Stitch Marketing Research

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an executive of McClung-Logan Equipment Company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

McClung-Logan Equipment Company is a leading distributor of heavy and compact construction equipment in the Mid-Atlantic region.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Stitch Marketing Research to accomplish?

• Evaluate the potential market size of a target region based on market trends, industry trends, and economic data
• Understand local demand for new construction and development projects

SOLUTION

How did you find Stitch Marketing Research?

Online Search

Why did you select Stitch Marketing Research over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Stitch Marketing Research were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We hired Stitch to conduct a detailed market research study to better understand the potential size and viability of a market. Deliverables included:

• market landscape report utilizing subscription-based data, intel from industry associations and consulting firms, and various other sources;
• qualitative research via in-depth interviews with current customers, employees, and an independent construction consultant.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Measurable outcome was the delivery of the market research report to assist in our internal decision-making process.

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

The Stitch Market Research team was highly responsive and eager to learn about our business. They met all deadlines and handled the project efficiently and professionally.

What was your primary form of communication with Stitch Marketing Research?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Stitch Marketing Research was great to work with and delivered a high-quality, finished product. Their project management team was located in different cities yet the collaborative process was seamless. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something Stitch Marketing Research could have done differently?

No, Stitch was great to work with.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing Specialist of National Equity Project

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The National Equity Project is a leadership and systems change organization committed to increasing the capacity of people to achieve thriving, self-determining, educated, and just communities.

Our mission is to transform the experiences, outcomes, and life options for children and families who have been historically underserved by our institutions and systems.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Stitch Marketing Research to accomplish?

• Determine the key players in the professional development in equity education market.
• Evaluate the current price and brand positioning landscape in professional development for leaders in education systems.

SOLUTION

How did you find Stitch Marketing Research?

Online Search

Why did you select Stitch Marketing Research over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit

How many teammates from Stitch Marketing Research were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Stitch supported us by identifying key players in the equity education professional development market and evaluating the current price and brand positioning landscape for leadership development in education systems.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Stitch project demonstrated significant progress and success through several measurable outcomes. Their market analysis identified key players in the equity education professional development sector, providing a clear understanding of the competitive landscape. 
By assessing current price points, they helped us refine our pricing strategy, making us more competitive and attractive to clients. The evaluation of competitor brand positioning allowed us to better differentiate our offerings and enhance our market presence. Additionally, the insights gained enabled us to develop more tailored and effective professional development programs, addressing identified market needs and gaps.

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

They were great and delivered everything on time! 

What was your primary form of communication with Stitch Marketing Research?

Virtual Meeting

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

Stitch Marketing Research's value add was exceptional, aligning seamlessly with the values of the National Equity Project. Their thorough and insightful research provided us with the strategic direction needed to advance our mission of fostering equity in education. Their alignment with our core values strengthened our collaboration. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something Stitch Marketing Research could have done differently?

No.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Commercial Marketing Manager of US Chemical Storage

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

U.S. Chemical Storage designs and engineers pre-fabricated hazmat buildings and storage containers for a facility’s unique needs - all fully within EPA/OSHA, NFPA, NFC, ATF, and DOT compliance. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Stitch Marketing Research to accomplish?

• Market Sizing
• Vertical Market Overview
• Qualitative and Quantitative Focus Survey on one specific market

SOLUTION

How did you find Stitch Marketing Research?

Online Search

Why did you select Stitch Marketing Research over others?

• High ratings
• Agency size

How many teammates from Stitch Marketing Research were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Provided a huge slide deck detailing competitive opportunities within specific verticals with key trends. Additionally, did an additional deep-dive into one market with qualitative and quantitative work with interviews and surveys. They worked closely with our in-house team to develop the proper verbiage and key customer types, so the results were relevant and insightful.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Alignment between sales and marketing efforts became seamless with a unified message and user value proposition that was cohesive throughout the company.

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

Yes. It was sometimes hard to schedule on both ends - them and us - but they were accessible and responsive via email whenever I needed it. 

What was your primary form of communication with Stitch Marketing Research?

