CTRS - Market Intelligence

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a non-profit private research organization called FPInnovations. I’m a project lead for one of our largest initiatives.

What challenge were you trying to address with CTRS Solutions Limited?

We needed a market analysis/market impact study for indigenous communities for traditional coastal forest products.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We set out with a fairly vague goal in the sense that we wanted to know what were potential products for indigenous communities? How does the market for those products look right now? What are the entry barriers and how could they be addressed? What’s a minimum investment level to get started?

What is the team composition?

I believe I was conversing with two people, but there was a third person working as well I thin.

How did you come to work with CTRS Solutions Limited?

We’d worked with them in the past. Not me, directly, but my predecessor in the role. One of our founding partners also recommended them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $35,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them on this project from October 2019 until March 2020.

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

We use our indigenous partners a lot to get the feedback on the delivered result and it was overall positive on that side. We also work with the British Columbia government and the federal government of Canada; everyone was satisfied with the work. The project really captured what we were looking for, as well as some next steps that will benefit future work.

How did CTRS Solutions Limited perform from a project management standpoint?

They had great response times. From our initial call, they quickly scoped out the work and put it into the document. They were very efficient.

I’m assuming they used a project management tool but we weren’t part of it. Their communication was great and the deadlines were met. There was a delay at the end of the project but that’s understandable since one of their team members departed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re remarkably easy to work with, especially when it comes to setting up contracts and translating their scope of work into our contract. It’s a quick turnaround. They work efficiently, without too much back and forth. You’re involved as well; the process is interactive and discussion-based.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I actually don’t think so. We’re already working on the next couple of potential projects. I’m super happy.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Direct communication works very well. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and get a straight discussion going.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of the Vancity Community Foundation. 

What challenge were you trying to address with CTRS Solutions Limited?

We had a 100,000-square-foot building — formerly a police headquarters — that we wanted to convert into a social and economic center in a low-income community in Vancouver. One of the main components of the plan was to build a sustainable colocation and coworking space with nonprofits and social value businesses in mind. 

We were looking to develop our sales and marketing strategy for that space and wanted some support to properly identify key points to build that plan.

What was the scope of their involvement?

In 2014, CTRS helped do some analysis around the business viability of the project. They provided advice on how to proceed in many aspects, including developing the center itself. We brought them back in 2019 to look at one specific business model: the coworking space. 

CTRS was able to bring a unique perspective and a balanced approach to build the business and the community. They were able to tap into the specific nature of what coworking facilities do already while understanding that the community it will serve has unique needs. Not only that, but they also provided examples of past work they’ve done in coworking facilities and suggested approaches to implement their ideas. Their ability to grasp the value proposition combined with their operational expertise informed their strategies.

How did you come to work with CTRS Solutions Limited?

I wasn’t part of the project in 2014, but I’d worked with Aaron (President) in some other positions where I was a funder and saw great results in working with CTRS. I appreciated their careful approach and consideration that they brought to each project. 

When I came onto this project and saw their work from 2014, I was very impressed with their analysis and advice. It felt like a natural fit to bring them back on board.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $20,000 for the 2019 phase of the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

The most recent project took place between September and December 2019.

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

While it’s hard to comment on the direct impact of CTRS’s work in 2014, I believe that it formed a strong foundation for how the center was built out. We saw a high success rate in implementing their suggestions. 

In 2019, CTRS continued to stay involved in the project beyond their final report, which is one of the great things about working with them. They offered us the opportunity to do regular check-ins on our metrics and how their recommendations have worked so far. Overall, we felt really confident in their suggestions and their tools to evaluate and measure success.

How did CTRS Solutions Limited perform from a project management standpoint?

They were perfect. In the beginning, they outlined their approach and proposed different levels where we could contact them. We had some back-and-forth to fine-tune the proposal based on our needs. They also outlined communication channels and feedback. There was a lot of regular communication. They even came to work in the building, which was great to see. 

Finally, in the last stages of the final report, we got a large document that allowed us to give them feedback on what was relevant or not, which let them finetune the final report to provide helpful and practical recommendations. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I look after public safety for a utility company in British Columbia.

What challenge were you trying to address with CTRS Solutions Limited?

We needed help with communicating and improving certain metrics with one of our target audiences, which was hard to reach. That part of our audience wasn’t engaged and there were multiple barriers to reaching them

What was the scope of their involvement?

