Marketing Research Case Histories

Below is a list of case studies detailing some of Decision Analyst’s experiences, from innovation and qualitative research to quantitative research, to advanced analytics and predictive analytics. You can view each article by clicking on the title.

A Decision Analyst Proprietary Panel of Users

Category: Tanning Products
Methods: Proprietary Panel; Custom Research Panel; Tracking Research; Qualitative Research; Quantitative Research; Attitude, Usage, & Behavior Research
Summary: A large consumer packaged-goods company wanted to gain insights into two consumer groups’ attitudes, usage, and behaviors toward tanning products over a period of 16 months.

 
A Fistful of (Electronic) Dollars

Category: Gift Cards
Methods: Market-Share Tracking, Consumer Trends
Summary: Decision Analyst recommended using quantitative surveys among both purchasers and recipients to capture gift card market share, as well as a deep dive into the motivations and behaviors surrounding a gift card purchase.

 
A Hair-Raising Global Tracking Study

Category: Beauty Products
Methods: Product Awareness and Usage, International Research, Product Attributes, Incidence, Customer Target Profile
Summary: An international innovator of premium beauty products targeted to women wanted to better understand hair care needs and product usage among females in four countries. 

 
A Model of Customer Loyalty

Category: Insurance
Methods: Advanced Analytics, Brand Equity Modeling, Customer Satisfaction & Loyalty, Customer Loyalty Modeling, Customer Loyalty Simulator™
Summary: Decision Analyst’s Customer Loyalty Simulator™ was integral in empowering the client to make decisions about how to improve the brand.

 
A Qualitative Approach to Understanding the Path-to-Purchase

Category: Cosmetic
Methods: In-Person Focus Groups, Virtual-Ethnography (Remote Desktop Viewing), Path-to-Purchase, Time- Extended™ Qualitative
Summary: Management wanted to identify and understand why cosmetics’ users read reviews, shop and buy online vs. in store and how they might stop or reverse this trend to online, or possibly take better advantage of the online channel.

 
A Rose of Any Other Color...

Category: Children's Toys
Methods: Package Testing, Virtual Shopping, Advanced Analytics, Quantitative Research, Shopper Insights
Summary: Consumer research was carefully crafted to understand shoppers’ reactions to the revised packages, and ultimately revealed that the proposed changes would benefit the brand.

 
Advertising Research: Benchmarking New Ads for a Restaurant

Category: Quick Service Restaurant (QSR)
Methods: Quantitative Research, Advertising Research, Benchmarking
Summary: The client wanted to understand consumers’ attitudes about the advertisements in order to determine if the advertisements were up to the company’s standards and were communicating the intended messages and positioning.

 
Advertising Testing Among Hispanics

Category: Retail
Methods: Advertising Research (Copy Testing), Hispanic Research
Summary: Decision Analyst’s CopyTest® system and proprietary SellingPower™ analytical model calculated overall advertising effectiveness and suggested how to increase the ads’ cultural relevance.

 
Benefit Pricing: Optimizing The Price Point for a Product Line Extension

Category: Consumer Health and Beauty Products
Methods: New Product Concept Testing
Summary: A leading global manufacturer of consumer health and beauty products was considering adding a new product to its current line.

 
Card Sorting and Concept Testing Among Seniors

Category: Insurance Company
Methods: Concept Testing, Market Evaluation
Summary: Decision Analyst recommended a two-part project: a card-sort survey to determine the market potential and identify the most desired benefits, followed by a concept test to identify the most promising concept and determine the optimal price points.

 
China: A New World of Possibilities

Category: Skincare System
Methods: Time-Extended™ Online Focus Group, Global Research, Research in China
Summary: A multinational personal-care products manufacturer was interested in expanding its skincare business in China and wanted to identify the unique needs and applications to deliver a pipeline of skincare products specially designed for Asian consumers.

 
Changing The Game In The Electric Vehicle Arena Accelerating Consumer Adoption Of The Electric Truck

Category: Automotive Research
Methods: Choice Modeling, DecisionSimulator™
Summary: Our client wanted to know what consumers wanted, but more importantly, what they “needed” in an electric light-duty truck that would make it more appealing than competitor models.

 
Choice Modeling: Testing Product and Service Bundles

Category: Technology Products and Services
Methods: Advanced Analytics, Choice Modeling
Summary: Decision Analyst conducted research to develop a consumer-configured list of preferred product and service bundles to offer.

 
Choosing Advertising Approaches Between Alternative Storyboards

Category: Automotive Parts Manufacturer
Methods: CopyTest®, Advertising Research
Summary: Our client asked us to conduct a study that would determine which ads would be the most effective at communicating the message to their target audience.