Virtual Meeting

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

Stitch Marketing Research worked with me to break up the project so it better aligned with my budget. Instead of this big monolithic project, it became an 'a la cart' project that was spread out a little more and gave us digestible deliverables along the way. It was easier for my team to absorb both the information and the financial load. I trailblazed the way for my larger corporate parent company by doing research for my brand. I've given out their name to other sister brands several times.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Stitch Marketing Research could have done differently?

no

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the associate vice president of marketing at a liberal arts private university in San Diego, California.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Stitch Marketing Research?

We wanted to understand what our students and parents wanted as we approached the fall 2020 semester. There have been several options on how we should handle COVID-19, but we wanted to host a few focus groups to get student opinions.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired them to help us hold a series of focus groups for students and parents on their appetite for health and safety surrounding the upcoming fall 2020 semester. That would allow us to make decisions in the fall.

To start, they held stakeholder meetings with our leadership around the questions that we’re wrestling with on our end. They asked great questions on what options we were and weren’t considering. From there, they put together some research objectives and a project overview that contained a list of things we needed to know in order to make decisions surrounding the fall. Then, they held eight focus groups with decision guides that we reviewed. That occurred over the course of a week over Zoom.

After the focus groups concluded, they delivered an insights report that clearly presented our most viable options. Additionally, the report included some suggestions and considerations on implementing any of the options. They thought through contingency planning and preferences. 

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with three of their teammates. 

How did you come to work with Stitch Marketing Research?

I work with a full-service digital marketing agency, and they’re a partner at the agency. The agency recommended them to me for this project. 

How much have you invested with them?

This project cost about $82,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from April–May 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The insights report was a huge help. Those insights allowed us to make the decision to bring back our students in the fall along with pretty extensive safety measures. That decision was almost solely based on the insights they presented to us. There’s a lot of trepidation and anxiety about how to handle COVID-19 in a collegiate setting, so the insights helped our cabinet feel comfortable in our decisions. 

The report also supplied very tactical action items surrounding room capacity, dining halls, and PPE requirements. That gave us a list of measures that we would have to implement for people to choose us in the fall. Before hiring them, we were projecting to be up to 15% down in enrollment due to the pandemic, but we believe that’s changed to 1%–5%.   

How did Stitch Marketing Research perform from a project management standpoint?

Their timeline was incredible, getting all of their work done in under a month. We needed to make a pretty urgent decision, and they were amazing at expediting the process. I even through a wrench in when I moved the insights report delivery date up by a week. 

Additionally, they’ve stayed in touch with us since the focus groups and have offered more help if needed. They were very interested in the project because they understood the difficulty of the decision we were making.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were very accommodation. The focus group moderator understood the wide variety of emotionally-charged feelings that would be expressed during the groups. They did an excellent job of keeping the conversions tactical while also being empathetic to everyone’s opinions. I received emails after the focus groups from parents thanking us and citing that the moderator made them feel heard. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

This is one of the best projects I’ve ever world on with an outside vendor. I don’t’ have any complaints.

BACKGROUND

I am the Marketing Manager for a manufacturer of premium hookah tobacco located in San Diego, CA. Our company has about 50 employees, and we manufacture and distribute our product globally. I oversee all marketing functions of the company including market research and the launching of new hookah tobacco flavors.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

We have been creating, and in some cases innovating, new flavors in our industry for over 15 years and now wanted have a better way to research consumer flavor preferences and trends that will increase the likelihood of a successful flavor launch.

SOLUTION

I spoke to a handful of Market Research firms in California who we believed would be a good fit for our project. What impressed me about Stitch, beyond their experience, was their creative approach to tackling the questions we wanted answered. I felt comfortable that this team can find a way to get answers in a niche industry that has very little research and documentation available elsewhere. 

The project we gave to Stitch included two parts. First was to find out what makes a successful flavor a success, and an unsuccessful flavor a slow seller. To get the answers, Stitch collaborated with our Marketing and R&D Teams to create a Moderator Guide and conduct a Focus Group that involved a variety of regular hookah users. The second part of our project included ongoing market research reports on flavor trends in key industries help help us stay ahead of the competition.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Stitch's out-of-the-box thinking and approach to finding answers to consumer flavor choice gave our team a new way of seeing why consumers use certain flavors regularly vs occasionally and what stimulated trial of a new flavor. The  questions we tasked Stitch to answer have been successfully delivered and the findings were easily actionable. 

Since working with Stitch we have introduced 5 new flavors into our product line with much clearer focus and more confidence. And by having implemented their findings, we have seen a positive impact to our bottom line.

