At Impress we advocate the use of research to give real customer feedback on what your customers think about your brand, ideas, performance and won and lost accounts.

The key to research is to make the customer feel that their opinion is valued, and it is, in this sense it is a brand exercise in its own right despite the results.

Another key part of research is that it is conducted from an independent credible source so that your customers are as open and honest as possible, that they don’t hold back but tell you the truth – good or bad.

Recently we have conducted research on behalf of Space Works, an office design, fit out and furniture supply specialists; Blue Marlin, a brand packaging design agency with offices around the world as well as Big Bang Events, a corporate events specialist and Busy Bodies, a local gym in Wiltshire and Audience Systems, a seating supplier for stadia all over Europe..

The results have been fascinating and as always contain real insight into the customer perception (perception is reality) and real nuggets of information that can be acted on immediately.

The perception of your brand comes through time and time again, and how individuals and team dynamics in your company can make a real difference to customer perception, do they live the brand ethos and demonstrate it when communicating with your customers?

The research has delivered perceptions of company names and possible name changes, the sales process – information flow, is it timely and accurate? How you have performed on a project, and how to improve your products and services.

An area that Impress is particularly zealous about is the Internet, how people are using it, what they want from your website and how they view your competitors? Openness and honesty are themes that constantly come up.

Not only has the research given evidence of areas of customer concern, but also how they like to be communicated with, whether they have future work on the horizon that you can pitch/tender for or even how they found out about you in the first place and how and why they selected you or not, as the case may be. The results of which can be acted on and a marketing strategy implemented for the future.

Research is essential on making key business decisions and all the research projects that we have conducted have led to our clients changing the way they do business. So for an insight into what your customers really think, contact Mark Cadbury or Andrew Pinnell.

Last week a friend who I had been trying to persuade to talk to Impress about marketing confessed that he had probably done the wrong thing.

I asked him why he felt like that, he said that he had gone to another agency, highly recommended and very creative and they have eventually produced a rather beautiful brochure. Now, I had spent an evening chatting to my friend about 2 years ago about the power of branding.

You didn't have to spend millions on advertising but you had to be sure that you were doing the right thing by your business and therefore your brand.

Essentially I extolled the brand virtues that any company large or small can achieve. It's a simple formula but one steeped in art and magic - your product or service & your customer = your brand. Where the & is the key, the magic, the emotional tie that makes an existing customer so loyal and a potential one seduced by the brand.

My friend said he had a lovely brochure, with beautiful graphics, artwork and reproduction, but an older friend of his said "It looks great, but what about your brand?" He has a stunning piece of creative but where was his brand?

Each and every business contact that we meet we talk to them about branding, about owning a position, of sticking with your key messages and brand values, of creating awareness of your principles and remaining consistent to your core.

So, it's all about brand, whether it be your personal brand - your ethos, or your business brand - what your company stands for. It is like a faith, we all have belief.

Impress work with many entrepreneurs, some internationally successful others striving to create their own space, but whether your are big or small, hugely successful or a legend in your own bath time - when you come to talk to me or Andrew you know you are getting a strategic, brand marketing outlook on your business, and no matter how big the budget you will get the very best marketing advice that we are able to give to achieve your business and marketing objectives.

A brand is a brand is a brand - the triple mantra of many an organisation - from the Labour Party's education, education, education to Estate Agent's location, location, location - the brand is king and long may it live!