Before starting a major branding project, we dive into industry and market research to understand where a company sits in the marketplace and build a solid foundation for the new direction.
This process often brings important discoveries to the surface. During our project for Shaggy’s Skis, we collected survey data from 200 Shaggy’s customers and started analyzing their responses.
The data showed us that the majority of customers who purchased Shaggy’s skis had considered buying skis from larger international ski brands (Volkl, Rossignol, K2, etc). They ended up choosing Shaggy’s for several reasons:
- Every pair of skis are handcrafted in Michigan/United States
- Shaggy’s has a reputation for building high-quality skis that have raving reviews
- The ability to customize your own pair of skis offers consumers a unique buying experience
- The company interacts with its customers and prioritizes excellent customer service, which has produced a very loyal and supportive community
This qualitative data allows us to draw important connections and dig deep into the customer buying process. When it came time for Customer Journey Mapping, these findings helped us develop accurate personas to tell stories of how customers interact with the brand.
Shaggy’s already had a great foundation to work from — we just put the cherry on top. Following our research, customer journey mapping, and a full brand audit, we created a refreshed identity system and developed a brand guide to help the company maintain a consistent brand.