 
Combining Survey Choice Modeling With Customer-Database Predictive Modeling

Category: Utilities
Methods: Advanced Analytics, Customer-Database Predictive Modeling, Hierarchical Bayes Choice Modeling
Summary: Decision Analyst’s client wished to directly predict the receptivity of its customers and prospects to a wide variety of promotion and pricing features of electricity plans.

 
Concept Testing

Category: Automotive Aftermarket
Methods: Concept Testing, Purchase Motivation, Brand Positioning
Summary: A leading producer and distributor of aftermarket fluids and additives was considering a reformulation of its top-selling, trademarked product. 

 
Consumer Health-Monitoring Device Optimization

Category: CPG – Health & Beauty Aids)
Methods: Discrete Choice Exercise, Hierarchical Bayes Choice Model, Price Elasticities, Optimization Model, Sales Forecast
Summary: An company was launching a new, noninvasive health monitoring device and wanted to assess and optimize the product’s features and understand the optimal product’s likely performance in the market via a sales forecast.

 
Convenience Store Product Assortment Optimization

Category: CPG–Beverages
Methods: TURF
Summary: A dairy product company was interested in determining the optimal assortment of coffee creamer flavors to maximize reach and usage frequency in the convenience store channel.

 
Consumer Pulse Tracking In The Paper-Product Market

Category: Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)
Methods: Attitude & Usage, Purchase Behavior, Key Drivers
Summary: A leading manufacturer of sustainable household products wanted to better understand consumers’ usage and perceptions across four household categories.

 
CopyCheck® of Animatic Ads

Category: Insurance
Methods: CopyCheck®, Advertising Research
Summary: A major health insurance provider wanted to know which of its new advertising concepts would resonate the most with potential customers. Decision Analyst recommend our proprietary CopyCheck® system.

 
Database Analytics: Developing Strategic Value From a Consumer Affairs Database

Category: Food Product Manufacturer
Methods: Database Analytics, Predictive Analytics, Geospatial Analysis, Data Cleaning, Customer Loyalty, Customer Satisfaction
Summary: The Consumer Affairs department wanted to develop the strategic value of the database and also wanted to improve methods used to deal with consumer inquiries and potential problems. Using sophisticated data cleaning and exploratory methods, geospatial analysis, and standard market research analysis methods, Decision Analyst was able to illuminate patterns in the data.

 
Determining the Relationship Between Consumption and Household Income

Category: Utilities
Methods: Advanced Analytics, Predictive Modeling, Predictive Analytics
Summary: A major utility company wished to understand the relationship between consumption of their product and their clients’ household income in order to address pricing issues raised by the regulatory authority. S

 
Diary Research

Category: Personal Care Product Manufacturer
Methods: In-The-Moment Research; Diary Panel; Tracking Research; Market Assessment, Ethnography
Summary: A personal-care-product manufacturer wanted to understand and quantify consumers’ personal hygiene routines in order to identify new opportunities or marketing campaigns for an existing product. 

 
E-Commerce Econometric Modeling of Promotions and Media Mix

Category: E-Commerce, Consumer Goods
Methods: Econometric Modeling, Advanced Analytics, Predictive Modeling
Summary: A Fortune 1000 consumer-goods firm wished to identify patterns and trends in its retailer’s e-commerce sales and promotions. 

 
Finding That Revolutionary New Product! Using Choice Modeling to Refine a New Product Concept

Category: Automotive
Methods: Choice Modeling, Latent-Class Segmentation, Volumetric Forecasting, Market Simulation
Summary:  The OEM asked Decision Analyst to design a consumer research program to help them understand the potential for this new product concept they envisioned.

 
Food Ingredient Consumer-Opinion Research

Category: Food Manufacturer
Methods: Online Consumer Survey
Summary: A manufacturer of food and beverage products wanted to gauge consumer reactions to various nutrition and ingredient labels listing different sugars, fibers, and starches.

 
Forecasting: Alternative-Fuel Vehicle Research

Category: Automotive
Methods: Advanced Analytics, DecisionSimulator™, Market Simulation
Summary: Forecasting consumer demand for several alternative-fuel technologies within five segments.

 
Fueling Up: International Advertising Research

Category: Retail Automotive Fuel Products
Methods: Global Marketing Research, Advertising Research (Copy Testing)
Summary: A global automotive fuel company tested its advertising in multiple countries to improve clarity, recall, brand registration, persuasion, and other key elements. Insights taken from Decision Analyst’s monadic CopyTest® made the ads more successful.