The team at Stitch is smart, creatively analytical and sincere. I highly recommend them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the VP of development at a renewable energy company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Stitch Marketing?

We had done a customer satisfaction survey for a couple of years. We wanted to hire a market research company to help us stop making the same mistakes

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us with our customer satisfaction survey and conducted some focus groups for us where they helped design a revamp for a customer engagement process.

What is the team composition?

We had one project manager but we worked with 3-4 different people throughout the engagement.

How did you come to work with Stitch Marketing?

They were referred to us by another business we had a relationship with.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in 2015 and wrapped up in 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were able to measure year over year customer satisfaction trending on an annual basis. We were also able to see whether the changes that we made as a result of customer dissatisfaction had a positive trend in the following year.

How did Stitch Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent to work with. They did a really good job, paid attention to the customer, and took time to get to know the business, which was great. They struggled with project management a bit just because they had some personnel changes. Generally, they were responsive and are willing to do additional splices of the data which is nice.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They got into the particulars of the industry so they could help us craft questions that would tease out the data. They brought expertise in how to ask a question and how to design market research that gets the right information out of your users. They were helpful in assessing how to design a customer engagement program for our business as well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The project management is an area they could improve in, and sometimes they could be a little lax on returning deliverables.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

My company, Guardline, sells long range outdoor motion sensors. I'm the CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Stitch Marketing Research?

Hired Stitch to do a market landscape report as well as interview buyers, both past and perspective, to understand their motivation in buying our product or a product like ours.

What were your goals for this project?

To get a better understanding of what motives a buyer to buy our product, and how it was useful to them to we can better understand how to market our products in the future.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Referral from a friend.

Describe the project in detail.

Already described above.

What was the team composition?

My and my COO worked with Stitch.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We got very detailed and granular understanding of what motivated customers to buy our product. As an example we had no idea how moms were using our product as a heads up for when teens were coming home, or when the carpool was coming.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their attention to detail was impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None that come to mind.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We develop digital Bible curriculum for Christian schools. We are used in schools throughout the United States and internationally. I am the Director of the program.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Stitch Marketing Research?

We hired Stitch Marketing to help us establish the pricing for our curriculum. Because we were one of the first and only digital Bible curriculum publishers for Christian schools when we began, we needed assistance in determining the proper prices that would allow our ministry to be self-sustainable while making our product financially viable for our customers.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was to determine fair and reasonable pricing that matched non-digital publishing company's pricing so that our curriculum would be accessible for Christian schools.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were recommended to us by our development team. We interviewed them and followed up on references.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They researched what other publishers were charging and compared the digital model to the physical textbook model. They researched how often schools purchased curriculum and used research about how large the market was. Armed with this information they made recommendations on pricing.

What was the team composition?

We worked with just one person, Nate Heckman.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Nate was instrumental in determining our initial pricing. Throughout the years I have asked him individual questions about pricing as they have come up. He has been more than gracious to answer my questions and provide help. He has been a fantastic resource for my team.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Nate completed the project within our specified deadline and provided the research and information necessary for our team to make an informed decision.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Nate was able to jump into this project quickly even though he didn't have any experience in our particular market. He quickly learned about the other publishers and made solid recommendations. He was accessible and easy to work with.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nate did an outstanding job. I can't think of any areas that he would have needed to improve.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

San Diego Sport innovators is a 501c3 focused on the SD Lifestyle industry

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Stitch Marketing Research?

periodically we research the economic impact of a portion of our industry. Stitch represented out interests in surveying te economic impact of the Cycling industry here in San Diego.

What were your goals for this project?

to quantify the metrics of the Economic impact of cycling in SD

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

By previous projects and reputation,

Describe the project in detail.

Stitch did a complete analysis. You can find it on the SDSI website. It is THE definitive work on the subject.

What was the team composition?

Stitich headed the project and mobilized a wide network of related companies, universities and research specialists. We could never have accessed these resources. It was an impressive flex and mobilization of lots of very good resources.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

the outcome helped us understand the bike industry here in SD. We are a membership organization so having details that were not previously available to the cycling community enabled us to expand our network. It also helped the Community understand one of our core industries.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

very,

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We are 100% satisfied.

Are there any areas for improvement?

no. I look forward to the next project with Stitch.