PlanBeyond

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Partner, Head of Brand Strategy of Prospect

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Prospect is a strategy plus agency.

All of our projects start with strategy, but we believe strategy only matters if it can be put into action.

We deliver strategy grounded in rigor and frameworks, built for the performance and adaptability todayʼs markets demand.

Prospect partners with clients to bring strategy to life through custom-built project teams. We provide project oversight so you only have one point of contact and all implementation stays grounded in strategy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire PlanBeyond to accomplish?

• Brand equity research
• Audience needs assessment

SOLUTION

How did you find PlanBeyond?

• Referral
• Other

Why did you select PlanBeyond over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from PlanBeyond were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Plan Beyond partnered with Prospect on brand equity research for one of our clients. The learning goals of this quantitative study were:

1. Brand Awareness & Perceptions: Collect objective benchmarks for the unaided and aided awareness of key brands among the target audiences as well as general sentiments and attributes “owned” by any brands to determine if any brand names carry particularly strong weight in the category today.
2. Category Needs: Determine the key challenges and needs of the two target audience segments to help build brand strategy elements.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The brand equity research addressed two main goals:

1. Brand Awareness: Collect objective benchmarks for the unaided and aided awareness of two specific brands that are going through a merger, and related brands among key target audiences
2. Brand Perception: Determine what associations, if any, individuals have of each of the two brands and other related brands to determine if any brand “owns” key attributes

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Plan Beyond was a wonderful partner on this project. They were always clear, organized and calm even in light of some client challenges. They ensured the client was aligned with both the learning goals and the research brief before proceeding with the recruit and discussion guide. 
We also did a working session with the client on the discussion guide to ensure alignment. With the final report, Plan Beyond was a great collaborator, ensuring we had the right information to tell the story that was clear and easy to follow for our client.

What was your primary form of communication with PlanBeyond?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Plan Beyond is thoughtful and really thinks through the research specifics that will best solve a client's needs, even when the clients themselves may not be as research savvy. They ensure the information is easy to understand, clear and unbiased.

Are there any areas for improvement or something PlanBeyond could have done differently?

In this case, I can't think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the President & CEO of Accu-Time Systems, Inc.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Time and attendance hardware solutions. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire PlanBeyond to accomplish?

• Understand declining win rate for projects.
• Gain insight into competitive landscape.

SOLUTION

How did you find PlanBeyond?

Online Search

Why did you select PlanBeyond over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Interview-based research project to understand the needs and challenges across closed-won and closed-lost opportunities to identify issues that could be leading to a declining win rate.   Deliverables included: 

Kick-off call 

Development of interview discussion guide 

Development of email outreach templates 

Providing interviewee self-scheduling sign-up portal 

Participant tracking & coordination 

Conduct up to 16 interviews 

Machine transcription of interviews 

Full final report with findings and recommendations 

Final report read out meeting 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

There were weekly communication emails with updates regarding participant tracking and completed interviews.  Plan Beyond also suggested strategies to get more participation.  The final report ultimately demonstrated success. 

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Yes, they delivered in a timely manner.  Lack of participation from closed/lost prospects extended the timeline, but Plan Beyond kept us informed and adjusted their schedules accordingly to accommodate. Frequent communication and strategizing kept us all on the same page with respect to the project progression. 

What was your primary form of communication with PlanBeyond?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

What impressed me most was how astute they were about a company (us) and our industry, which they knew nothing about going into the assignment.  After our first brainstorming session, it was clear they were thoroughly listening and absorbing what we were saying and were able to generate thoughtful questions and an excellent discussion guide.  They were able to have meaningful conversations about our business and our products.  

Are there any areas for improvement or something PlanBeyond could have done differently?

No, no suggestions for improvement.  The project was very well-managed, communication was frequent and clear, and the results were better than expected. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Assistant Head of School for Advancement of The Bush School

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The Bush School is a K-12 independent school with a mission to spark in students of diverse backgrounds and talents a passion for learning, accomplishment, and contribution to their communities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire PlanBeyond to accomplish?

• To test a program concept with our target market.
• To explore our target market's willingness to pay for that program.

SOLUTION

How did you find PlanBeyond?

Online Search

Why did you select PlanBeyond over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Approach and Proposal

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Plan Beyond provided analyis and reporting on the following learing objectives:

Evaluate Appeal: Assess program appeal program among The Bush School community and middle / upper income parents across the Western US. Resonating Elements: Determine what program elements are especially appealing, and which elements hold less resonance among parents and students. Willingness To Pay: Determine parents’ price elasticity given different price points, and if the price(s) at which parents are willing to pay meet necessary thresholds.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Plan Beyond was able to capture the sample size promised and delivered on the research outlined in the proposal. 

