A critical element of market development is building the buzz--amongst your customers, and within your company. We’ll help you spread the word, keep in touch, and build relationships. Through this process, your customers get excited about what you are doing, and this excitement is infectious.

Building a community. Do you keep in touch with your customers? About 10 years ago, O’Donnell & Associates started experimenting
with ways to communicate with our customer panels, and turn them into a community. The key is to create a running dialog, between you and your customer, and amongst your panel of customers. Nowadays, we use a variety of methods to build a community of practice, including:

• E-mail and snail mail updates
• Newsletters
• Quick 5-question surveys
• Best practice exchanges
• Facilitated discussions on an issue or topic
• Peer mentoring programs
• Conference events

Positioning & message development. Customers often have different interpretations of words that our clients use to describe their products. We work with your customers to ensure that your message is not misinterpreted, that your features and benefits are described in their language, and that your product positioning capitalizes on market needs and trends. Tools and techniques include:

• In-depth interviews and interview/reviews
• Focus groups