• Consulting on SMB and Mid-Market Trends
A leading software and services company to help its executive and product management team to think about new strategic product and service offerings. Our analysts provided insights into changing industry trends and new product/service areas that offered significant growth opportunities, and worked with them. In addition to these tactical views, we helped them re-formulate their strategies to better align offerings, messaging and go-to-market to the trends in the market.

• Thought Leadership Study
A software vendor focused on very small businesses wanted to stimulate awareness for its expertise and offering in a new solution area. We developed an end-user survey to examine market trends and customer decision drivers and inhibitors in this space, creating papers and Webinars to highlight the findings, validate their understanding of the issues and demonstrate their desire to meet customer needs. Our team also provided an internal use only assessment to help the client better align product functionality and messaging to market requirements and constraints.

• Customer Benefit Study
A major SMB hardware and services vendor wanted to articulate and promote a new managed service solution developed specifically for SMBs. We conducted both qualitative interviews and Web-based surveys with their early adopter customers to uncover drivers pain points, adoption drivers, perceptions, requirements and constraints for this type of solution. We also provided detailed qualitative and quantitative evaluations of how the service filled their needs to provide the client with both marketing assistance and significant new insight into how to improve their offerings.

• TCO/ROI analysis of solutions
A SaaS-based financial solutions company wanted to provide its prospects a comprehensive assessment on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of its solutions compared to a similar on-premise solution. We spoke to several customers of each type of solution to develop a comprehensive framework to illuminate the financial comparison between these two alternatives for SMB business decision makers. Competitive analysis on vendors and channels

• SMB Website Critique
A leading technology company had introduced a new services solution. They wanted the team to evaluate the website from an external SMB prospect view and provide input to make the site more dynamic, compelling and action-oriented. As part of the engagement, the team developed a mock-up of a sample site to provide them with specific recommendations and examples of how to accomplish this.

• Competitive and/or Partner Opportunity SWOT Analysis
A major small business software and service provider wanted to assess emerging players that could potentially jeopardize its market position in its core solution area with disruptive business models. The vendor also wanted to assess potential partner/acquisition candidates with innovative offerings to help its drive into a new solution area. Our team canvassed each solution area, using both secondary research and social media analysis to determine which players were most significant in each area. We then conducted primary research with those identified as having the highest potential for disruption or innovation. We provided them with a detailed SWOT analysis, presentation and discussion, along with follow up inquiry calls, that they use for to guide competitive positioning in their core market, and partner recruitment and more detailed acquisition targeting in the new solution area.