Client description: Food/restaurant equipment and supply distributor

Practice area: Market Research and Analysis; Strategic Positioning and Planning

Geographic scope: US

Industries involved: Food; distribution

Services applied: Market opportunity study; Voice of the Customer; go-to-market strategy; competitive intelligence

Business challenge: The company had witnessed a decline in sales and increased pressure on margins and needed a comprehensive assessment of their customer base and competitor set.

Methodologies: We conducted 20qualitative IDIs with thought leaders and competitors and then conducted an online quantitative survey with 684 respondents across the multiple target respondent categories. We also built a market sizing model and analyzed overall market trends and competitive dynamics.

The result: A detailed report that provided sophisticated data analysis through tools such as Brand Battleground, What Customers Want, Stated vs. Derived decision-drivers. The report included a complex market sizing model built with primary insights and secondary data from the “top down” and the “bottom up.” Our competitive analysis revealed competitive threats previously unknown to the client. Our analysis of price pressures and buyer behavior ultimately supported the conclusion that the increased transparency provide by the worldwide web was a significant threat to margins and a new business model focused on operational excellence would need to be pursued or the company divested.