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Plan Beyond was incredibly responsive and managed the project with a high level of communication throughout the process. 

What was your primary form of communication with PlanBeyond?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The team was highly knowledgeable and responsive. The project was completed exactly within the timeframe outlined, and all of the deliverables were met. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something PlanBeyond could have done differently?

No. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the COO of Hydrogen

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Develop full service advertsing campaigns

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire PlanBeyond to accomplish?

Gain a full understanding of the impact of possible campaign ideas

SOLUTION

How did you find PlanBeyond?

Referral

Why did you select PlanBeyond over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from PlanBeyond were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Plan Beyond helped recruit moderators and participants for five very hard to find local communities. They were fantastic partners with us, guiding us through the process every step of the way and adding terrific best practice expertise. Their communication is excellent - very prompt and well organized. Their presentations were flawless as well. We will definitely work with them in the future.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We had great actionable learnings from these focus groups. Plan Beyond's reporting made follow-through really easy for us. 

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Always on time - very prompt with email responses and proactive with ways to improve the research.

What was your primary form of communication with PlanBeyond?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The team we worked with was delightful, brilliant, and, at the same time, very collaborative and easy to work with. They come with a great track record of past projects and we can see why other companies have chosen them.

Are there any areas for improvement or something PlanBeyond could have done differently?

Not a thing.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Marketing & Communications Director of an utilities company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We empower natural gas and electric distribution companies through education, leadership development, and industry connections.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire PlanBeyond to accomplish?

• Identify and analyze competitors and offerings in key areas
• Discover opportunities to fill gaps and enhance current offerings

SOLUTION

How did you find PlanBeyond?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site

Why did you select PlanBeyond over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Asked the right questions during proposal phase

How many teammates from PlanBeyond were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

MEA operates in a competitive category, offering education and training to utilities and their suppliers across several functional and topic areas. As the organization works to meet existing member needs and attract new members, it needs to evaluate its current offering and identify new learning opportunities to offer its members. In doing so, it needs to answer several key questions: 

• What is the gold standard for training and education, and why is it the gold standard? 
• What are the fundamental benefits clients expect from trade association members? 
• What do members expect of MEA today? And, of that, what are they getting and what aren’t they getting? 
• What gaps exist in MEA’s training / education offerings today that should be addressed? 
• What emerging challenges are members facing today that MEA could support with training and education? 
• What is the profile of the individual who is most likely to initiate and/or influence the selection of professional development so that MEA knows who best to target? 
• How do customers evaluate / select professional development offerings, and how can MEA ensure that they are included in those evaluation processes? 
• Final deliverables included a Discovery Summary based on a discovery interview rubric and four discovery calls with internal stakeholders and a Final Report based on 20 IDIs (PlanBeyond also handled participants incentives).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We received 10 insightful, actionable recommendations that can help move MEA forward strategically.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

PlanBeyond project managed this beautifully. Items were delivered on time. We were provided timely proactive updates and emails were responded to within hours if not minutes.

What was your primary form of communication with PlanBeyond?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their ability to understand and help us identify our research needs was incredible. They are a lean company and, therefore, carefully dedicate resources and hold their clients accountable.

Are there any areas for improvement or something PlanBeyond could have done differently?

N/A

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Vice President, Analytics & Valuation of The Superlative Group, Inc.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The Superlative Group is a global leader in naming rights and sponsorship valuation, sales and consulting.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire PlanBeyond to accomplish?

• Conduct an SEA Airport passenger survey to understand passenger behavioral affinities for new sponsorship concepts.
• Provide SEA data that could support which new sponsorship concepts were most likely to “sell” based on passenger interest.

SOLUTION

How did you find PlanBeyond?

Online Search

Why did you select PlanBeyond over others?

• High ratings
• Company values aligned
• Close geographic proximity to the client

How many teammates from PlanBeyond were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Our scope of work required the design and implementation of a market survey that collected SEA passenger feedback on a series of new sponsorship concepts and amenities at the airport. The project required passenger recruitment to participate in the study and detailed assessment of the data collected. Deliverables include a cross-tabulated spreadsheet that broke down passenger responses by behavioral affinities and demographics. 
The final deliverable was a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation that outlined the market study and visualized the passenger response data with recommendations on which concepts would appeal most to the surveyed passengers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Highly detailed project management with several internal deadlines to ensure milestones were completed on schedule and within our client deliverable deadlines. The PlanBeyond team was excellent with proactive communication to allot time for client review and delivered all requirements on-time or ahead of schedule.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They ensured outstanding project management and proactive communication. PlanBeyond was highly organized with their timeline, outlining actionable daily steps to ensure the project was completed on-time. All deliverables were completed on or ahead of time.