 
Games People Play

Category: Electronic Games
Methods: Focus Groups, Depth Interviews, Projective Techniques, Motivational Research
Summary: At the dawn of the digital age, a major international manufacturer of electronic systems and components assigned a team of engineers to develop digital games for the new electronic devices then emerging.

 
Getting Carded

Category: Gift Cards
Methods: Customer Loyalty, Awareness and Usage, Customer Satisfaction, Tracking Study
Summary: A multinational food and beverage chain wanted to measure over time the awareness and usage of its frequent user/gift card program and its impact on customer loyalty. 

 
Global Celebrity Index—An International Star Search

Category: Health and Beauty Aids—Cosmetics
Methods: Global Marketing Research, Custom Indexing Methodology
Summary: A major multinational cosmetics manufacturer sought a celebrity spokesperson to use across global markets. Decision Analyst developed a comprehensive index score based on over 15 variables and collected data simultaneously in 11 countries and in 9 languages. 

 
Hospital System Advertising Testing Better And Faster With Big Qual

Category: Hospital System
Methods: Sequential-Monadic Testing, Big Qual, Qualitative Research, Advertising Testing
Summary: A hospital system was interested in assessing four advertising concepts at the storyboard (post-scripts) phase before moving into final television production of the winning ad.

 
Hospital System Improvement Qualitative Research Among Hospital Customers

Category: Hospital System
Methods: Customer Research, Qualitative Research
Summary: A hospital system was interested in conducting exploratory qualitative research among past-5-year customers and potential new customers to understand their hospital-selection process, perceptions of each hospital, and associations and gaps among 3 hospitals within their system and competitor hospitals in the area.

 
Hotel Services Innovation Program

Category: Hospitality
Methods: Qualitative Research, Ideation, Quantitative Research, New Product Concept Development & Refinement, Advanced Analytics, MaxDiff Latent Class Choice Model
Summary: A major hotel chain was interested in developing relevant and actionable new products and services designed to target the business traveler, and to project potential market appeal for each concept. 

 
I Beg Your Pardon? (The Value of Unexpected Research Results)

Category: Business-to-Business (B2B) Electronics
Methods: Profiling, International Research, Business-to-Business (B2B) Research, Attitude/Awareness/Usage Research, Diagnostic Research, Problem Solving, Teamwork
Summary: A leading device manufacturer discovered that previously-held beliefs about the philosophical differences between U.S. and Italian office workers that were driving marketing simply weren’t accurate at all. The research that was originally designed to identify how to penetrate a market was ultimately used to identify how to encourage switching from a competitor’s product.

 
Identifying the Product Claims that will Drive Consumer Interest

Category: National Food Manufacturer
Methods: MaxDiff, Claims Testing
Summary: The client had a list of more than 50 product claims that were applicable to multiple grocery categories. They needed an efficient way to determine which claims their marketing should focus on.

 
Improving Customer Satisfaction for a Utility Company

Category: Utility
Methods: Customer Satisfaction, Customer Segmentation, Business-to-Business Research, Consumer Research
Summary: A major national utility company was suffering from low customer satisfaction ratings and needed a plan to identify problems and address the issues in a timely manner.

 
Ingredients for Success: A Global Look at Health- and Beauty-Care Ingredients

Category: Health and Beauty Care
Methods: International Research, Analytical Modeling
Summary: A major multinational consumer health-and-beauty product manufacturer wanted to determine and anticipate the next big “ingredient” that could revolutionize its segment of the health-and-beauty industry. Leveraging the American Consumer Opinion® panel an online survey was conducted across several countries. 

 
Key Drivers of Store Sales

Category: Retail
Methods: Advanced Analytics, Predictive Modeling, Sales Predictive Modeling
Summary: Decision Analyst developed a predictive model of store sales per square foot from customer-satisfaction surveys, 9.4 million records. The model was used to identify key drivers of sales and indicators of store performance, enabling the client to prioritize stores for improvement initiatives.

 
Look Before Leaping

Category: Salty Snacks
Methods: Concept Testing, Product Testing, In-Home Usage Testing, Pii® Product Improvement Index, Volumetric Forecasting, Sales Forecasting, Conceptor® Forecasting Models
Summary:  Decision Analyst conducted a large concept test, followed by in-home usage product tests for each major flavor of the new salty snack, and forecasted in-market sales volume with its Conceptor® forecasting models.

 
Life & Disability Insurance Abandoners Exploratory Qualitative

Category: Life & Disability Insurance Company
Methods: Qualitative Research
Summary: An insurance company noticed that an increasing number of potential customers abandoned their new insurance purchase after underwriting and approval but before paying their initial bill to begin their new policy. Qualitative research was leveraged to uncover the reasons for policy abandonment.

