We handle many different kinds of studies, but our mission is always the same - help clients solve business problems. Here are some examples of how we've made a difference through effective research.
Consumers build their own plan - a configurator in action
A major health insurance carrier partnered with TRC to redesign its Medicare Advantage plans. With Medicare Advantage plans, carriers have considerable flexibility to differentiate themselves through additional benefits and options. Our client wanted to identify the most appealing benefits, and the trade-offs consumers make when considering specific levels of these benefits, and to profile consumers interested in specific features and levels so that the client could customize marketing materials.
Through the use of a product configurator exercise, consumers were able to build-their-own Medicare Advantage plan and see the actual cost impact each level had on the overall premium.
The attitudes, preferences, and buying behaviors of clinicians and hospital purchasing decision-makers vary greatly around the world. To successfully bring new medical devices to market you've got to understand how these differences influence perceived needs and feature preferences.
Our market research company helped Covidien navigate these waters - and tailor its products and pricing to the realities of a global marketplace - with discrete-choice "optimization" studies among key stakeholder groups in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, including often difficult to reach China clinicians.
Legal eagles provide compelling case study material
Our client - a firm serving the needs of the legal community - partnered with us to study customer preferences for a variety of potential online products offerings.
Using discrete choice we helped them identify ideal pricing and optimal product bundles, by key segments. More importantly, our results helped the client develop a cohesive sales strategy in the online space, and provided them with the insight that growth would come more from incremental pricing and less from portfolio expansion.
Determining Options that Generate the Most Memberships
A client who traditionally offered a single membership type, with set benefits at a flat fee, was interested in learning whether expanding its membership offering would boost membership. The client designed several membership offerings to test out, each with a lengthy list of features and benefits.
The research project was designed to asnwer two key questions. Which features should the client promote to generate interest in a given membership offering? Which membership offerings would garner the most membership interest - and at what price points?
U.S. Cellular wanted to improve its mix of handsets, and sought customer feedback to guide its decisions. TRC was there to help - designing and executing phone-based research among current and potential customers. We used a self-explicated method to determine the overall importance of price, brand, form factor, and other dimensions to the phone selection process.
Determining the best combinations of Medicare Supplement plans and benefits
In preparation for the new set of standards for Medicare Supplement plans starting in 2010, a major national health insurance carrier wanted to identify the best combination of plans, ideal price points, and most preferred innovative benefits to offer to reach the greatest number of potential subscribers while limiting their total number of offerings.
Tying Radisson's satisfaction data to positive financial outcomes
There is growing evidence in the research community that a linkage exists between customer satisfaction and a brand's financial performance. And TRC has been actively helping clients identify these critical relationships.
For the past nine years we have helped Zurich Insurance track and manage customers' satisfaction with its commercial lines claim service, including worker's compensation, general liability, property, and commercial auto claims.
The event will highlight new and interesting developments in choice techniques, text mining, and "Research 2.0". To learn more and register, click here.
TRC's White Paper Library offers, among others, various choice-related articles.
"I am nearing completion of a highly analytical project with TRC. This project is extremely important to our company and visible at its highest levels. The deliverable has exceeded our expectations and contributes significantly to our ability to drive revenue. I will look forward to doing so again in the future."
Kevin Hanstad, Carlson Hotels Worldwide
"The team at TRC has worked well for me on several research engagements at Comcast. I appreciate that they hold in a workable balance the trade-offs between stakeholder expectations and practicality of implementation. It certainly doesn't hurt that they are an affable, cordial bunch of professionals."
Gregory Kohs, Director, Market Research, Comcast
"You guys nailed it! I made only a few minor tweaks and put this in front of my director and our market manager. Exactly what they were looking for! THANKS SO MUCH! You made my day much easier today by getting this 99.something percent there."
One of our Insurance Clients
YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!!!! Please send my thanks along to Janice and especially to Wes. This will make my weekend a lot smoother for sure!!!"
Judy Davis, PECO
"The Yale Center for Consumer Insights has collaborated with TRC on several occasions. I have found the folks at TRC to be very responsive to our needs and just great people to work with. The Center is very appreciative of the real world perspective this marketing research company brings to the partnership."
Ravi Dhar, professor at Yale School of Management
"Hi guys, I've presented the MA configurator results to several functions within the Senior [dept] today. Everyone is so excited and they are definitely being used to guide our future product and marketing strategies. Thanks"
Marketing Research Manager at Major Health Insurance Company
