Beacon's experts will create a targeted study according to the questions that you want answered. The sections below include examples of questions asked by our clients and the insights we provided to help them make sound business decisions.
What is your brand position in your target markets, compared to those held by your competitors?
| CLIENT NEED |
Assessment of current market position. |
| BACKGROUND |
A data storage solution supplier planned to invest in a major marketing and promotion campaign. So that the campaign would be correctly focused, Beacon was asked to review the supplier's current position in the market. |
| BEACON'S RESEARCH |
Beacon Technology Partners carried out a survey of senior North American IT managers from organizations with specialized storage requirements. Click on correspondence analysis and leverage analysis for information on the research tools that we used. Our business partner in this research was ReRez. |
| HOW WE HELPED |
Beacon's findings showed surprising areas of strength, of which the company was unaware. However, the analysis also showed elements of the company's value proposition that were "owned" by competitors or found to be less persuasive than previously thought. As a result, the company altered its "go to market" messaging. |
| CLIENT NEED |
To find out if its global market position had fallen. |
| BACKGROUND |
A prominent microprocessor vendor thought that its position in the market had eroded. Its own measurements, done internally, had not adequately revealed competitive threats and therefore Beacon was asked to review the company's current global status. |
| BEACON'S RESEARCH |
Survey of design engineers and engineering managers in North America, Europe and China who work with embedded MPUs for their system level designs. Beacon redesigned the company's internal survey, giving continuity and trackability to several key metrics, but adding new metrics and features that would enable more robust statistical modelling. Click on correspondence analysis and leverage analysis for information on the research tools that we used. |
| HOW WE HELPED |
Beacon's findings showed that some of the company's concerns were premature. The MPU vendor's position was found to be strong and its flagship products had momentum for future growth. There were, however, troubling signs of weakness, including lagging awareness of sub-brands and product lines, concerns about the hardware design tool ecosystem, and areas where future design consideration could be boosted even further. The company used the results of this analysis to refocus its marketing efforts. |
Has your market position changed since last year?
| CLIENT NEED |
To confirm that marketing had improved its market position. |
| BACKGROUND |
During the previous few years, a large semiconductor manufacturer had made various on/off marketing efforts in North America, Europe and Asia. The new marketing team felt strongly that the company's marketing efforts had been somewhat effective, but needed to become far more substantial and consistent. Beacon was asked to provide proof to sceptical senior management that the previous marketing efforts had had some effect. |
| BEACON'S RESEARCH |
Survey of design engineers and engineering managers in North America, China and Germany. A Beacon survey design previously done for the same client was adapted for this new purpose. We used the following data analysis tools: leverage analysis, correspondence analysis, factor analysis, decision trees, "share of voice" analysis. |
| HOW WE HELPED |
Beacon's research showed that over a four year period this company's share of total reach had increased in all regions and that the manufacturer had become more widely and deeply known in its target application niches. Management was then willing to fund new marketing programs to spur further growth. |
| CLIENT NEED |
To find out if its market position had been eroded as a result of its main competitor's marketing. |
| BACKGROUND |
A Beacon semiconductor client was being outspent 4-to-1 by a larger and more entrenched competitor. Beacon was asked to help the company understand how to market itself and its strengths more effectively, enabling it to increase its share of the total market. |
| BEACON'S RESEARCH |
Survey of design engineers and engineering or corporate managers in North America and Western Europe. The study was conducted in two phases approximately 18 to 24 months apart. In phase one, Beacon identified areas of strengths and weaknesses of each competitor. In phase two, Beacon documented the effectiveness of the marketing and messaging efforts. We used the following data analysis tools: correspondence analysis, odds ratio, factor analysis, share of voice analysis, leverage analysis. |
| HOW WE HELPED |
Beacon's research showed areas where the far larger competitor might be vulnerable to attacks from a more nimble competitor by, for example, highlighting "innovation" rather than "technology leadership." Beacon's follow-up research confirmed the effectiveness of the company's intense marketing investments. The market's awareness of and preference for the supplier's products had definitely increased, and the company's reputation across a variety of dimensions was at an all-time high. |
| CLIENT NEED |
To assess its marketing effectiveness and identify market trends. |
| BACKGROUND |
A semiconductor IP vendor needed proof of the effectiveness of its external sales and marketing efforts and wanted to highlight industry trends that would impact the sourcing of 3rd-party semiconductor IP. Beacon was asked to provide statistical proof of marketing effectiveness and to also identify changes in industry trends. |
| BEACON'S RESEARCH |
Over a period of time, Beacon conducted several waves of research to show how the firm's marketing efforts had shaped the views of engineers who wanted to adopt the firm's technology in North America, Taiwan, Korea and China. Translation services were provided by one of Beacon's trusted business partners. |
| HOW WE HELPED |
Beacon's research showed that this company's brand footprint had significantly increased and that the brand had become more widely and deeply known in all targeted regions. The studies also revealed how consideration of semiconductor IP cores had changed over time. The firm was then able to alter its marketing message accordingly to be more in line with marketplace expectations. |
How does your brand identity need to change?
