Leveraging multiple market research waves to inform strategic decisions about product development
Situation
A financial services company was interested in exploring the development of a technology-enabled new product. The idea existed on a smaller scale in the market, but given the company’s leading industry position and access to proprietary information, there was the potential to build a better product with broad consumer appeal. The team needed to assess tradeoffs between benefits, development costs, and excecutional complexity.
Approach
Consumer insights fuel successful innovation. Orchid Strategy Group was engaged to drive the product development, and as part of the project, developed a research plan. By leveraging multiple, iterative studies, we were able to streamline the build process, and ultimately save substantial development dollars by focusing on the most consumer-compelling product features.
Solution
In order to determine the features to be included in the product, several research phases were conducted:
Exploring the Concept and Competitive Differentiation
Competitive Assessment—evaluated direct and tangential competitors and what features they offered
Brainstorm Session— innovated additional features that could be included in the app
Panel Study – quickly and inexpensively evaluated and prioritized full set of identified features
Focus Groups – gained a greater depth of understanding as to why certain features are compelling, and insights into naming, value proposition, positioning, and key messages
Focusing on the Design Elements and Product Development
Quantitative Conjoint (Tradeoff) Study — identified the strongest features to include in a prototype and quantified consumers’ willingness-to-pay (an important confirmation of the product’s financial viability)
User Experience “1-on-1” Interviews — tested a working prototype for functionality, navigation, etc.
Beta Test— perfected the final product design with a controlled user group utilizing real-time surveys regarding in-flight technology, usability, and functionality
Results
Optimized market research and customer insights to effectively and efficiently bring a financially sound product from concept to launch.