbor in this fishing town is so real and authentic it resembles a great movie set . . . bustling with fishermen harvesting and preparing a variety of fish to feed the world. In many cases they are doing the same jobs carried out by their Norwegian ancestors more than a century ago.

In a world where big box retailers have reduced lots of small downtowns to ghost towns or collections of knick-knack shops, Petersburg is alive and vibrant. It’s not for show; it really serves its people! From a working hardware store to a pizza shop and from the public library to the laundromat, the town was buzzing with folks making a living and a life. Mixed in with the residents are visitors lucky enough to have the time to seek out this Alaskan gem. These visitors don’t want a plastic experience, they are here to breath in the energy of the real Alaska . . . America’s last frontier . . . and hopefully take a little of that back home.

One of the unexpected treats of our trip was the chance to watch a celebrity chef from Britain film a cooking show featuring king crab legs and halibut cheeks. Even the residents were excitedly snapping pictures. A bit of irony, he was cooking the bounty of the sea in the shadow of a monument to all the fishermen who’ve given their lives fishing in Petersburg.

On another day, we hopped on a small aluminum boat and headed out for a tour of Frederick Sound and the LeConte Glacier. Until then, I’d only seen photos of icebergs. We passed a group of sea lions resting on a channel buoy while our guide Stephen passionately talked about the ecosystem of the area. Then all at once there it was in the distance, quietly standing sentinel on a still sea. My first iceberg! It was more inspiring than I’d imagined and I found myself whispering as if not to wake it and break the spell. As our boat cruised on, we encountered more and more of the glowing goliaths, each one the color of a crystal blue sky.

All these icebergs were carved out of the giant LeConte Glacier. The closer we got to the glacier, the more chunks of ice . . . large and small . . . were bumping into the hull of our boat (which was starting to seem pretty small and fragile). With a reassuring nod our guide directed our attention from the boat to the majestic glacier. Honestly, I just don’t have the words to describe this experience. But I can say that my heart was beating a hundred miles an hour.

But the excitement of the glacier was only the tip of the iceberg (so to speak).

Mayday! Mayday! One day while fishing on Frederick Sound, that alarm pierced the quiet Alaskan afternoon. I guess I didn’t appreciate the severity of the phrase until I heard it for real. We were finishing up a day with a local fishing guide, trying one last time to catch the one that got away. With a calm but direct tone our captain told us to “reel ‘em in; we’ve got a Mayday vessel taking on water.” We were the closest boat and had to go. In 30 seconds, we were full speed ahead to the coordinates given by the ship in peril. Our captain was not frantic but was definitely serious and deliberate. That code has real meaning in a place as wild as this.

When we arrived, the boat was sitting low in the water. A small state trooper boat had arrived shortly before us, but it was going to be a heavy load for him to get all seven people off the failing vessel. As we pulled alongside, the six charter fisherman climbed aboard our boat, relieved to be dry and safe.

We headed back to Petersburg while the fishermen told the tale of a day they will never forget. When a great day of fishing was cut short due to a small pump failing and how reeling in a boat load of fish was replaced by bailing icy water out.

My strongest memory is the way our captain approached the crisis with the calm strength so abundant in this wonderful wilderness.

So how do you wrap up the story of a place that in the space of a week presents you with everything from glaciers and the quirky humor of a British chef to the best meal you’ve ever eaten and a daring rescue at sea? By saying that if you’re looking for unusual adventure, this is the destination for you. Ser deg senere!

~ Kevin

Branding Your Community? To Stand Out Be Very, Very Brave.

One of North Star Destination Strategies’ most successful client stories is the Hub-Bub brand developed for Spartanburg, South Carolina. Every time we tell that story – during a pitch, at a conference or to a client – our audience gets antsy and excited, often asking, “We would LOVE something like that. How in the world did you get community leaders to agree to such an edgy brand?” Our response, “The Spartanburg mayor was very, very brave.”

Our advice to clients just setting out on a community-wide branding adventure is to start by determining what your goals are for the brand. Because once you have determined the strategic brand platform for your community, there are a number of different directions the creative can go . . . totally safe, middle of the road and completely unique and different like Hub-Bub. Totally safe will allow your community to integrate a consistent branded message. Your community will look more buttoned-up and professional but you won’t stand out in a crowd . . . it also won’t make any waves. Middle of the road is exactly that. It represents something new and a bit edgier than your community is used to, but it certainly doesn’t push any boundaries. Middle of the road may result in a little push back from stakeholders and residents just because judging creativity is extremely subjective. But to REALLY get people buzzing, a completely different creative approach is the ticket. Taking creative chances will set your community apart. You must put a stake in the ground and definitively declare what you are and what you are not. You must be willing to take some initial heat for your bravery. Because when people talk, the talk will be both positive and negative. That’s just the name of the game when you’re getting noticed.