| CLIENT NEED |
To find out whether a brand image re-focus was needed – and, if so, in what way. |
| BACKGROUND |
An established component supplier with a long-standing reputation for competitive pricing and customer support realized that it needed to change its commodity image to one of technology prowess and leadership. Beacon was asked to assess the company's current position in the market and suggest ways of presenting this change in its marketing materials. |
| BEACON'S RESEARCH |
Beacon first conducted a global quantitative study, utilizing multivariate models to show how closely aligned the company was identified with the innovator category, including focusing on certain application and solutions areas. We then employed in-person focus groups in, for example, North America, Germany and Shanghai, to examine new methods for messaging which would move the company toward the innovator label. Our business partners FocusVision and MM-EYE supplied webstreaming and simultaneous translations for our in-person focus group sessions. We used the following data analysis tools: share of voice analysis, leverage analysis, factor analysis, correspondence analysis. |
| HOW WE HELPED |
Beacon's research over several years helped the company see how it could gradually but effectively migrate away from a market perception of being a supplier of inexpensive "me too" commodity components toward a position which showed greater allegiance to technical innovation and relevance. |
| CLIENT NEED |
To find out how its brand image could be refined without abandoning a successful past. |
| BACKGROUND |
An IT services firm was strongly identified with a service category that it had invented a decade or more previously. The category had been effective and successful but was now in long-term decline. The company therefore needed to become identified with categories with long-term growth potential. Beacon was asked to help the company provide answers to a key question: How to credibly reposition the company and its reputation without appearing to abandon the category it itself had created? |
| BEACON'S RESEARCH |
Beacon conducted in-person and virtual focus groups, followed by two phases of quantitative analysis with IT and business executives and managers involved in business continuity and data protection issues and concerns. The research and analysis tools we used were in-person focus groups using FocusVision's webstreaming platform, and correspondence analysis. |
| HOW WE HELPED |
The quantitative study showed that over time the company was becoming less identified with the original product niche and more identified with emerging categories with which the company had invested heavily. Results from the focus groups gave clear insights into how best to message this transition. |
What are your competitor's weak points and how can you use them to gain advantage?
| CLIENT NEED |
How to differentiate itself from a competitor. |
| BACKGROUND |
To expand its business and increase its market share, a semiconductor components vendor needed to know how to compete with a far larger rival. |
| BEACON'S RESEARCH |
To gain clearer insights into the personas of the two brands, Beacon conducted extensive qualitative research using a variety of projective techniques in multiple in-person focus groups with North American engineers. Our follow-up research with engineers probed the strengths and weaknesses of our client and its competitor. We used qualitative research and quantitative research methods, in-person focus groups, leverage analysis, correspondence analysis. |
| HOW WE HELPED |
Beacon's in-person focus group unfolded multiple ways in which our client could differentiate its business from that of the competitor. The focus group provided in-depth descriptions of the types of engineers that used each company, as well as terms and phrases that were far more strongly associated with Beacon's client than the competitor. The follow-up quantitative analysis revealed areas of competitive advantage that could be exploited to garner gains in market share over the competitor. BTP's research also pointed to several areas of the client company's marketing communications which were either (1) already clearly identified with them or (2) identified with the competitor, but which Beacon's client could artfully exploit. |