Client Success: Qualitative Focus Group Research
Client: A large software company
Problem: The client firm develops and sells a number of different
server software products including database and email servers.
Each server product is made available in two primary SKUs---SKU 1
being lower-end, with fewer features and lower pricing, and SKU2
being a higher-end, more richly featured and more expensive SKU.
Sales of the higher-end SKU2 comprised only a small percentage of
overall product sales for each server line. The client’s business
goal was to try and shift the SKU sales mix to include more of the
higher-end SKUs, but was unclear about the right steps to achieve
this mix shift
Approach: To properly define and enable the correct actions to affect
a SKU mix shift, it was paramount to first understand the underlying
customer rationale for why purchases of the higher-end SKU 2 were
so low. Focus group research in multiple cities across the country
was conducted to uncover the underlying customer SKU selection
rationale, understand the SKU purchase process dynamics and
drivers, and discover and assess purchase blocking issues
preventing the mix shift to the higher end SKU
Results: An analysis of the research results was performed, and
strategic recommendations were developed providing guidance to
enable the desired mix shift. Recommendations included refocusing
marketing tactics to new channels, modifying positioning points,
providing more clear SKU selection guidance to customers, and
implementing product pricing/licensing changes