An Interest in iPhones
Project Background
The iPhone was released on June 29, 2007, after Apple and AT&T successfully partnered to provide consumers with what fans consider the single greatest and most significant product of the modern era.
On June 30 of the same year, Microsoft and the competitive wireless carriers awoke in need of a stiff drink, and a good plan.
Client Objectives
One of those concerned parties came to us, looking to supplement monthly iPhone tracking studies with direct user feedback. The client specifically wanted to understand the impact of iPhone use on small business habits and needs. Illustrative feedback would allow the client to react to the inevitable shift in customer needs and expectations, on a number of levels (features, functionality, battery life, etc).
The Challenge
We designed a research study to elicit the detailed feedback the client needed. Finding the relatively few participants who fit the very specific criteria of the target demographic at launch (small business owners with an iPhone), and could make the time commitment to articulate a semi-euphoric experience.
Our Approach
Given the specificity of client objectives, we knew that an online, asynchronous discussion group would allow participants to fully report on their daily uses, and experiences with the iPhone, while minimizing peer influence. Our ThoughtCast methodology would enable participants to respond to posted questions with detailed answers, at their convenience; the perfect fit for early adopters.
Our approach led us to realize that what we (and the client) were truly looking for were authentic user reviews. So, we decided to go straight to the authoritative source for user reviews; blogs.
The Outcome
We contacted the hosts, and commentators of pre-eminent technology themed blogs, as well as a few Apple fan blogs for good measure. This generated a good deal of interest in participation, and we were able to screen potential respondents based on the criteria established at the onset of the project.
Thus, we were able to identify enthusiastic small business iPhone accounts, and collect the detailed and insight-rich user reviews necessary to satisfy client objectives.
The Upside
We learned a lot about the iPhone, and what its release meant, (and still means) for the industry. As a result of this project we also learned how to target and verify niche demographics quickly and efficiently online.
