The final stage of product development, before going to market, is arguably the most important and it is those small but oh-so-important details within your product and service package that can make the difference between you and the competition – and between success and failure.
Our Solution
At B2B International, we offer proposition testing and value proposition research. We tailor our proposition testing by using qualitative and quantitative techniques based on your individual business and your offering, with the aim of ensuring that your prototype results in a successful launch.
Within highly technical markets, we often recommend a solution built principally around qualitative research. Face-to-face focus groups, online focus groups, ethnographic exercises and in-depth interviews allow potential customers to try, touch and carefully consider how the proposed solution meets their needs, how it differs from what they currently use and how it could be perfected ahead of launch.
In less technical markets, when the proposed solution can be clearly described and displayed on a screen, it may be practical to conduct a qual-quant study. Here we obtain detailed views on the ins and outs of the proposed solution and can also cover questions around predicted take-up, pricing, etc.
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Case study: Designing an insight solution
Business challenge
A leading provider of professional services developed, alongside B2B International, a software product aimed at small businesses. Having identified the need for such software and developed a prototype, it was crucial for our client to ensure that they went to market with a usable, intuitive and useful product.
What we did
B2B International designed an insight solution built around self-ethnography and online quantitative research. The proposition testing research consisted of several stages:
- Recruitment: We recruited by telephone 500 senior managers within small businesses who agreed to take part in a product trial. Each was sent a link through which they could download the proposed software tool.
- Product trial and self-ethnography: The senior managers used the software in real business situations for the period of one month. On a continuous basis they recorded the level and nature of their use of the tool. Their usage could also be tracked remotely – resulting in a wealth of usability data.
- Qualitative interviews: Following the trial, each of the senior managers was interviewed online or over the telephone to obtain their views on the product experience and likelihood of adopting the product. Ultimately, we reported back the strong potential for the product, albeit highlighting several usability issues that needed ironing out.
