Background
StrataGen Systems is a leading provider of mobile data solutions for fleet and mobile workforce management. StrataGen is located in North America (Canada) with high profile customers located throughout the United States.
The StrataGen website had a two main objectives and it was assumed that all website users fall into one of these:
1. Customers who may already be using the company’s systems, software and hardware but are seeking more product information & customer support.
2. Potential customers looking for products and services offered by the company.
Visitors to the website may have been referred by existing customers or have stumbled across the website while searching for a potential service provider.
Research objectives
Additional View were engaged to investigate how effective the website was servicing existing customers and how it could meet the following objectives:
- To be an effective and efficient marketing and sales touch point for potential customers looking for products and services.
- Provide an accessible and usable website which focuses on achieving the companies sales and marketing objectives.
- Provide support information 24 hours a day 7 days a week to assist in customer support inquiries.
- Provide an online customer support services by delivering direct online support functions.
What we did for StrataGen Systems
Additional View worked with StrataGen to identify suitable customers to take part in an online user experience online focus group. Once the participants were identified Additional View managed the client through the recruitment process, which involved a unique method of email screening, customer recruitment and phone contact.
While the respondents were being confirmed we developed the online discussion plan which included both qualitative and quantative questions. The discussion plan was promptly delivered to the StrataGen systems marketing executive for approval. The discussion, plan once signed off by the client, was loaded into the Additional View software.
Participants for the group were located in several time zones which meant that from Australia we coordinated everyone so the study was conducted in US and North America business hours. The client remained in Canada and the AdditionalView moderator at the time was located in a Melbourne hotel room in Australia.
The study required each of participant to log into the virtual online focus group room. Typically an online user experience focus group will consist of eight participants. This is the optimal size to achieve a quality discussion and meaningful user experience data. The study was conducted over an 80 minute period, while the client provided feedback during the discussion.
The Research included general discussion questions which you would find in traditional focus groups, however, the Additional View online focus group tool also allows us to assign a number of tasks to each of the respondents.
The respondents were asked to go to the StrataGen website and complete a number of tasks, such as find particular information. After the tasks were completed the moderator asked each respondent to complete a number of questions to measure the user experience satisfaction level. We also measured the time it took for each individual to complete the usability task and under what circumstances they were unable to complete. The online focus group study also included a number of typical quantitative research questions delivered to participants during the live group discussion.
The results
Once the user experience online focus group study was concluded, the respondents logged out of the virtual environment and Additional View went about compiling the results. The verbatim and quantitative data was available and accessible online within a few hours with the results presented based on the group timeline and discussion plan.
Additional View were able to discuss the results with the client and the client was in a position to begin making immediate improvements to the website and online strategy.
The qualitative and quantitative data gained from this study could only have been achieved by the client if they had brought all customers into a central location which would have incurred transit, accommodation and subsequent carbon costs.
With the data the client was able to:
- Identify key website areas which required immediate attention
- Test and validate proposed online strategy
- Discover the online do’s and don’t when it comes to the existing customer service
- Discover new customer needs which could be incorporated into customer management strategy
- Develop a set of website marketing benchmarks based on a qualitative and quantative data