What was your primary form of communication with PlanBeyond?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Great organization and communication throughout. It was clear they have a lot of experience managing these kind of market studies. Their process was highly flexible to align with our client contract and scope of work. I really enjoyed collaborating and hope there are more opportunities in the future.

Are there any areas for improvement or something PlanBeyond could have done differently?

N/A

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Strategy Manager of a consumer products company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Manufacture and sell performance apparel and footwear

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire PlanBeyond to accomplish?

• Measure and compare brand awareness increase from marketing campaigns in 2 different cities.

SOLUTION

How did you find PlanBeyond?

Online Search

Why did you select PlanBeyond over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from PlanBeyond were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Conduct pre and post campaign market analysis to understand the efficacy of the marketing campaign by measuring changes in awareness, brand perceptions and purchase intent within a specific market segment. Deliverables included a final report detailing the pre and post brand funnel, NPS, brand associations and ad recall.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We ran two slightly different campaigns in two different cities to understand which approach provided greater brand awareness and, ultimately, greater purchasing behavior. We were able to see the success of the two different campaigns through the market research conducted with PlanBeyond which will inform our future campaigns.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Laura was fantastic. Her expert guidance and ability to quickly understand our needs and adhere to our tight timelines ensured a seamless process. Laura is very personable which made for easy and effective communication.

What was your primary form of communication with PlanBeyond?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Laura was able to jump onboard quickly and ensure we were able to adhere to our tight timelines and specific target market, which was greatly appreciated. Her communication style and curiosity made sure we were always on the same page.

Are there any areas for improvement or something PlanBeyond could have done differently?

I don't have any specific areas of concern or suggestions for improvement at the moment. I appreciated PlanBeyond's proactive approach and insights and am confident they will continue to thrive.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Director of Marketing for a personal injury law firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire PlanBeyond?

My law firm was looking to better understand our brand awareness in the Seattle market.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We looked online for a few different vendors who would be able to tackle a brand awareness research study. I was looking for a reliable vendor with good reviews from prior clients, a flexible vendor to work within my deadlines with a price that made sense for my budget.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

We met to kick off the project and build out a survey to send into the Seattle market. I reviewed the survey and questions many times and the team was great with my edits and questions. We then sent the survey into market and gathered the data quickly. The team put together insights and shared them with my team.

What was the team composition?

I had one point of contact and worked closely with her through the entire project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We were looking to get a baseline of our brand awareness in the market, and we now have a baseline. So I'd say it was successful.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective. We had consistent communication to ensure we'd hit the deadline I was hoping for.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They were on top of things at all times. They kept the project moving forward and though we had quick turnaround times, the quality of the work was not lost.

Is there any area for improvement or anything that could have been done differently?

Not for a project like this. All expectations were met.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the head of strategy for Program 11, a boutique content research, strategy, and development company based in Los Angeles. We do a lot of audience research in house, but when we are called upon to do product ideation research and analysis, we need more intellectual muscle. That's when we call in PlanBeyond.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire PlanBeyond?

Our client was seeking to discover what premium features in their software would drive decision-makers to upgrade. Plus, they hoped to identify barriers to moving to a new platform. PlanBeyond had excellent solutions and ideas for how to achieve this quantitatively and qualitatively.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Laura Troyani suggested multiple solutions, and we landed on a MaxDiff analysis to help our client understand the degree to which features do or do not impact a purchase decision. Survey respondents were shown a set of features and asked to select the most important and least important in the purchase decision. The output let us compare the relative importance of features in the purchase process (e.g. we saw that feature X contributes 40% to the purchase decision while feature Y contributes 5%...and therefore we knew what feature(s) really moves the needle).

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

After helping us design the audit document and codebook, Laura contributed to the analysis and designed the discussion guide for our 1:1 interviews. She led a hypothesis workshop in order to develop this final discussion guide. From there, she designed and ran a survey in Qualtrics that was sent to more than 20,000 customers in the client database. She analyzed the responses and delivered them succinctly to our client, who was delighted at the clear opportunities the survey unveiled.

What was the team composition?

Our team at Program 11 was composed of me, a PM, and an interview. Laura did much of the client interaction. We worked directly with the leaders at the software company that hired us, as well as their investors.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The client was engaged throughout the process and is eager to put the research outcomes into their product roadmap. They plan to hire us again for the next feature prioritization exercise.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was excellent. We kept one another up to date via regular syncs on email and ongoing comms via Slack.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

PlanBeyond was a great partner. Laura and her team deliver clean, actionable data. She is an educator at heart, helping all of us understand her process and how we should interpret the data.

Is there any area for improvement or anything that could have been done differently?

Nothing.