Needs Assessment Assessing a company's needs and readiness for online delivery.

The situation
In the late 90s, one of the leading testing companies decided that it needed online products for its customers. But, where to begin? SAT test prep? Professional certification? K-12? Higher ed? And, what products were customers ready to purchase online?

The process
O’Donnell & Associates designed a process to help our client explore this business opportunity. The first two phases included a market review/competitive analysis, and an internal needs assessment. While our researchers launched the market review, our consultants conducted extensive one-on-one interviews with each of the company’s top executives. We learned their divisional goals and priorities, their opinions regarding the readiness of their various customer segments for online, and their ideas for moving the company into the online space.

The results
We found that the executives were not of like mind regarding the opportunity and how to enter this new market. While all agreed that a business opportunity existed, there was no consensus about where to begin. This was very enlightening, and prompted the company to hold off on an organically grown online program. Instead, they partnered with another company to launch their first product. This enabled them to explore the new market in a less risky position, and learn how to conduct business online prior to launching their own products.