The Problem
A real estate marketing software company sought to expand from individual agents to brokerage firms. But, before doing so, the marketing and product teams needed a better understanding of existing marketing challenges, experiences with current solutions, standard product evaluation processes, and the appeal of different potential feature capabilities.
The Approach
We developed an interview-based study to explore the breadth of questions posed by our client. The process started by building a structured discussion guide to ensure that consistent conversations were held across all participants. In tandem, we leveraged client-provided contact lists to qualify and invite participants into the study.
We held one-to-one interview sessions over the course of several weeks, collecting and aggregating feedback to look for themes and trends across participants.
The Results
Product Capability Guidance
By sharing several potential offerings with participants, we surfaced strong appeal for a photo styling feature driven by two pervasive challenges faced by brokers: dated properties and buyers’ inability to visualize updates. In contrast, we determined there was extremely low interest in a bundled product solution since the full price and offering conflicted with e agent fees and cost structures.
New Product Adoption Parameters
Exploring what led brokers to adopt and integrate existing solutions into their agencies let us identify several key criteria needed for initial consideration (e.g., integration with specific industry tools).
Marketing Channel Planning
The interviews surfaced several conferences and events, newsletters, and real estate influencers trusted by industry professionals, intel our client was able to use to plan their marketing activities and justify budget requests.
Did You Know...
In niche B2B settings, 8-10 interviews are all you need to collect actionable feedback. Because B2B professionals in these settings face similar organizational conditions, business challenges, and professional KPI’s, a small sample is all we need to hear consistent trends. And, therefore, it is all we need to extrapolate key findings.