As a community marketing and branding company, we love it when clients like Spartanburg are willing to take risks and reap the rewards. But we also completely understand the nature of politics. It is much easier to take risks when marketing a retail product like cookies . . . just because the cookies don’t have an opinion about how you promote them. But residents, stakeholders and businesses . . . they definitely have an opinion how you promote them (in people’s minds, their community is them). And if your brand is so edgy it becomes mired in controversy, it certainly won’t do any good. Again, having a feel for the nature of your community and what you want your brand to do is critical before embarking on any type of creative decision making.

Of course, there are ways to integrate edgier brands into a community without making so many waves. For example, it is much easier to take creative chances with a tourism brand because it is directed outside the community to the consumer. Some of our clients such as Lansing, Michigan have had success with a destination brand and then, when it has become an accepted part of the vernacular for the community; other public sector organizations want to adopt it. People are more comfortable accepting something different when they have seen its success somewhere else.

Another idea is to develop a more middle-of-the-road brand but look for some brave ways to deliver that brand message. For example Grand Rapids, Michigan is one of North Star’s research clients. As part of this project, we’re evaluating response to Grand Rapids’ participation in the breathtaking Pure Michigan ad campaign relative to the Lip Dub Grand Rapids video, which has gone viral in a way that few people could have anticipated (4,215,729 You Tube hits as of this writing). While the video was the brainchild of three local creatives, the Grand Rapids CVB agreed to lend their name to it. We know from talking to our Grand Rapids client that there were a few sweaty palms when the okay was given to back this video in response to an article saying that Grand Rapids was a dying city. And while not all responses have been positive . . . a lot have. We happen to think exposing more than 4 million people all over the world (for a mere $40,000) to fun images of your community and its residents is worth its weight in gold. Millions of people are now familiar with Grand Rapids who had never even heard of it before. But backing that video was taking a chance.

Branding professionals themselves are split down the middle on this issue. Some say “assume your residents and stakeholders won’t embrace your brand . . . but remember it is developed to make an impression with the outside consumer.” Others say, “If people aren’t arguing about your brand, then it’s not provocative enough.” On the opposite side, some advocate soliciting lots of internal buy-in, even to the extent of holding community-wide meetings to let residents, businesses and stakeholders “vote” on various creative aspects of the brand (North Star does not recommend that, ever!).

Most important, regardless of what approach you take, stay away from “me too” messaging that your consumers – residents, visitors and businesses – hear every day. That messaging is not safe, it is marketing suicide. The most common “me too” message in communitywide branding is “a great place to live, work and play”. Don’t take our word for it . . . try Googling it.

What approach do you feel would work best for branding your community? What forces in your community are driving that opinion?

~ Christi

Going with Your Gut

During data analysis, you’re frequently wrapped up in the labors of checking, double checking, pasting, undoing, redoing, number crunching, etc. Essentially, dealing with non-stop details. In the depths of all of this micro-thinking, it can be difficult to hear the tiny voice in your head saying “there’s something else going on here.” Turns out if you’re an analyst, hearing voices is actually a good thing! Because that voice is your instinct . . . the key to turning dry numbers into meaningful insights that are relevant, useful, and even game-changing.

In research, a certain amount of standardization is important. But at North Star Destination Strategies we believe that the resulting data analysis should be special and unique, especially when you’re working with communities and people. Particularly when it comes to quantitative data, it’s easy to let the ultimate goals drown somewhere under a pile of colorful charts and correlating percentages. That’s why I’ve come to realize that it is so important to trust my own intuition when it whispers, “there’s something more to what I’m seeing than just that big spike in the data.”

Fine tuned instincts can help with the ’big picture,’ too. When working on a research project understanding consumers of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, I spent a lot of time coding and quantifying open-ended responses – definitely a brain-fryer. Sure, the data showed that people really liked certain things about the coast: the beaches, the seafood, the shopping. But I couldn’t help noticing how often the word “love” was used in the responses. My instinct was that some of these respondents had an uncommon attachment to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Instead of just making a note of it, I decided to take a closer look into the data. In doing so, we discovered a unique segment of loyal and unswerving visitors. They were not only very frequent visitors, but intended to visit forever . . . no matter what . . . and they were going to tell everyone they met to visit too. THAT is something a client wants to know about – and it wouldn’t have jumped out just looking at the numbers.

Even if you aren’t a data nerd like me, trusting your instincts is important to any kind of work – or really to life. Like the churning you get in the pit of your stomach just thinking about wearing sandals with socks. If your gut is telling you something, better slow down and take a listen.

~ Raquel