2Europe

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a global brand manager for Boehringer Ingelheim. We’re a 20-billion-dollar company and a market leader in both pharma and animal health. I’m currently employed in the marketing department of the animal health division, responsible for our diagnostics portfolio which we sell worldwide.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 2Europe?

We didn’t have a deep understanding of the animal health diagnostics market and competitor landscape.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

2Europe conducted market research in the five largest markets worldwide, all in order to gain insights around products, customer needs, and competitors’ positioning.

How did you come to work with 2Europe?

I’d had a previous collaboration with them when I was working for another company. In 2017, I committed them to a market research project on medication preparation processes in Europe. 2Europe delivered, and the outcome was good. I relied on them again for the current market research, despite the fact that 2Europe wasn’t among the preferred partners of my company.

How much have you invested with them?

The project cost between €40,000–€50,000 (approximately $47,000–$60,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with 2Europe from February–June 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

I was overall impressed with the quality of the research 2Europe conducted. We needed to do some fine-tuning mid-project, but they reacted quickly to our inputs and readjusted accordingly. We ultimately got the insights we were expecting, and I was happy with the deliverables.

How did 2Europe perform from a project management standpoint?

The initial deadline wasn’t met, the reason being that we struggled a bit to get insights, especially in the US market. 2Europe probably had fewer connections there than in markets such as China, France, Germany, and the UK.

They communicated promptly when they weren’t sure they’d meet a deadline, and we readjusted a bit. Overall, we missed the deadline by about a month, but that was necessary in order to ensure the good quality of the outcome. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Across both projects I’ve worked with them on, I’ve found 2Europe’s team to be reliable, open to suggestions, and fast to react to inputs. They also provided good insights and suggestions in cases where the quality wasn’t there or when we had some doubts. The proactiveness, reactivity, and knowledge of the team were impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The main challenge was finding out mid-project that the quality wasn’t as high as we were expecting, but that was overcome through the reactivity of 2Europe’s team. They got us some insights on readjusting the questions.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

The most important part is to design a well-written RFP or RFQ. The scope of the project should be well-designed and -defined, and it should be shared openly with the agency. I find this to be the most important part of conducting any kind of market research project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the market intelligence analyst at Epson Europe, a technology company mainly focusing on the printer and projector market. We do other products as well like robotics and watches.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 2Europe?

We needed help with market research projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I’ve worked with them on various projects. We normally do two projects a year with them. They’ve worked on a range of projects. Last year, they worked on a big competitor analysis project which was the largest project we’ve done with them.

They’ve done online panels, focus groups, and end-user visits, to name a few of their services. I mainly use them for online panels.

What is the team composition?

I mainly deal with Rob (Director), but there are 4-5 other people working on my account. Some of the panels, he sources outside.

How did you come to work with 2Europe?

I normally put out a tender and they come back with a proposal. They won quite a few of the ones we put out. They win about half of them. One of the reasons we use them is they’re pretty flexible, can partner with other people, and get the job done. They’re good value for money compared to some other organization. 

Rob had reached out to us initially. He had done some work with one of my predecessors. I got him to come in and do a presentation. I was quite impressed with what he said he could do.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested over $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2017, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

When I first joined the organization four years ago, they weren’t on our suppliers’ list and now they are because they do good work. I’m very satisfied with them. It’s not easy to get on our supply list. They provide good value for our money and they meet deadlines.

How did 2Europe perform from a project management standpoint?

He’s very responsive and flexible. One time I took him on for a project and Rob literally came in that afternoon to start the process. He’s fairly close to our office and he’s willing to come in on short notice and have meetings in the office. 

They draft a project plan, and If there are any changes to the project plan, they will communicate it with us. If there are any problems, they’re quick to tell us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

He goes the extra mile. One of the last projects we worked on, we did 13 revisions of the questionnaire when normally it only takes us 4–5 revisions to get where we want. Rob kept on going until we were satisfied. Sometimes he will wrap up a project and 3-4 months later, we might come back to him and ask for more analysis on it or pull out some data that we didn’t ask for in our initial brief. He will go back and have a look at it for us. Some agencies aren’t too happy about doing that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

When I first used them, my initial feedback was their slides were kind of average. They take constructive feedback and Rob has improved the slide decks. They look a lot better now. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a meeting and talk with them. Rob deals with a whole range of clients. He has an understanding of quite a few different sectors. We’ve used him for a range of methodologies. He’s proven to us that he has enough associates and can pull enough people together to do big projects across the range. I’ve been very happy with them.