'In every way,' says Edwards, 'research is a tool that helps us to sharpen things up. I visit every store regularly. I look at where it's situated, the surrounding competition. It's very important to know who you're up against. We tailor a lot of QD's above the line adverts to a particular area. For example, the Ipswich store is on a main shopping street, a tough retail environment. But the Anglia Square store in Norwich is in an enclosed shopping centre environment. It dominates its out-of-town-centre position. It's my business to know and understand that and conceive advertising that suits the different environments.'
This philosophy has been inherent in the research, redesign and development of each of the QD Group's four brands, most notably the store front redesigns at flagship outlets in Norwich, Ipswich and Peterborough.
ETT itself uses the research to plan and review QD's marketing strategy to help ensure the spend is properly targeted and always relevant.