 
Market Evaluation

Category: Automotive
Methods: Market Evaluation, Quantitative Research, Market Overview
Summary: A multinational automotive manufacturer (OEM) with no previous experience in the U.S. market was considering whether or not to attempt to introduce an all-new vehicle into the U.S. The need was to gain a fundamental understanding of the U.S. owner and intender of vehicles in one particular segment of the market.

 
Market Mix Modeling: Measuring Return From Advertising in the Fresh-Food Industry

Category: Fresh Food Manufacturer
Methods: Advertising Research (Copy Testing), Promotion Research, Marketing Mix Modeling, Econometric Modeling, DecisionSimulator™
Summary: A major manufacturer of a fresh-food product wanted to know how much stimulation of sales could be expected per Target Rating Point of advertising. 

 
Market Needs Assessment: Qualitative Research Among Physicians

Category: Pharmaceuticals
Methods: New Product Development, Qualitative Research, Physician Research
Summary: A pharmaceutical company was interested in developing a new product for the treatment of a cronic disease. 

 
MaxDiff Modeling For Healthy Snack-Food Flavor Optimization

Category: Health Snack Food Manufacturer
Methods: MaxDiff Analysis, Analytical Consulting, Choice Modeling
Summary:  Decision Analyst used MaxDiff modeling to determine which new flavors would increase sales.

 
Maximum Difference (MaxDiff) Scaling

Category: Cooking Oil
Methods: MaxDiff Analysis, Analytical Consulting, Choice Modeling, Hierarchical Bayes Estimation, Claims Testing
Summary: A Choice Modeling project was conducted to identify the table spread products most likely to experience an increase in sales by including the cooking oil as a key ingredient.

 
Measuring Customer Satisfaction Among Preowned Vehicle Buyers

Category: Vehicle Dealer
Methods: Customer Satisfaction Tracking, Online Survey, Preowned Buyer Survey, Quantitative Mail Survey, Tracking Research
Summary: As a premium automobile retailer with multiple locations, our client has a very strong customer service culture. Decision Analyst updated and automated their customer satisfaction program for preowned cars.

 
Millennial Imaginators®: Ideation and Concept Refinement In the Hotel Industry

Category: Hospitality, Tourism, Innovation, Millennials
Methods: Concept Refinement, Millennials, Imaginators®, Innovation
Summary: A leading, global hotel chain wanted to engage creative, forward-thinking Millennials to cocreate some distinct urban-hotel concepts with them.

 
Mother Knows Best

Category: Childcare Products and Accessories
Methods: Concept Testing, Product Testing, In-Home Usage Testing
Summary: The research was designed to help diversify, expand, and improve the product line, and, ultimately, to refine and optimize the growth strategy that would allow the company to develop into a global brand.

 
Name Generation

Category: Healthcare System
Methods: Ideation, Name Generation, Name Testing
Summary: A large healthcare system asked Decision Analyst to generate, iterate, and then quantitatively test new names for several new healthcare facilities.

 
Never Trust an Engineer

Category: Electronic Calculators, Mathematics Training
Methods: Focus Groups, Depth Interviews, Ethnography, Telephone Survey
Summary: A large, worldwide manufacturer of electronic components and devices developed handheld calculators and mathematics training program for children in the first, second, and third grades. 

 
New Car Clinic

Category: Automotive
Methods: Advanced Analytics, Discrete-Choice Modeling, Focus-Group Qualitative Research, Quantitative Static Clinic
Summary: A multinational automobile manufacturer sought to introduce a new vehicle into a segment of the market that technically did not exist at that time. 

 
New Employee Onboarding: Measuring Training Satisfaction

Category: Package Goods Company – Human Resources, Employee Retention
Methods: Online Quantitative, Employee Research, Tracking Research
Summary: The overarching objective was to help optimize the onboarding process and reduce turnover. Decision Analyst designed a 2 phase research program to help improve the training and onboarding program and increase employee retention.

 
New Therapy Development & Optimization Research

Category: Medical Device
Methods: Feature Optimization, Conjoint Modeling, Choice Modeling, Multi-Phase, Multi-Audience (Consumers & HCPs)
Summary: A cross-functional team of academics, scientists, and researchers from a private research university received an NIH grant to develop a new medication. To help the new medication be successful and widely adopted in the marketplace, research was conducted to decide which features needed to be included in the product.

 
New Product Concept Test: Discovering Key Drivers of Product Preference

Category: Consumer Health and Beauty Products
Methods: New Product Concept Testing
Summary: A leading global manufacturer of consumer health and beauty products was considering adding a new product to its current line.