CTRS Solutions Limited directed a custom study and overall market research. They conducted phone interviews with people from our target audience and our industry. A person on their team spoke the target audience’s language, which was helpful. They gave us a report as well as a number of recommendations for us to implement. Their team presented the results to a number of stakeholders.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two people directly, but a third person conducted the interviews.

How did you come to work with CTRS Solutions Limited?

CTRS Solutions Limited did work for our company in the past. Their team was part of the bidding process and wrote a proposal that we reviewed. We felt that their proposal was the best.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $5,000–$10,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started talking in August 2019 and they delivered the results by November 2019.

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

The report was clear and gave us a good understanding of our challenge. We were happy with the results. Their team was thorough and knowledgeable. They were professional, engaging, and delivered more than we asked for.

How did CTRS Solutions Limited perform from a project management standpoint?

They never missed a deadline. Their team kept us in the loop about the project. Based on the project’s nature, we couldn’t totally predict how it would unfold, but they kept us posted. Overall, they were professional and a pleasure to work with.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their approach and experience impressed us. They specialize in market insights but also asked us what we thought. I liked how they were out of the box thinkers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think there were areas for improvement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’m hoping that I’ll get a chance to work with them again. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to other people. If you’re looking to understand an issue in your market, they have a knack for finding answers to your questions.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a director of strategy and planning for a large technology company.

What challenge were you trying to address with CTRS Solutions Limited?

We were trying to size the opportunity in the public sector space. We were looking for someone to look into the public sector contracts within our space, and not a lot of consulting firms agree to do such deep research.

What was the scope of their involvement?

CTRS Solutions Limited helped us with market research. During a kickoff call, our internal experts helped them better understand the scope of the work. Essentially, we wanted to get intelligence for us to bid for upcoming tenders in this space.

They contacted several federal, provincial, and municipal agencies, a lot of which had contracts with our competitors. CTRS Solutions Limited looked for those contracts through tenders and forums and gathered details like value, terms, etc.

After doing the research, they produced a highly detailed report of what they looked into. They also provided a set of recommendations to make the most of our local resources and staff.

What is the team composition?

I interacted directly with two people from their team, but four others were also involved in our project.

How did you come to work with CTRS Solutions Limited?

We were looking for specialists or boutique firms who could help us with this research. We looked on Clutch and read reviews on various providers, which helped me select CTRS Solutions Limited. We had an introductory call with their founder; He understood what I wanted and got back to us with a proposal that clearly identified each step they would follow.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $15,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from August–September 2019.

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

Now, we have much more visibility into the space.

How did CTRS Solutions Limited perform from a project management standpoint?

They followed our timelines and were punctual with updates. We had weekly calls during the project, and they provided concise status reports on various fronts. They made themselves available whenever we wanted to speak to them and responded quickly to emails.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed with the depth of their research. They were also highly flexible.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re a small company, so I felt they were a bit stressed because they got a lot of work but didn’t have a lot of bandwidth to manage at some points. They made their way through, which was great, but it was a bit concerning for us because we were working with them for the first time.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure your scope is very clear. They’re a small team, action-oriented team and would deliver on the scope provided.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of corporate marketing and customer experience. We are a part of the transportation industry.

What challenge were you trying to address with CTRS Solutions Limited?

We needed assistance with revamping our research practices. We wanted to review our entire program and develop a new one.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They were able review best practices, our current program, and a recommendation report. They helped us outline a new program to go forward and meet our mandate.

What is the team composition?

I worked closely with Aaron (President, CTRS Solutions) and Geoff (VP, CTRS Solutions).

How did you come to work with CTRS Solutions Limited?

We put out an RFP for a consultant who could come in and work with various stakeholders across our business, as well as apply best industry practices. The RFP helped us identify CTRS.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in July 2018 and our collaboration is ongoing.

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

Working with CTRS Solutions made it much easier to identify a new research vendor because we knew exactly what to look for after they defined what we needed.

How did CTRS Solutions Limited perform from a project management standpoint?

They are really good. We communicated in person, via email, and on phone. They were extremely responsive and always answered very quickly. They dealt with everything in a very professional, efficient, and timely manner.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're just very knowledgeable. They truly know the research industry and they understood the research practice skills required to complete the job. They steered us through the new RFP process and were very instrumental in helping us set up the program.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not really. They performed well, overall, which is why we still retain their services.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would recommend doing in-person kickoff meetings, but the rest can easily be done over email.