Entrepreneurs approach research in a smart & scrappy way. So, we’ve built research approaches that enable corporate teams to get meaningful learning in ways that are fast, practical and cost effective.
Here are 3 approaches we’ve used recently with corporate teams:
1. Native approaches leverage tools consumers use everyday to communicate. For example, we recently created an email conversation with a handful of consumers to learn more about why they switch between brands in a CPG category. Because consumers are accustomed to responding via email, we got back insightful (and sometimes quite lengthy!) responses to our open ended questions. We were able to probe and ask more questions organically. We even followed up with Skype and FaceTime interviews with a few consumers. The client was thrilled with the speed, cost efficiency and depth of learning.
2. Social media ethnography (sometimes called netnography) mines what consumers are already talking about across social media channels to efficiently and objectively learn across many different types of business objectives. For example, we recently analyzed social media conversations about health care, shopping, channel and brand perceptions to help a brand team work with their retail partner to re-design an aisle to make it more consumer relevant and easier to find and select the right products across a regimen. We looked across facebook, blogs, tweets, articles and pinterest and recommended a new approach, backed by unbiased consumer language that the retailer adopted and acted on quickly. Total turnaround time was less than 5 business days. And the investment was less than $7,500…leading to a significant distribution opportunity for our brand client and building on the relationship between the brand and the retailer.
3. Right-sized desk research captures the depth and breadth of publicly available knowledge against any number of business questions. We recently worked with a CPG client team that wanted to understand trends that might impact their category. We quickly, but thoroughly consumed blogs, articles, trend sites and forums written by thought leaders, respected researchers and academics, leading edge consumers and trend watching sites on topics from technology to shopping to category specific intelligence. We collected, assessed and landed on 10 trends that are certain to impact the category in the near term, and even a few trends that are likely to impact the category longer-term. The client saved time by partnering with us as the unbiased researchers and business strategists and quickly shared and reapplied the learning with internal and external business partners.
The Garage Group designs and leads smart & scrappy research projects for clients who want and need to approach their work in more entrepreneurial ways.
