Category: Assess

Focus Groups and Co-Creation Events from Convert Innovations – Don’t Go to Market Without Them!

August 5th, 2009 · · Assess, New No comments - Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Do you have a product or service that you want to test with potential customers before releasing it to the market? That’s a good idea: effective market research can ensure you go public with confidence. Luckily, Convert Innovations is now offering professionally-managed focus groups to our clients.

Focus groups allow you to “meet your market” in ways that guesswork and assumptions just can’t match. They allow you to to meet your audience and find out their needs. That way you can gauge the demand for your products or services. That’s information you can take to the bank!

Focus groups really do work, but we here at Convert Innovations have taken it to the next level. We also offer a new service we like to call Co-Creation Events. This is a creative process whereby members of your intended market give you feedback to improve your product before you release it. Whereas a focus group helps you shape a marketing strategy, a co-creation event helps you shape your product to match the demands of your intended market.

All of this is delivered professionally, with complete confidentiality and at a price far less than our competitors. We accomplish this by focusing on action rather than a lengthy report.

Our services include:

  • Facilitation by a highly experienced moderator with an MBA
  • Designing of exercises relevant to your product/service and industry
  • Inviting relevant respondants from your list or from the general public
  • NDA signed by all participants
  • Booking of room
  • Filming of session – DVD given to you upon completion
  • Short report and de-briefing
  • Pricing a small fraction of competitors

Additional to this, Convert Innovations can utilize other creative online research methods (see our services page for some of the products we offer). Contact us now to find out more.

Pulse Taking and Market Research

April 16th, 2008 · · Assess No comments

Market
research has its place, but sometimes I like to use quick, pulse-taking
methods instead of investing the time and money into something formal.

Teleconference Customer Panel: For one of my clients I would run a monthly customer panel to get their insights
upcoming Marketing campaigns. The set-up is easy, we asked for volunteers
through our opt-in newsletters, and offer points towards free
merchandise depending on how many panels they attend. We then e-mail
them the creative or scripts and ask them for their observations.

The panels usually took about 45 minutes, and we tried to limit the
conversation to 6 participants. These panels are always
taken with a grain of salt, but in every single one of them I always
learned something interesting about my market. One of the main problems
with Marketing is that you get so involved with your own product that
you can’t imagine what it is like from an outside perspective. For
example, in one panel we realized that the users had no idea what we
were talking about for an entire brochure, until we gave them a simple
example. That example made it to the final print run.

Online Surveys: I find that surveys help a lot in quick and dirty analysis. My favourite inexpensive and simple tool is Survey Monkey
but I am sure there are other great ones available. Although it usually
lacks the statistical samplings you would get in a formal survey, it
can help with a basic litmus test. For example, a few years ago a
marketing team I was on was tasked with creating inspirational posters
for a large branch network. We sent out a survey with 42 words, asking
how much each represented the heart of the company’s corporate and
cultural values. In the end, the posters were celebrated as some of the
best marketing pieces the company ever made.