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Learn more about FGI Research’s solution—a comprehensive awareness and usage study and discover the helpful take-aways and tips around branding and segmentation that you can use for your own company, no matter the industry.

Finding New Customers, Purchase Drivers

FGI Research, a leading full-service market research firm headquartered in Chapel Hill, was named one of the best places to work in North Carolina’s famed Research Triangle area.

“Of the dozens of awards we’ve won over the years, the ‘Best Places to Work’ award is very, very special,” says David Wilson, CEO of FGI Research. “Over the years, our attention to the ‘whole employee’ has created a culture where employees want to go out of their way to help their colleagues. Ultimately, this leads to happier employees and home lives, better teamwork and productivity, and more satisfied customers.”

In order to be recognized as one of the Triangle’s best places to work, a company must receive high marks in a satisfaction survey of its employees and have innovative approaches to human resources.

“Lasting success is only possible when you consistently have very high customer loyalty,” says Wilson. “And, high customer loyalty is only possible when you have great employees who feel supported, appreciated, and engaged with their company, colleagues, and customers.”

According to Jennie King of the Salt River Project (one of Arizona’s largest electric utilities), it’s the people at FGI Research that make all the difference. “Let’s face it, I have a lot of choices when it comes to market research vendors, and plenty of companies can crunch the numbers,” says King. “I choose to work with FGI Research because their people consistently create a great customer experience for us.”

In addition to its strong focus on customer and employee loyalty, FGI Research provides tremendous support to leading North Carolina non-profits, including: Alliance Medical Ministry, the United Way, and Band Together. FGI Research’s commitment to supporting local non-profits is consistent with its culture of 1) Caring for Colleagues, 2) Caring for Clients, and 3) Caring for Communities.

About FGI Research

FGI Research, Inc. is a leading provider of market research services to top companies around the world. Offerings include custom market research, custom online panels, online communities, social media mining, and research-driven consulting. FGI is currently celebrating 30 years of business as well as its recognition as one of the Best Places to Work in 2011. North Carolina clients include Lowes Home Improvement, Family Dollar, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Triangle United Way, and Becton Dickinson. FGI’s mission is to help our clients stay ahead of their competition by staying connected to their customers.

Contact us with any questions you might have:

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However, the client couldn’t expand market share without capturing more Non-Users who perceived the brand as “the product for the professional” and at a level of quality not suited for home use.

Our client realized that they needed to understand this market better to develop a complete inventory of marketing tools, including:

• New product features
• Distribution
• Sales messages
• Pricing

CHALLENGE—Understanding the Nuances of Non-Users
In our discussion with the client it became clear that there was a real need to understand Non-Users better, especially how to market to them. This lack of familiarity with Non-Users made it hard to define a tight, crisp research study.

It was clear to the client that Non-Users shopped differently than Users. Non-Users went through different sales channels and made purchase decisions based upon different expectations. The challenge was to set up research that could color in the gray areas between a User and a Non-User.

FGI SOLUTION—Start with a Social Media Scan
Although the heart of the market research program would be a study of attitudes and usage as well as a segmentation study, a scan of social sites on the Internet was an essential first step in understanding the vernacular of the Non-Users and what influenced their purchase choices.  This was a fast and affordable method of getting deep and wide input from the marketplace.

The Social Media Scan that FGI conducted covered the following:

• The brand
• The product category
• The category users

It zeroed in on many of the comments from category users that described the brands considered for purchase and the attractive features.  A number of positive and negative comments found about our clients’ brand greatly helped design specific survey questions and response lists.

The Social Media Scan findings were also instrumental in designing the segmentation study that FGI conducted to pinpoint a defined group of category buyers and their purchase drivers.  Most importantly, it spotlighted potential barriers to buying the client’s brand with more specificity than would have been possible without the scan.

This segmentation of social media is guiding the development of marketing tactics and messages and is providing new targets and opportunities.

Providers will face new competitors, business models and customer demands; they will also enjoy new opportunities to grow and expand.

FGI Research just completed a study that was fielded in June and July, which was aimed at the emerging needs and preferences of health insurance consumers. We’re excited to post three preliminary insights and implications from our research.

1. Insight: 40% of consumers might buy direct. As new options become available, 40% of employees would like to buy their insurance directly from a Payer instead of through their employer’s health plan.

Implication: The market for individual plans will increase substantially and include many consumers who have never had to research and choose among health insurers.  Payers must increase their understanding of this “buy direct” segment and begin to formulate offerings and experiences that will earn their loyalty.

1. Insight: 50% of consumers will research their options and 50% will consider switching. As the details of health care reform roll out, over half of respondents said they will actively research their best options (as opposed to relying on the company’s HR and benefits directors). Furthermore, 50% of employees would also consider switching insurance providers.

Implication: Insurance providers must strengthen their brands and relationships with consumers (don’t assume the employer groups have you covered). This strategic imperative has far reaching implications for products, services, messaging and more. The bottom line: get your brand right now!

1. Insight: 20% of consumers might buy insurance from major retailers. 20% of consumers are very likely to consider getting their insurance from mass merchandisers, grocery stores, clubs (Sam’s, etc.) and/or drug stores.

Implication: Competition for the consumer is set to explode. If major retailers enter the insurance market…and more consumers buy direct…today’s insurance providers must build the product development and marketing chops to compete for every consumer.

As a leading provider of market research solutions to the health insurance industry, FGI Research will continue to share our latest research with you. Bookmark this page and come back soon for more updates in Q3 and Q4 of 2011. If you would like to discuss these findings (and additional details from our research), please contact:

Andy Smith
asmith@fgiresearch.com
FGI Research
Business Development Leader
Health Care Insurance Practice