Edison Seattle takes a multi-pronged approach to our research, incorporating a variety of primary and secondary research methodologies that will support, complement, and validate each other.
Our team designs a research project based on what you want to find out about (the research target), the best method of achieving well-formed and accurate results (the research methodology), and the most appropriate vehicle for delivering those results (the research report).
Our goal is to provide you with knowledge and data that empowers you to make substantiated decisions, to validate your value proposition, to counter competitive claims, and to optimize your go-to-market strategies.
The research targets, methodologies, and reports our team of experts covers are listed below. Please contact us when you have questions about aspects of our research, or you're curious how a customized research project might help you address some challenges you're facing.
Market Landscape
• Technology Overview
• Competitive Overview
• Customer Overview
• Financial Analysis
• Future Outlook
Products and Solutions
(Yours and/or your competitors)
• Features and Functionality--What does it have and what can it do
• Performance and Manageability--How fast does it go and how well does it work
• Pricing and Total Cost of Ownership--How much does it cost to buy and to own
• Strengths and Weaknesses--What are the best and worst things about it
• Product Roadmap--What features to be added, what functionality to be improved
Competitors
• Company Background
• Products and Solutions
• Financial Health
• Sales and Marketing Program
• Company's Strengths and Weaknesses
• How to Win Against Them
Customers
• Customer Needs Analysis--What do customers want in a product or solution
• Win/Loss Analysis--Why did a customer decide to buy or not to buy
• Customer Buyer's and/or Out-of-Box Experience--How was the customer's experience buying, receiving, installing, and configuring the product or solution
• Customer Case Study--What problems had the customer faced, what did they choose as a solution and why, and what was the end result
Partners and Partner Programs
• Partner Needs Analysis--What do partners want or expect from vendors to help them sell more products
• Partner Program Comparison--How does partner program compare to competitor's partner program
Hands-on Product Work
• Features and Functionality Comparison
• Out-of-Box Experience
• Performance Benchmark Testing
• Manageability Testing
Person-to-Person
• Surveys
• Telephone interviews
• Focus Groups
Publically Available Information
• Product Specifications and Documentation
• Technology Reviews
• Vendor Web Sites
• Trade Press Resources
• Online Trials and/or Demos
• Press releases, 10K & 10Q filings, annual reports, and financial statements
Online Community Research
• Blogs
• Online forums
• LinkedIn Groups
• Social networks
Research results for all of the above research targets and methodologies will be provided after the research has been completed, the results validated and analyzed, and the data and content developed into a research report. The type of and format for the report will depend on the results being reported, whether tables of test data, survey forms and interview transcripts, a matrix for competitive comparisons, or more descriptive content within a report document.