Focus Groups and Interviews

Type of Firm:
Hospital, Skilled Nursing Facility, Assisted Living Facilities, etc.
Industry:
Healthcare
Challenge:
Design a new, simple lifting device to facilitate patient handling effectively and efficiently.The device is intended to ease stress and discomfort for the patient, and help avoid injury to medical staff.
Key Research Objective:
Determine the most desirable features for such a device, based on needs and potential uses.
Overview:
A healthcare facility has been experiencing an increasingly high number of back injuries among the nursing staff that are mostly female. Some patients are difficult to move from wheelchairs to beds, or to treatment tables, etc. Some kind of lightweight, easy-to-use, and easily accessible lift assist device is needed so that it can be stored in patient areas.
Result:
Definition of multiple design ideas to meet the known and new patient needs. Medical staff recommended the most desirable features and how the device might work.

Observational Research

Type of Firm:
Computer Software Design
Industry:
Information Technology
Challenge:
Launch software program into the market, and to end users, in lightening speed, but with minimal "debugging" and consumer hassle, as well as maximum customer acceptance.
Key Research Objective:
In-depth understanding of target consumers' IT knowledge and use of the product.
Overview:
A software design firm has tested its newest software in house. Now it is ready for external testing. Software must be easy to install and intuitive to end users. A booklet accompanies the software, with instructions on how to install and use it to its fullest capability. Packages were prepared for a defined sample of 50 users, and arrangements made with those users to have a consumer research individual (not a software development person) deliver it to them. They were asked to install and use it while the researcher was present to help the company evaluate the software's viability.
Result:
Pre-release product improvement. After observing only ten installations, the researcher recommended stopping the deliveries and research. End users were not able to understand the technical directions on how to properly install the software. The design firm saved a significant investment in research and marketing dollars using this observational design.

Focus Group Research

Type of Firm:
Hospital, Oncology focus
Industry:
Healthcare
Challenge:
Improve overall patient satisfaction with the care and service received during both inpatient and outpatient treatment, specifically for breast cancer cases.
Key Research Objective:
Gain insight into patient perspective based on physical and emotional experiences as breast cancer patients are moved through the clinical process. Focus on interactions with hospital staff, complexity of the protocol, and the level of patient understanding throughout the entire spectrum of treatment.
Overview:
This hospital, with several branch locations, strives to continually improve the metrics for its Quality of Care program. Strongly positive survey results means patients feel they are receiving effective, efficient care, and are pleased with the people and processes they go through during the course of treatment. A series of focus groups was conducted with current and former breast cancer patients from only this hospital, some of whom were employees of the hospital. Groups were also conducted with caregivers of some of the people in the patient focus groups.
Result:
There are numerous facets to the total treatment experience. Patients do not see themselves involved in clinical "processes" as hospital staff might but, rather, that she or he is engaged in a series of medical encounters, each one unique to the situation at a specific time. A very small change in a facility, like moving a scale to a more private area, can improve perceptions of staff sensitivity. Other changes, like better coordination in timing treatments so they are "patient-friendly" versus clinically scheduled, can make life easier for patients who are already under emotional stress and often in pain. A number of suggestions like the above were planned for implementation, if feasible.

Mystery Shopping

Type of Firm:
Major retail chain of department stores
Industry:
Retail Trade – Department Stores
Challenge:
Improve overall customer satisfaction in one geographic district, as evaluated by regularly scheduled corporate satisfaction surveys.
Key Research Objective:
Investigate whether or not recent employee coaching sessions have been effective at stores in one low-scoring district (per survey data).
Overview:
Corporate leadership monitors customer feedback from all stores nationwide. Feedback scores from one district have declined significantly over several months. A known issue at many of the district's stores is especially high employee turnover. Employee coaching sessions were conducted at these stores. Mystery shopping researchers were hired to see if sales representatives were following guidelines for interaction with customers.
Results:
Mystery shoppers provided an objective, third party assessment of sales representative behaviors. While a few representatives were still not complying with guidelines, others were more assertive in approaching customers and in asking appropriate questions at check out. Store management was asked to emphasize the importance of good customer service to all sales people during initial employee orientation, specifically by explaining questions to be asked and appropriate service levels for all staff. Periodic coaching sessions were also scheduled to reinforce selling and service behaviors.

Analysis of existing sales data – 80/20 rule

Type of Firm:
Computer Repair
Industry:
Computer equipment repair and maintenance services
Challenge:
Using actual sales data, plus owner's personal insights of customers, better understand what types of firms are coming to this small, new computer repair firm, and what its "best" customers look like, from a demographic and needs-based perspective. Goal is to increase sales revenue by targeting firms similar to the "20% best" clients.
Key Research Objective:
Identify which customers are this firm’s highest 20% revenue generators and document their characteristics of ownership and demographic profiles.
Overview:
A small business owner gained knowledge and experience in computer technology while employed in the corporate world and started the business two years earlier. Sales have been growing at a modest rate but owner wants to examine where revenue is being generated, what types of firms are in the client base and, most important, which firms are bringing in the major share of sales dollars.
Result:
Identification of companies that comprise owner's "20% best" customers, note reasons why each customer was one of the firm's top 20%, and make recommendations on ways to tailor product messages to the company's most lucrative segments.