Triangulated Research
Problem
Reflecting on the possibility of a rebrand for the business, the Product Marketer and the Lead Communication Designer approached me about conducting research to understand the perception of our current brand.
My Role
I served as a User Experience Researcher, collecting user-centered insights about the current brand and clarity into the value proposition the new brand intended to represent.
UX Disciplines: Facilitation, User Research, Information Design
Deliverables: User Interviews, Demographics, Survey results, Synthesized findings from triangulated research
Approach
Initial conversations with the clients revealed an uncertainty regarding a research focus. The client knew they needed to know something about the current brand to rebrand successfully, but they weren’t sure what they needed to learn.
I facilitated discussions to surface research questions which resulted in a shared understanding for an inquiry focus.
Reflecting on the possibility of a rebrand for the business, the Product Marketer and the Lead Communication Designer approached me about conducting research to understand the perception of our current brand.
My Role
I served as a User Experience Researcher, collecting user-centered insights about the current brand and clarity into the value proposition the new brand intended to represent.
UX Disciplines: Facilitation, User Research, Information Design
Deliverables: User Interviews, Demographics, Survey results, Synthesized findings from triangulated research
Approach
Initial conversations with the clients revealed an uncertainty regarding a research focus. The client knew they needed to know something about the current brand to rebrand successfully, but they weren’t sure what they needed to learn.
I facilitated discussions to surface research questions which resulted in a shared understanding for an inquiry focus.
The second discussion narrowed the research focus and determined priorities for research. This work is under an NDA agreement, so the whiteboard is intentionally obscured.
The Inquiry Focus: Uncover insights about how people feel about the current brand in regards to message, reputation and service. How does it make them feel at home, work, and on mobile?
Brand is all about perceived value. To get a well-rounded picture of the customer and trustworthy and duplicatable answers to the inquiry focus, I suggested a multiple-approach research project with triangulated data. I drafted a set of four research activities based on the priorities gleaned from conversations with the clients, communicating regularly to discuss research methods which would shed light on the inquiry focus.
Research Activities
With client participation, the four activities were prioritized:
Starting with Priority 1, I wrote a research protocol and enlisted 16 participants for one hour interviews.
The Inquiry Focus: Uncover insights about how people feel about the current brand in regards to message, reputation and service. How does it make them feel at home, work, and on mobile?
Brand is all about perceived value. To get a well-rounded picture of the customer and trustworthy and duplicatable answers to the inquiry focus, I suggested a multiple-approach research project with triangulated data. I drafted a set of four research activities based on the priorities gleaned from conversations with the clients, communicating regularly to discuss research methods which would shed light on the inquiry focus.
Research Activities
With client participation, the four activities were prioritized:
- Priority 1: Customer Interviews + Demographics
- Priority 2: Survey for Brand Personality, include an understanding of Customer Jobs, Pains, and Gains for the Value Proposition
- Priority 3: Secondary Research. Brands that resonate with American men between 25 and 45 years
- Priority 4: Interviews with Internal Stakeholders—COO, CEO, Marketing Manager, 3 Customer Service Representatives
Starting with Priority 1, I wrote a research protocol and enlisted 16 participants for one hour interviews.
Each interview participant is represented by a different color. Similar responses were grouped and labeled to surface insights through affinity diagramming.
I also wrote and published a demographic survey to construct an accurate picture of the client’s most loyal customers. I compared demographic responses from 53 respondents with a demographic profile delivered from a Marketing firm to the client about a year and a half previously. Several differences were noted between the current demographics and demographics delivered by the Marketing firm. The results were helpful not only to the client, but also to the client's Marketing department.
After delivering a report on Priority 1, I began on Priority 2. To understand the needs of users and to construct a brand personality, I wrote a long form survey and sent it to the clients most loyal customers. 140 text-rich responses were returned. Customers were frank about the jobs they were trying to accomplish through using the service and pains they experienced in their lives that caused the need for the service (as well as pains experienced while using the service). The respondents shared what they hoped to gain from the service. Customer needs became clear and a brand personality emerged.
Results
Immediately after the brand personality was identified, an understanding was gained about a poorly performing page on the website that did not reflect the brand personality. The page was taken down.
The demographic survey showed several key differences from the previous demographic profile: Customers were:
Customer interviews indicated that although participants had a favorable view of the service and a good experience with the company, messaging on the ad and the perception of the logo was not highly favorable among all user types.
Triangulating findings from the interviews, the new demographic profile, and the long-form survey resulted in solid answers to the inquiry focus and much more. Conversations resulting from Priority 1 and 2 research answered Priority 3 and 4 research questions without the need to conduct additional formal research.
Extra bonus: The clients gained words that customers used to describe the brand and the Development team and Executives were made aware of issues with the service on mobile.
Lessons Learned
This work was highly collaborative and required cross-departmental meetings with Marketing, User Experience, and Development. Without the investment of others in this research study, the effectiveness and speed of delivery would have been reduced.
I also wrote and published a demographic survey to construct an accurate picture of the client’s most loyal customers. I compared demographic responses from 53 respondents with a demographic profile delivered from a Marketing firm to the client about a year and a half previously. Several differences were noted between the current demographics and demographics delivered by the Marketing firm. The results were helpful not only to the client, but also to the client's Marketing department.
After delivering a report on Priority 1, I began on Priority 2. To understand the needs of users and to construct a brand personality, I wrote a long form survey and sent it to the clients most loyal customers. 140 text-rich responses were returned. Customers were frank about the jobs they were trying to accomplish through using the service and pains they experienced in their lives that caused the need for the service (as well as pains experienced while using the service). The respondents shared what they hoped to gain from the service. Customer needs became clear and a brand personality emerged.
Results
Immediately after the brand personality was identified, an understanding was gained about a poorly performing page on the website that did not reflect the brand personality. The page was taken down.
The demographic survey showed several key differences from the previous demographic profile: Customers were:
- More Male
- More educated
- Higher income
- More likely to be suburban or urban than rural
- More likely to be employed
Customer interviews indicated that although participants had a favorable view of the service and a good experience with the company, messaging on the ad and the perception of the logo was not highly favorable among all user types.
Triangulating findings from the interviews, the new demographic profile, and the long-form survey resulted in solid answers to the inquiry focus and much more. Conversations resulting from Priority 1 and 2 research answered Priority 3 and 4 research questions without the need to conduct additional formal research.
Extra bonus: The clients gained words that customers used to describe the brand and the Development team and Executives were made aware of issues with the service on mobile.
Lessons Learned
This work was highly collaborative and required cross-departmental meetings with Marketing, User Experience, and Development. Without the investment of others in this research study, the effectiveness and speed of delivery would have been reduced.
