One of the best things you can do to separate yourself from your competition and increase your value to your client is doing your homework. Nope, I'm not talkin' the three "Rs" - 'readin', 'ritin' 'n 'rithmatic. I'm talkin' the other "R" - research.

Doing the background research separates you from the rest of the pack because, odds are, they aren't doing any. It increases your value to your clients because it reassures them that you've taken the time to learn their business and marketing arena. It also helps you make a sound case for your design or other creative solutions.

A designer or other creative who's invested time in doing the background work can approach a problem from a position of strength. You know the playing field and what needs to be done. Elements are chosen because they help solve the problem-at-hand, not simply because they're cool, nifty or trendy. Research is what enables strategic problem-solving.

Research doesn't need to be rocket science, but does require time and intelligent investigation. A good place to start is with the initial client meeting and with a well thought-out questionnaire. Don't have a questionnaire? You're in luck, because the CL Resources section does. You can nab one by clicking here (24K PDF).

If you're not too familiar with the client's industry, enlist your client's help. It's okay to say you don't know. Just follow it up with, "But I'll find out." Often the best solutions come from people who look at a client's industry and problem from a fresh point-of-view. Over the past several months, I've had to learn about stem cell blood storage, chlorinated polyvinyl chloride for wet bench applications and a host of dental procedures, among other things. The thing is, we can't know everything. What we don't know, we ask. Ask for your client's brochures, annual reports, a couple of recent trade publications and competitive materials to get you started.

There's three primary types of research you'll be doing - client, competition and audience. Client research is learning about your client's corporate culture, mission, vision, products, geographic scope, etc. Competitive research is where you'll learn the same about their competition, along with differentiating factors such as price, quality, distribution, customer service, etc. Audience research is, you guessed it, learning all about the customers and what are defining factors, demographics, preferences, their hot buttons, etc. I like to distill what I learn about the audience into a profile of a typical customer. That becomes the person I'm talking to and persuading with my design solution.

So, where do you get all this information?

Much of your client research will come from your initial interview and client questionnaire. At times, the project may warrant interviewing others in the company such as officers, sales and marketing managers and other key personnel. Sometimes interviewing the lower level employees is useful to the project to get a full picture.

For the competition and audience, a web search is a good start. Look at competitor sites, check industry association sites, find forums and discussion groups where typical customers are likely to hang out. Online survey sites, like www.zoomerang.com and www.surveymonkey.com, can be helpful to gather information. Both offer both fee-based and free options. Also, look into both trade and consumer magazine sites for trends and other information.

As for offline options, your local library's reference desk comes to mind. Books like the Index Guide to Advertisers (a.k.a. The Red Book) is loaded with information about companies' ad budgets, media break down, ad agencies and when budgets are created. Hoovers, The Harris Directory, The Million Dollar Directory and others the Reference Librarian can suggest will provide you with an arsenal of competitive research material.

Picking up the phone is another option. Call competitor customer service numbers and ask a few questions or request some literature. Call Investor Relations and request an Annual Report.

In addition to forums and websites, audience research can be conducted by asking questions to people you know who fit the target group definition. Put on your thinking cap and you'll come up with lots of different ways to obtain solid information.

With the info in hand, you can begin to work up a plan. Often, after going through this process you find what the client thinks is the problem, isn't the problem at all. That can be pretty enlightening and useful to your client. You begin to become a consultant and a resource. That helps to solidify the relationship and justifies the big bucks you start to charge.

Sometimes, being a better left-brained creative requires one to start with the right side of their brain. When you do your homework, you'll be in a position to create strategic, sound solutions and have the ammo to back up your concepts. You'll be able to make presentations that are compelling.

Here's a typical scenario. "Well, I chose Caxton Light for the headline." I really like it. It's a great typeface. And these colors are really neat." Odds are, your client couldn't care any less about your typographic or color choices. They want to know if the thing is going to work and meet the project goals. With your research in hand, you can say something like, "To align with XYZ Company's positioning target, the headlines are set in Caxton Light. Caxton projects a professional, classic elegance and is a very readable typeface. The audience is women in their mid 20s to 30s. Based on my research, these colors will appeal to them and also reinforce our branding ..."

In the end, research doesn't limit your creativity, as many often say. I believe it enhances it. It gives you a tool to make pragmatic decisions that you can back up with more than just feelings. It allows you to sell your concepts more effectively. Sure, intuition and gut feelings are still important. They're tools as well. The more tools in your creativity box, the better. Find ways to bring them all into solving the problem-at-hand and you'll have strong concepts that work hard to meet, and often exceed, the project goals.