 
New Product Development

Category: Medical Devices
Methods: New Product Development Research, Concept Testing, Physician Research, Needs Assessment Research
Summary: An implantable device manufacturer was interested in bolstering its new product development process by conducting unmet-needs research among implanting physicians.

 
New Product Positioning and Name Testing Among Professionals

Category: Medical Devices
Methods: New Product Development, Positioning Test, Name Testing
Summary: A global healthcare company that develops products and systems for in-home use and testing was planning a new product introduction. The company wanted to determine the best product name and to identify a compelling positioning statement to use in marketing the product.

 
New Vehicle Launch Evaluation

Category: Automotive OEM
Methods: Automotive Research, Quantitative Research, Intender Survey, New Buyer Survey, Competitive Buyer Survey
Summary: A global automotive OEM was launching a redesigned version of its best-selling vehicle in the U.S. In order to provide a holistic view of the market reaction, Decision Analyst partnered in designing and implementing a research program that provided insights.

 
Niche Market Opportunities Research Among Healthcare Professionals

Category: Health & Wellness Product
Methods: Market Perception Study, Needs Assessment Survey, Healthcare Professionals Survey
Summary: A leading maker of health and wellness products wanted to identify barriers and opportunities in a niche market in order to improve its market position in the industry.

 
Not-So-Secret Identity

Category: Premium Packaged Goods
Methods: Depth Interviews, Projective Techniques, Motivational Research, Survey Research, Advanced Analytics, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research, Packaged Goods
Summary: Our client’s brand was among the first of its kind, had been on the market for decades, and had maintained market share, yet our client wanted the brand to do more than just survive. Our consumer research identified “key pillars” for the brand, which have helped propel it far beyond previous success and into new markets around the world.

 
Omnichannel Shopper Experience: Multiphased Qualitative Research

Category: Beauty Products Manufacturer
Methods: In-Person Focus Groups, Qualitative Research, Remote Desktop Viewing, Screen Sharing, Time-Extended™ Online In-Depth Interviews, Virtual Ethnography
Summary:  A multiphase qualitative approach was used to gain a deep understanding of consumers’ needs, desires, shopping experiences, and shopping decision-making behaviors, both in store and online.

 
On the Right Track: Consumer Packaged Goods Brand Tracking

Category: Consumer Packaged Goods
Methods: Advertising Research (Copy Testing), Analytical Consulting, Choice Modeling, Attitudinal Research, Brand Equity Monitor™, Key Driver Analysis, Tracking Research
Summary: A domestic tool manufacturer wanted to track the category’s (and its own) brand and advertising awareness, in addition to attitudes and usage. 

 
Online Qualitative, Time-Extended™: Acheiving Deeper Insights After Quantitative Research

Category: Casual Dining
Methods: Casual Dining Positioning, Menu Evaluation, Online Depth Interviews, Time-Extended™ Online Qualitative Research
Summary: Time-Extended™ online depth interviews were conducted to provide an intimate understanding of the consumer relationship with the brand and its current menu offerings.

 
Package Testing With A Shelf Set

Category: Packaged Goods (CPG)
Methods: Online Survey With Shelf Set, Package Testing, Shopper Research
Summary: The brand was very successful at retail, and changing the packaging could potentially have a negative impact on sales if consumers were confused by the change. The company was planning for the next sales cycle and needed to quickly determine in an efficient way which package option they should move forward with in manufacturing.

 
Paving the Path to Purchase: Identifying the Decision-Making Process for B2B Customers

Category: Manufacturer
Methods: Business-to-Business Research, Key Driver Analysis, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research, Path to Purchase, Time-Extended™ Online Research
Summary: A manufacturer of products for workplace usage wanted to increase its knowledge about the path to purchase—how and why business customers buy their products—in order to effectively reach them with the right content at the right place and time.

 
Physicians Insurance Brand Equity Segmentation

Category: Insurance Company
Methods: Physician Research, Brand Equity, Market Segmentation
Summary:  In addition to understanding awareness, attitudes, and usage habits, brand equity analysis and a market segmentation were also needed to fully assess the company’s current place in the market, and which groups of physicians may be the best targets for certain products and messages.

 
Plush Perceptions

Category: Retail—Toys
Methods: Qualitative Research, In-Person Qualitative Research
Summary: An American production and distribution company needed to explore consumer attitudes, usage, and perceptions of its line of plush toys that accompanied its popular children’s TV show. Insights from the focus groups improved the toy, its marketing, and the show, and the client even gained merchandising opportunities.

