Consumer Products & Services: Typical Engagements
New Product Evaluation: Automotive Navigational System
A manufacturer of luxury cars in the U.S. asked ConStat to conduct research among its customers in order to understand their reactions to a new navigational system that was being considering as a replacement for their current system. The new system, to be offered by a third party, was to be introduced prior to the advent of a graphical-based navigational system, which would not be incorporated into the vehicle under the client's brand name for one or two years. The replacement navigational system would include such features as a tracking device and a dial-in assistance service requiring the use of a cellular phone.
ConStat conducted focus groups among owners of our client's luxury cars, with respondent recruited from a customer list provided by our client. Results from the research provided direction as to how best to position the navigational system and how to package the features in a manner that would make the system more attractive to the client's customers. The research highlighted, however, the significant potential for our client's brand to be compromised if they made use of the third-party navigational system being considered. Our client ultimately decided to forego the third-party navigational system, maintaining their older system until they were able to introduce their own graphical-based navigational system.
Market Assessment: Online Beauty Products
ConStat conduced research for an online retailer of fragrance, skin care, hair care, and home fragrances prior to the launch of their Web site. The quantitative survey consisted of 200 telephone interviews among females 21 to 45 years old who read beauty magazines and were open to purchasing products over the Internet. The sample was drawn from subscribers of beauty magazines in which our client's advertising was scheduled to run.
The goal of the research was to assess the target audience's purchase behaviors involving beauty products and establish a benchmark to assess the impact of print-based advertising on awareness of our client's Web site and receptivity to purchasing products through the Web site. Findings from the research helped to inform advertising development and marketing-related decisions prior to the Web site's launch.
Brand Tracking Study: Beverage Retailer
Conducted over a period of five years, this ongoing tracking study was designed to monitor awareness and perceptions of a major retail distributor of alcohol beverages. The research consisted of telephone interviews among household decision makers for alcoholic beverages who were between the ages of 21 and 64. A random sample of households was drawn based on ZIP codes within a 5-mile radius of our client's stores.
The research monitored the impact of our client's advertising efforts and identified regional differences in awareness and perceptions of our client's stores versus competitive retailers that also sold alcoholic beverages. Findings from the research provided tactical directions each year for addressing key perceptions of our client's stores with regard to price, service and beverage selection.