Project examples
Examples detailed are longer term, in-depth strategic research projects. These are fully scoped, and delivered to agreed budget and timescale – from 5 to 25 days.
The end result is typically a written report and/or Powerpoint presentation, and in many cases, we would present the results to the client or take part in a client discussion.
Table showing Research-Matters case studies
| Client |
Business need |
Research method |
What we did |
Professional service organisation |
Develop new and distinctive thought leadership |
- Academic and business literature review
- Competitor analysis
|
- Scan academic and business literature
- Build a bibliography, including short descriptions, thematic groupings and relevance ranking
- Develop supporting pack of key articles with synthesis of key themes and leading thinkers
- Identify and compare activities of relevant commercial players in this area
|
Division of large corporation |
Develop pricing strategy and assess competitive position |
- Pricing survey
- Competitor analysis
- Market analysis
|
- Survey of pricing, based on sample of products from ~20 competitors, leading to review of pricing strategies
- Review of competitors, focusing on product range, positioning, pricing, channels, indicators of success and strategies
- Review of main technological developments impacting the segment, including threat of substitutes
- Background market data and context
|
Small business |
Assess market interest in new product and test growth assumptions |
- Small-scale surveys
- Expert interviews
- Competitor analysis
|
- Identify potential market for new product based on clients initial view
- Conduct interviews with potential customers to test interest and gather views on the market
- Identify and compare similar competitor offerings
- Identify other barriers to entry
|
Division of large corporation |
Identify target segments for business development |
- Sector scan
- Sector analysis
- Expert interviews
|
- Initial broad scoping exercise to assess most relevant business segments of UK economy
- Analysis of most relevant sectors, with particular focus on market potential and barriers to entry
- Interviews with sector experts
|
Public sector organisation |
Develop product for international market growth |
- Competitor analysis
- Demand analysis
- Literature review
|
- Review of competitive landscape, including benchmarking competitors, SWOT analysis and market overview
- Examine context and demand in specific geographic markets
- Overview of international level trends impacting the market
- Align external market view with internal perspectives
|
Strategy consultancy (working for public sector organisation) |
Develop strategic response to changes in Government policy |
- Policy review
- Best practice review
|
- Highlight relevant changes and implications of new Government policy
- Identify examples of current best practice by other players and stakeholders in the market
- Review policy materials to inform strategy development along six key dimensions
|
Public sector organisation |
Evaluate policy and market impact of newly emerging approach |
- Academic literature review
- Policy review
- Competitor analysis
|
- Summarise theory and thinking informing debate
- Examine position of main stakeholders
- Identify early commercial activities in terms of demand and supply
- Produce case studies on most developed areas
- Overall assessment of importance of new theory and outline how it is beginning to shape the market
|
