MarketAlignment Assessment™

Any type of research that asks customers direct questions fails to uncover what the customer can’t describe or simply does not understand. 

MarketAlignment Assessment™ is a robust market analysis tool that uncovers and maps hidden customer value demands. 

Our clients rely on this tool for:

• Strategic planning
• Brand strategy development
• Marketing communications strategy development
• New product development
• Market entry

Mergers and Acquisitions due diligence

The Secret to Growth is Finding Customer Value Demands

A business doesn’t grow because the economy permits it, the government subsidizes it, or customers clamor for it.¹ Growth results from aligning your value offerings with your customers’ value demands.  The secret is finding your customers’ value demands. 

Customers’ Value Demands Rarely About Product

Customer value demands are elusive to management because management tends to focus on the functional relationship between their product and their customer (product centric).  Management tends to ignore the emotional and social aspects of their customers’ needs—because they are less tangible and more difficult to understand.  Today, however, the emotional and social demands play a larger role in driving customer purchasing behavior than ever before.

Finding the Hidden Customer Value Demands

As customers’ value demands grow more complex, they become less visible or at least less direct.  When it comes to the emotional and social components, customers don’t know what they want in most cases.  At the very least, they don’t know how to describe what they want.  So how do you get figure out what they really want? 

MarketAlignment Assessment™ (MA²)

In 2004, NuTerra Strategies created a proprietary market analysis tool, called the MarketAlignment Assessment™, which is specifically designed to uncover and map hidden customer value demands. 

The Secret?  In-depth Qualitative Customer Interviews

The secret to the MarketAlignment Assessment™ is conducting in-depth qualitative interviews that focus on the customers’ world (what’s working well and what is most frustrating).  And we never ask a direct question.  Any type of research that asks customers direct questions fails to uncover what the customer can’t describe or simply does not understand.  Focus groups, satisfaction surveys, voice-of-the-customer — they all rely on the customer telling you what they want. 

Experienced Market Analysts Conduct Interviews

The key is having experienced business analysts conduct the interviews.  Too many market research firms rely on “survey staff” to conduct qualitative interviews with customers. They lack the experience and depth of knowledge to explore deeply with the customer.  NuTerra Strategies’ interviewers are experienced market analysts who quickly recognize key symptoms and how to drill deeper to get the story behind the story.

Measure Alignment Along 5 Key Metrics

The MarketAlignment Assessment™ measures client assumptions and products against the actual value demands of the customer along 5 key metrics (shown in the chart below).  The accuracy of the current alignment is measured as a percentage.  Most surprising is the average alignment is 40%.  That means 60% of customer value demands are not being met.

Sample Report

To learn more about the MarketAlignment Assessment™ or to see a sample report, call NuTerra Strategies LLC 920-964-5564 or click here.