Types of Research Studies

While much of marketing research industry tries to fit you neatly into a small number of preconceived categories, The Olinger Group seeks to help client’s answer their business questions, resolve challenges, and anticipate and exploit opportunities rather than offering stale or tired research methods for yesterday’s business needs.  No matter what your needs, The Olinger Group will get you the information and interpretation that makes it possible for you to “Get Smart” and stay ahead of the competition.

We offer an array of services for all different types of businesses.  Our solutions are customized to each individual client.  The following services can be adapted to reflect the situation of your business.  Primary research does not change based on the vertical industry or the target population.  The below services can be applied for b2b or b2c relationships.  Additionally, the services are not necessarily independent of each other.  Many services can be combined to create a more “whole” research approach.

Satisfaction
Studies

Satisfaction studies aim to measure the levels of satisfaction, the relationship of satisfaction to perceived importance, and drivers of satisfaction.  This research is applied to many different settings and is invaluable to any organization.  Determining whether your customers, employees, or members are satisfied, and what they are satisfied with, will allow a company or brand to strengthen itself from the core.  Dissatisfaction can be corrected only if it determined and understand by the decision makers.

This may include:

  • Brand Satisfaction
  • Customer Satisfaction
  • Employee Satisfaction
  • Member Satisfaction
  • Patient Satisfaction
  • Problem Detection/Dissatisfaction
  • Product Satisfaction
  • Psychological/Motivational Research
  • Taste Tests
Woman smiling while looking at an iPad
Woman presenting a loyalty card at a store

Loyalty and Retention
Studies:

Loyalty studies measure the link of a customer, employee, or member to the brand/product, company, or association.  Stronger loyalty can mean less turn-over or brand switching, as well as a greater bond to the overall organization.  Companies can discover how a customer, employee, or member feels in relation to the company, as well as the strength of the bond.  Furthermore, factors driving loyalty can be identified and worked on to increase loyalty.

This may include:

  • Brand Loyalty
  • Customer Loyalty
  • Employee Loyalty
  • Member Loyalty
  • Psychological/Motivation Research

Product and Services Optimization
Studies:

This type of research is focused on getting the most bang for your buck.  Connected to satisfaction and loyalty research, optimization studies discover what the best-case scenario is for a business.  This can be applied to brands or products, where optimization discovers which features consumers are most satisfied with, and which they find most important.  Additionally, encouraging the drivers of loyalty, a brand will increase the connection between itself and the consumer.  In a final step, pricing could be optimized to find the best price consumers are willing to pay for a particular set of features.

  • Brand Equity
  • Price Optimization

Pricing and Price Sensitivity:

How much does your market expect to pay and how much will your market bear are distinct questions and part of the “optimization” problem confronting every seller.  Few products or services are so concrete that pricing is a simple interval estimation.  Price sensitivity identifies the changing nature of both offering price and selling price in the context of the trade offs buyers must make in a marketplace of multiple and complex offerings.  Pricing and price sensitivity research puts you inside the heads of your customers before you and they even enter the marketplace.  Making the right offering at the right price means you can anticipate sales, minimize risk, and maximize profit.

Content Analysis Research:

Research can be done to test the content, optimize the content, test the effectiveness, AIU.  We can do any form of content (online, website, copy, advertising, print, etc.).

Woman in a shop holding a ceramic bowl
customer service representatives high fiving

Attitude, Image, and Usage
Studies:

This research allows a company to see their business from the eye of the consumer or buyer.  It is in a way testing the effectiveness of a company, brand, advertising campaign, etc.  By determining users’ attitude toward the company/brand, the way they perceive the company/brand (image), and how/how frequently they use the company/brand, we can uncover motivations and drivers of usage.  It is a very valuable type of research for any business…

This may include:

  • Advertising Effectiveness
  • Brand Identity
  • Concept Testing?
  • Corporate Image/Identity Research
  • Benchmark Studies
  • Branding/Identity Testing
  • Hospital AIU

Modeling and Predictive Research

This research is used to predict attentiveness, actual consumption, satisfaction, and forecast trends.  Using modeling/simulation techniques, optimization research can be designed to uncover the right product, price, or concept.

This may include:

Business people looking at graphs and charts on ipads

Tracking Studies:

Tracking studies are a very important type of research.  They allow a company to see how it changes over time.  Whether this is how its product changes, or its customers, or how loyalty and satisfaction are developed over time.

  • This may include:
  • Advertising Effectiveness
  • Awareness Studies
  • Benchmark
  • Satisfaction/Loyalty Studies

Market Segmentation/Positioning:

This research allows a company to uncover where it falls in the market, as well as where it ranks among competitors.  It is valuable because it allows the company to properly target itself to the best/most receptive audience, as well as gain understanding and leverage of how to react to its competitors.

This may include:

  • Brand Positioning
  • Branding/Identity Testing
  • Concept Positioning
Two men looking at documents regarding the market segments in their field
group of employees sitting around a conference table generating ideas

Idea Generation:

This type of research helps identify potential concepts and develop them.  We can help brainstorm topics and ideas for a new product, brand, concept, or we can test and develop newly created/designed ideas.

This may include:

  • Name Development
  • New Concept Testing
  • New Facility Testing
  • New Product Testing
  • New Venture Analysis
  • Package Development
  • Promotion Development

Quality of Life
Studies:

This type of research is frequently used in conjunction with disease management and healthcare services.  We have extensive experience in measuring quality of life for different companies.  This type of research tends to use a standardized questionnaire that can be compared to national averages or can be tracked over time

older gentleman doing a pushup

Why Research?

Customers

Much has been written touting the relative merits of value, satisfaction, loyalty, approval, support, meeting, or exceeding expectations, or having net promoters.  Not one of these tools meets everyone’s business needs but every organization wants to make their end users feel good and better than before. The Olinger Group examines the value proposition of each of its clients from the perspective of the provider and the end users, and then identifies and deploys the most appropriate means of measuring end user responsiveness.  This can then be tracked in time or modeled to understand why end users are not all responding the same way to its offerings.

Patients

Patient feedback on services and service gaps (opportunities) are key for any healthcare business or organization.  What can experience sharing from patients with challenging conditions (cancer, sickle cell, diabetes, etc.) do to shape support for other patients with similar circumstances?  They could provide insights that frame communications, offerings, and services that are not only sound, needed, but impactful.  That is the power of research and insights with patients.  We have experienced this first-hand with almost 30 years of studies in healthcare with patients, including those in need of condition management support, those seeking out health and wellness products, patients on Medicare or Medicaid, and patients sharing their prescription drug behavior (adherence, etc.).

Physicians

We have experience working with physicians to get the best response rate possible.  Through experience, we know how to best target physicians, and how to get them to respond.  Physicians are key for any organization in the healthcare field.  They are decision makers and links to the patient for disease management, insurance companies, specialty pharmacies, and other health care organizations.  By reaching physicians, an organization can better understand the physicians’ and patients’ satisfaction, loyalty, and awareness, image, and usage of the organization.  They play a vital role in the organization’s role to the patient, and therefore, should be surveyed and understood to best reach the target markets.