 
Point of Presence Research

Category: Telecommunications
Methods: In-Store, Digital Display Testing, Customer Experience Optimization, Promotion Testing
Summary: Decision Analyst’s client was introducing informational and advertising-oriented, digital display kiosks in its stores nationwide. Prior to rolling out these free-standing digital fixtures, management wanted to test the overall impact of their digital display screen content, as well as the effectiveness and operations of display orientation, sound, and interactivity.

 
Positioning Test With Segmentation

Category: Kitchen Appliance System
Methods: Positioning Test, Market Segmentation, Latent Class Cluster Analysis
Summary: A major consumer-packaged-goods company and a large appliance manufacturer sought to identify a compelling, differentiating positioning for its kitchen system. Decision Analyst’s segmentation technique enabled the client to select an attractive, ownable positioning for the product’s successful launch.

 
Predicting and Optimizing Website Lead Generation

Category: Online Lead Generation
Methods: Correlation/Cluster Analysis, Predictive Modeling, Cross-Validation, Simulation Modeling, Advanced Analytics
Summary: Predictive analytics was applied to data obtained from forms filled out on the website, page views, and lead generation. The resulting predictive models were used to adjust relative spending on different clusters of web pages, maximizing ROI in terms of lead generation.

 
Predicting Patient Noncompliance Based On Geographic Location

Category: Healthcare
Methods: Predictive Modeling, Logistic Regression, Random Forest™, Advanced Analytics
Summary: Decision Analyst explored the use of self-reported behavior from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), published by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) to develop predictive models of noncompliant patients.

 
Product Line Extension

Category: Over-The-Counter Medicine
Methods: Choice Modeling, Advanced Analytics, DecisionSimulators™
Summary: An over-the-counter drug manufacturer was interested in understanding the market implications of offering a new, higher-strength product to supplement their product line.

 
Product Line Optimization

Category: Personal Care Manufacturer
Methods: Choice Modeling, DecisionSimulator™, Product Line Optimization
Summary: A global manufacturer of specialty personal-care products needed to develop a response to major changes made to the category leader's product line.

 
Proprietary Panel for Customer Satisfaction

Category: Managed-Care Company
Methods: Customer Satisfaction, Private Online Panel
Summary: Decision Analyst created, managed, and hosted an online survey panel for the managed care company. The panel allowed easy access to representatives in the PPN and provided a mechanism for feedback on a variety of planned changes and improvements in the ways that providers interact with the company.

 
Purchase Probability Modeling: Lead Classification System for a Cloud-Based Product

Category: B2B Software
Methods: Purchase Probability Modeling, Predictive Modeling, Business-to-Business (B2B) Research, Sales Lead Classification, International Research
Summary: A logistic regression model was developed that predicted the likelihood that a prospect would consider subscribing to the hosted service. The model was incorporated into an interactive scoring tool that allowed the sales force to enter prospect responses for each of the model predictors and forecast the likelihood of prospects to accept an offer of service.

 
Qualitative Research Among Unacculturated Hispanics in U.S.

Category: Prepaid Services Industry
Methods: Qualitative Research, Hispanic Research, In-person In-Depth Interviews
Summary: A large U.S. company believed that unacculturated Hispanics might represent a viable target market for its services, but marketing efforts to this segment had largely failed. The firm asked Decision Analyst to propose research that would lead to an improved marketing strategy to reach and convert unacculturated Hispanics in the U.S.

 
Reaching Young, Tech-Savvy Investors

Category: Financial Services, Investing
Methods: New Product Development, Qualitative Research, In-Person Focus Groups, Depth Interviews, Quantitative Surveys
Summary: Decision Analyst executed a two-phase research program, including quantitative concept screening as well as qualitative discussions, designed to help refine the final communication strategy. 

 
Real Estate Site Selection With Predictive Modeling in the Open-Source R Language

Category: Retail
Methods: Advanced Analytics, Decision Tree, Linear Regression, Predictive Modeling, Random Forest™, R Language, Real Estate Site Selection
Summary: We explored the use of the open-source R Language to develop alternative types of predictive models for retail-site sales forecasting. Alternative model types included decision tree, linear regression, and Random Forest™.

 
Rebate Offer Ad Test

Category: Optical Products
Methods: Promotion Testing, Marketing Communications, Medical Research
Summary: A leading maker of optical products wanted to gauge likely consumer response to several product discount offers.

 
Retail Point-of-Sale Tracking

Category: Retail
Methods: Point-of-Sale Surveys, Tracking, Customer Satisfaction Monitoring
Summary: A major retailer needed a way to better understand the experiences of their customers in a timely and cost-efficient manner.

 
Retail Sales Forecasting: Using Spatial Analytics to Identify New Market Opportunities

Category: Fashion Retailing
Methods: Retail Store Location Analysis, Spatial Analytics, Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Summary: A national retail apparel chain sought help from Decision Analyst in identifying new market opportunities. Decision Analyst combined survey research, competitive analyses, and geographic analyses and modeling to forecast sales of new stores in smaller markets.

