Five problems audience research can solve for your charity
Introduction
When did you last speak to the people you’re here to support? While charity teams know their cause inside out, that “curse of knowledge” can also make it hard to see things the way others do. Over time, assumptions can settle in and start to shape decisions. To be clear, we’re as guilty of this as anyone! More than once we’ve got carried away planning the next big thing for SR…and realised we haven’t actually asked our audience what they think/need.
Audience research brings your audiences back into the conversation. And while it can put pause on that new, shiny idea, it can prove invaluable in the long run.
Here are five problems it can help you solve, and what changes when you do
1. You're designing around assumptions
It’s easy to make decisions based on what we think people need. A new service, a homepage redesign, a fundraising appeal. Each one starts with a belief about the audience. Sometimes that belief is right. Sometimes it’s years out of date.
The cost is sometimes hard to spot. It may be that content doesn’t land as well as you’d hoped, or that a newly launched service is misunderstood or missed entirely.
How research can help
In-depth interviews explore people’s needs, experiences and relationship with your organisation on a human level. Diary studies follow people over days or weeks, revealing behaviour and nuance that a single conversation or website survey might miss. Audience interviews were fundamental in a recent brand strategy project, with the most resonant lines coming directly from the transcripts.
What changes
You can make decisions based on what people actually need and what motivates them, rather than crossing your fingers and hoping for the best. You also gain an independent view of your charity, and the evidence to challenge long-held assumptions. It can be very interesting to see how an audience views a charity, compared to how they view themselves.
2. Small barriers are causing you big issues
A confusing form. A missing link. Unclear wording on a button. From the inside, these can feel minor. For someone trying to donate, volunteer or find help, they can be the reason they give up.
The problem we see is that people rarely tell you, they simply leave.
How research can help
In usability testing, we watch people use your website in one-to-one sessions. We see exactly where they hesitate and where they struggle. Analytics tools such as GA4 and Microsoft Clarity show where people drop off across your whole site. A/B testing then shows which changes make a real difference to that experience.
What changes
You fix the things that matter most, and you can measure the results.
The Association for Citizenship Teaching relies on attracting and retaining members. We analysed how people used their website through Google Analytics, session recordings and surveys. This identified improvements to key journeys, page structure, design and search filters. Since putting our recommendations in place, their average session time has increased by 21% and membership by 37%.
3. You're not hearing from everyone
The people who find it hardest to use your services are often the least likely to give you feedback. So the voices shaping your decisions may not be the ones you most need to hear. For example, if someone can’t use your website with a screen reader, they won’t fill in your feedback form either.
How research can help
Research lets you hear from a wider range of people, including those with lived experience and those facing access barriers. Alongside this, a website review checks accessibility against WCAG 2.2 and tests performance across devices.
What changes
You find and remove the barriers that keep people out. Your services are shaped by the people who need them most, not just the people who find it easiest to speak up.
4. People can't find what they need
Charity websites grow naturally over time. A new campaign here, a new service there, countless pages added by different teams as priorities shift. Before long, the structure can end up reflecting how the organisation is set up, rather than how audiences think.
For someone looking for support, that can mean clicking through menus that make sense to staff but not to them. We’ve encountered this several times, most often when clever service names sound great, but mean nothing to those actually using the site!
How research can help
A content audit shows what you have and what’s working. Card sorting asks people to group your content in ways that make sense to them. Tree testing then checks whether they can find things in a proposed structure, before anything is built.
What changes
You get an information architecture based on how your audiences look for information. That means people can find what they need, whether that’s advice, a service or a way to give.
5. Every pound has to count
To say that charity budgets are stretched would be an understatement. Every redesign, new service or campaign has to earn its place, often needing sign-off from trustees and leadership who want to see the case for change.
Without evidence, it’s hard to know where to focus. It’s also hard to get everyone to agree.
How research can help
Research gives your team evidence to prioritise content, design and services. It doesn’t have to start from scratch, either. We can review the research, analytics, survey responses and user feedback you already have, alongside any new research we collect.
What changes
Time and money go where they’ll make the biggest difference. And with evidence behind you, it’s easier to make the case to trustees, leadership and colleagues, and move forward with confidence.
Where to start
Research doesn’t have to be a big project. A short poll can inform a single decision. An analytics review can often be done relatively quickly. And you don’t always need a large sample to uncover useful insights.
Every project we run follows four stages:
- Scope. A short questionnaire and scoping session to understand your goals, audiences and existing evidence. We then recommend an approach that fits your budget and timescales.
- Research. We carry out the research with your audiences, keeping you updated throughout.
- Analyse. We look for patterns across what we’ve seen and heard. We separate clear evidence from early signals, so you know how much weight to give each finding.
- Recommend. We turn findings into clear, prioritised recommendations your team can act on.
You can see more of our research in action in our work with Army Cadets, Alcohol Change UK and Accord.
Know more and do more with audience research
The better you know your audiences, the more you can do for them. Whether you want to understand your supporters, fix a journey that isn't working or reach people you're missing, research gives you the evidence to act. Find out more about our audience research service.
