Reference no: EM133401253

Case:

Lextant is a marketing research firm that helps companies identify new product ideas and develop product designs and prototypes in both consumer and business-to-business markets. A fundamental tool in the company's toolkit involves observations of consumers at the point of product usage. By observing consumers as well as really trying to understand the product from the standpoint of their world, the company generates insights into how existing products can be improved. Observation is also an instrument for generating ideas about new products.

After observing and interviewing respondents, the researchers go back to the company with massive amounts of notes and ideas. They use post-its on bulletin boards, personas of the people they have seen, and pictures in an attempt to find meaning in the data. They look for things like consumers' goals in using the product, attitudes towards existing products, and factors that inhibit product use.

Their research techniques are highlighted as they conduct research on surgeons in China who use surgical tools in vascular surgeries.

1. What are the pros and cons of the depth oriented (immersion-based) observations Lextant does in comparison with other research tools like focus groups or surveys?

2. How can this type of research help researchers understand consumers' goals, attitudes, and product perceptions?

3. What is Lextant trying to understand about the consumer and what do they hope to provide to their client?

4. How can research, like the research conducted in China, ultimately be used to facilitate consumers' adoption of new products?