 
Segmentation Re-Analysis

Category: Restaurant
Methods: Segmentation Analysis, Key Driver Analysis, Gap Analysis, Spatial Analysis, Media Analysis
Summary: A major U.S. restaurant chain derived substantial added value from its market segmentation study by commissioning Decision Analyst to re-analyze the segmentation data and conduct additional analyses.

 
Sell Those MBAs

Category: Graduate Education
Methods: Syndicated Data Analysis, Secondary Data Analysis, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Spatial Analytics, GeoMapping, Site Selection, Sales Forecasting, Concept Optimization, Choice Modeling, DecisionSimulator™
Summary: A major university in a large midwestern metropolitan area offered an array of MBA graduate degrees at its downtown campus. Decision Analyst was asked to help identify optimal locations for satellite classrooms to offer the EMBA degree. The results revealed complex interactions among the site-location variables.

 
Skincare Product Claims Development Research

Category: CPG Via Dermatologists
Methods: Claim Ratings, Brand Usage & Awareness
Summary: A manufacturer of skincare products was interested in assessing the behaviors and opinions of dermatologists in order to develop claims for its brand.

 
Socially Distanced Menu-Item Testing

Category: Restaurant
Methods: Menu Evaluation, Central-Location Test
Summary: An upper-end casual-dining chain with limited locations sought to increase its delivery footprint, and came to Decision Analyst for help in testing new versions of several menu items that could be more easily executed in ghost kitchens. Decision Analyst designed an in-person taste test that was COVID compliant and safe for the particiapants and the researchers.

 
Strategic Global Research: Qualitative Research in China

Category: International Retail
Methods: International Research, Strategic Research, Depth Interviews, Ethnographic Research, Focus Groups, Quantitative Research, Qualitative Research
Summary: A U.S.-based retailer wanted to evaluate an emerging market as part of their long-term expansion strategy. This research was undertaken to provide strategic direction for markets in China.

 
Strategic Market-Entry Optimization Plan Research

Category: Vision Care
Methods: Choice Task, Optimization, Eye Care Professional
Summary: A manufacturer of lenses wanted to gauge how their current eye care professional customers would react if the manufacturer’s brands became available in other competitive channels.

 
Taking Advertising to the Next Level

Category: Discount Retailer
Methods: Quantitative Research, Brand Awareness, Advertising Research (Copy Testing), Tracking Research
Summary: A large discount retail chain wanted to track company, brand, and advertising awareness as well as consumer attitudes to help increase advertising effectiveness. 

 
Time-Extended™ Online Qualitative Research

Category: Vehicle Loan Financing & Services
Methods: Time-Extended™ Online Qualitative Research, Online Qualitative Research in a Bulletin Board Format
Summary: An industry-leading company specializing in auto loans wanted to develop a targeted advertising campaign. The insights from Decision Analyst’s online, Time-Extended™ depth interviews became the foundation for the advertisements and new communication strategies.

 
Time-Series Econometric Forecasting: Global Forecast of the Price of a Raw Material

Category: International Manufacturer
Methods: Autoregressive Time-Series Regression, Decision Tool, Econometrics, Ensemble Model, Model Validation, Time-Series, Forecasting, Variable Selection
Summary: A client company (an international manufacturer) had experienced unprecedented volatility in the price of a primary raw-material input used to produce several of its products. Decision Analyst build an ensemble of Autoregressive Time-Series Models to predict future prices. 

 
To Launch, Or Not To Launch: What Is A Marketer To Do? Leveraging Concept Testing for Optimal “Payback”

Category: Organic Food Manufacturer
Methods: Concept Testing, Brand Name Testing, Packaging Research
Summary: A large organic-foods manufacturer had to decide how to package, name, and introduce a healthier product formulation targeted to moms with young children. 

 
Too Much Of A Good Thing Costs Too Much: Choice Modeling for Health Insurance Products

Category: Health Insurance
Methods: Choice Modeling, Simulation Modeling, Concept Testing
Summary: A large health insurer sought to increase profitability for a specified group insurance segment by reducing the number of insured health products and the overhead and low profit margins associated with them.

 
Turning Providers Into “Patient Satisfiers” Measuring Satisfaction Using Mail Surveys

Category: Health Insurance
Methods: Automated Reporting, Mail Survey, Customer Satisfaction, Tracking Research
Summary: A health insurance carrier wanted to incorporate patient satisfaction measurements as a quality outcome indicator when recredentialing each member of its network.

