Case Studies
Case 1: “Find me more customers like these”
Business type: Specialty agriculture, food or beverage
Need: “Some of our best customers are sushi restaurants. Can you find more like these?”
Research solution: A search of company databases was used to create a list of contact information for restaurants of the specific type they were interested in, within the states they could affordably ship to, organized by FedEx shipping zone.
Business type: Specialty agriculture, food or beverage
Need: “How do I establish my product in natural foods markets?”
Research solution: Telephone interviews were conducted with sales managers from ten large natural foods markets from throughout the county and were summarized into a concise report outlining the steps required to get products onto the shelves of these and similar stores.
Case 3: “What is influencing our customers’ choices?”
Business type: Specialty agriculture, food or beverage
Need: “How do top restaurant chefs in Chicago make decisions when they are choosing what ingredients to purchase?”
Research solution: A dozen chefs from the highest rated restaurants in the Chicago area were directly contacted and their responses summarized into a bulleted report.
Case 4: “How are my competitors marketing their product?”
Business type: Niche manufacturer
Need: “Our product has many different uses. What uses should we focus on in our marketing strategy?”
Research solution: A report was developed with detailed summaries of competitors' products; price points, including shipping costs; and uses for the product as emphasized in the competitors' company literature.
Case 5: “In what direction is my industry going?”
Business type: Building and systems construction and maintenance
Need: “I have noticed that my industry is going in a new direction. Is this true? Are there other trends I should know about?”
Research solution: Detailed search of trade literature and industry news sources were used to provide a report with specific examples of industry trends relevant to this business’s work.