Range of services from  Words & Numbers Research, Inc. 

1. Conduct in-depth interviews by phone or in person.
2. Moderate / lead focus group discussion.
3. Compile all qualitative data from the focus groups or in-depth interviews
4. Interpret themes from the data.
5. Write a user-friendly report that is full of verbatim comments.
6. Make actionable recommendations for client’s immediate use and application.
7. Present the findings to the client and answer any and all questions.

A SAMPLE REPORT-  an example of in-depth interview research

WESTFORD INTERNATIONAL:

Northland-The Supplier

Westford International- Northland’s Customer

RECO -Northland’s Competitor

Recently, a decision was made by Northland’s customer, Westford International to select a competitive product - RECO. A market research study was undertaken to explore the vital issue of "Why?" The purpose of this case study was to learn as much as possible from this experience. Then, Northland could capture and retain market share in future similar situations.

Tom Dadden, the Director of Sales for Northland, identified the crucial issues that needed to be addressed in the research. Each was discussed with Dr. Susan Carroll, the president of Words & Numbers Research, Inc. Also, the names of four key individuals, who were involved in the Westford International decision, were provided. From an Interview Guide, developed by Dr. Carroll, the four in-depth interviews were conducted by phone during 1996. Because each individual was interviewed separately, four discrete data points were established. The four interviews produced corroborative data, which lend to the validity of the findings.

All of the respondents, who graciously agreed to be interviewed, were assured that their comments would be treated with the utmost confidentiality. Therefore, the results will be presented anonymously.

Northland is perceived in the industry as a very fine company with an excellent reputation. It has a long history of being technologically advanced and catering specifically to the widget market. The brand name is well respected.

According to respondents, the widget division is in a class by itself with no competitive product coming close to this product in terms of quality. The other three divisions are also strong, although it was acknowledged that products have some negative perceptions about their workability.

Perceptions about RECO

RECO is seen as a long-term player in the industry - "one of the first out of the gate." They have experience and are well known by the end users. RECO is described as providing good service and technical assistance. They have spare parts when you need them. RECO "bends over backwards for you."

The offering of a complete package versus the ability to buy component parts was not desirable at Westford International. This was primarily due to the perception that all Northland components in the package are not equal - quality wise. Some are outstanding and some are not. The inability to "pick and choose" -being forced into a total package- was a disincentive to go with Northland. Looking at each piece of equipment and evaluating / assessing it individually, was preferable.

Additionally, Northland’s product had some image problems that influenced thinking. The product was described as having a rough history with negative perceptions that evidently linger. These problems created an underlying worry about choosing this product. If once installed, would problems arise? If they did, would the decision be questioned given the fact that the product was known to have a history of problems.

Conversely, the RECO product was characterized as premier. It was considered to have the technological edge. Its design was distinctive and cleaner. The organization of the cabinets of components was liked. The output portion was seen as "compact." It just looked like it might be maintenance free, trouble free.

The product has a power factor that is diametrically opposed to Northland’s. According to RECO, the lower approach is sufficient, whereas Northland claims that you have to keep it higher. RECO says that you do not need the power to get a good result.

This brings up the concept of " betas". It’s not well understood and was described as "esoteric." The beta issue is pushed as a marketing hook for Northland. This strategy needs to be re-visited. Northland claims a higher beta must be used while RECO says a lower beta is better. The results show that with lower betas, you get better results. The lower betas allow a deeper penetration. If you look at the quality, you can see that " the lower betas makes the finish disappear."

The process that Northland used to submit their quote was confusing and introduced uncertainty. Initially, the Northland quote was very high. As the process for bidding evolved, there was a reduction in price making it more competitive, almost the opposite -very low. This change, however, left the question as to why? What accounted for such variability?

Second, the revisions in quotes caused a time retrogression that delayed decision-making. This was not in the Northland’s best interest and pushed the process back a month.

Third, pricing, when you are spending millions of dollars was not as important as the products the company is investing in. So, whether the product was $300,000 or less did not matter as much as the case for why this is a better investment, design.

This brings up another part of the bidding process that proved problematic. The initial design of the widget was average, not anything out of the ordinary. Northland seemed to come in with one design and then upgraded it to what the customer wanted. The customer was forced to become integral to the re-design, although this was a preferred role. The expectation was that Northland would come in with the best design possible - so that what they were proposing would last forever, reduce maintenance and downtime. It would be designed with overkill, an insurance policy so to speak. Then, the design could be revised downward if necessary. Although Northland was willing to change the design, this likely should have been thought out better in advance so that a variety of widget designs might have been offered from which the customer could choose.

The selling approach for the micro-widget product was described as excellent, even outstanding. For the macro-widget, however, the selling theme seemed to focus on price - matching the lowest price at the end of the game.

Yet, RECO’s selling approach was very simple and down-to-earth. It hammered out the benefits and positives of the unit in language that everyone, not just engineers, could understand. This is vis a vis Northland’s which was highly technical, lapsing into formulas and theory.

Northland needs to consider the audience when making a selling presentation. The operations people need the mechanical and electrical. The financial people want the ROI and cost benefits information. The presentations have to be tailored for target segmentation and benefits that accrue to each.

Another effective selling strategy of RECO’s was encouraging discussion with RECO’s customers. RECO suggested that their customers be approached . One customer said he had both RECO and Northland’s products and just bought four more RECO widgets. While Northland’s was viewed as OK, RECO’s was described by customers as " the miracle product." The optimal selling tools for RECO were the customers, who are listed by RECO as references. There were 8 customers of RECO that were contacted by Northland in the process. "They swore by RECO."