 
Uncovering the Paramount of Grooming

Category: Personal Care and Grooming
Methods: Time-Extended™ Online Forums, Home Usage, Online Journaling
Summary: A multinational personal care manufacturer had developed a revolutionary home grooming product. Decision Analyst was tasked with designing and conducting a two-phased research approach. Striving to surpass the competition, the company made testing competitors’ similar products the focus of the research. 

 
Using Automated Reporting to Track Restaurant Performance Across the U.S.

Category: Restaurant Industry
Methods: Automated Reporting, Tracking Research
Summary: A regional restaurant chain with locations in 8 markets across the Southwest asked Decision Analyst to conduct quarterly tracking studies for each of its 50 eateries. Automated reporting technology was used to efficiently and accurately create the reports for the multiple markets, taking into consideration the local competitors for each unit.

 
Using MaxDiff to Understand Investors’ Decision to Hire A Financial Advisor

Category: Financial Services
Methods: Maximum Difference (MaxDiff) Analysis
Summary: A financial advisory firm wanted to understand the reasoning behind investors’ decisions to hire (or to not hire) a financial advisor. Decision Analyst conducted an online quantitative survey featuring MaxDiff analysis to determine the attributes that have the most impact on potential customers’ decision to hire (or not hire) a financial advisor.

 
Using Exploratory Research to Formulate Quantitative Research and a Discrete Choice Modeling Design

Category: Auto/Captive Financial Services
Methods: Exploratory Research, Quantitative Research, Discrete Choice Modeling, In-Person Focus Groups, Simulated Purchasing Decisions
Summary: The Captive Finance arm of a Global Auto Manufacturer had historically relied on a traditional approach to developing new business, utilizing the value of its automotive products as the primary conduit for attracting customers. The client was looking for new ways in which to grow and add value to its business.

 
Using a MaxDiff Analysis to Make Decisions

Category: Insurance Company
Methods: MaxDiff Analysis, Message Evaluation
Summary: Our client, a health-insurance provider, wanted to know how best to communicate with their customers about the Affordable Care Act and what messages they need to use. Decision Analyst conducted a MaxDiff analysis on the proposed message statements to determine which messages consumers preferred.

 
Virtual Shelf-Set Research Among Children

Category: CPG Manufacturing
Methods: Online/Virtual Shelf Set, Research with Children, In-Store Display Research
Summary: A manufacturer created a new product line that was targeted to children aged 6 to 12. For this new product line, they created several merchandising-display options and wanted to know which one would resonate most with children and their parents.

 
Vision Product: Global Messaging Optimization Research

Category: Lens Manufacturer
Methods: Message Testing, Choice-Task, MaxDiff, International Research
Summary: A lens manufacturer wanted to measure unbranded preference for potential messages (including both current messages and potential new messages) across two key products. They also wanted to optimize messages for each product when branded.

 
Volumetric Concept Testing

Category: Toy Industry
Methods: Volumetric Concept Testing, Latent Class Choice Modeling, Calibration, DecisionSimulator™, Online Simulated Shopping
Summary:  During an online survey, respondents were taken through two shopping exercises and made purchase decisions based on the available toys. Several latent-class choice models were developed, measuring price and product utilities. 

 
What Do The Members Really Need? Customer Needs Assessment

Category: Health Insurance
Methods: Focus Groups, Affinity Diagramming, Multivariate Analysis, Needs Assessment, Loyalty Measurement
Summary: A health insurance carrier sought to get closer to its members by understanding more about their needs related to the consumer experience and the employer experience. They also wanted to know how well they were meeting the needs they identified versus how well their competition was meeting similar needs for its customers.

 
When Customer Service Needs A Boost Measuring Consumer Expectations of Customer Service

Category: Health Insurance
Methods: Focus Groups, Telephone Survey, Nonlinear Regression Analysis, Quadrant Mapping
Summary: A national health insurance carrier established a task force to optimize consumers’ experience with its customer service operation. Prior to developing a change plan, it was important for the task force to understand the customers’ expectations and needs.

 
Why Can’t We Compete? An Ethnographic Evaluation of the Brand Image

Category: Automotive OEM
Methods: Ethnography, Extended Drive Experience with In-Vehicle Mounted Video Camera, In-Depth Post-Drive Interview, Online Follow-Ups, Qualitative Research
Summary: Decision Analyst conducted a multistage qualitative study for a Premium division of an OEM to determine their position relative to the competition and to identify action steps for tangible improvement.

Contact Decision Analyst

If you would like more information on Marketing Research, please contact Jerry W. Thomas by emailing jthomas@decisionanalyst.com or calling 1-817-640-6166.