Partnering with VPI
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What are you looking for?
Let’s talk! Our insights research services can be adapted to suit a variety of projects and organizations. With our experience in for-profit, non-profit, government, and academia, we can help you find the answers you need to move forward and succeed.
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Custom Approach.
Show us what you’ve got and we’ll work with you to design the best possible project to suit your objectives.
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Insights that work.
We’re your strategic partner offering intelligent, evidence-backed, actionable insights that work for you.
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We partner with organizations to deliver impactful, actionable insights that solve business challenges. Every project is customized to your needs, with a rigorous approach and clear communication from start to finish.
Here’s what you can expect:
Initial Discovery & Proposal: We begin with a collaborative conversation to understand your goals, challenges, and context of the project. We then propose a tailored research approach, complete with a scope of work, timelines, and pricing.
Partnership Agreement: Once we align on the plan, we finalize a partnership agreement so we can get to work right away with confidence and clarity.
Kick-off Meeting: We lead a high-engagement kick-off session with your key stakeholders (and any relevant vendors) to clarify goals, surface existing insights (such as from your CRM, email system, and social media), and make sure everyone is on the same page. We can also adjust the project plan at this stage, if needed.
Tool Development & Review: We develop and collaborate with your team to refine recruitment materials and data collection tools aligned with the project objectives.
Data Collection & Communication: We manage the recruitment process (if desired) and data collection with precision, keeping you informed along the way to ensue smooth execution and shared visibility. Mid-point briefings on progress are encouraged but not required.
Team Debrief: Once data collection is complete, we review early findings with your team, allowing space for interpretation and emerging insights.
Insight Delivery & Strategic Discussion: We present a detailed report with findings and strategic implications, helping you translate insights into actions that work for you.
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We’re proud to offer subcontracting and partnership support to other research firms looking to expand capacity or bring in additional expertise.
Our collaborative process includes:
Scope & Agreement
We work with you to define the tasks, hours, timeline, and rates—clearly and transparently.Project Immersion
We dive into project materials and secondary research to get up to speed on your project topic and objectives.Team Integration
We attend (and lead, if needed) briefing and coordination calls to stay aligned with your team and your client’s needs.Research Development
We co-develop or create research tools in line with your methodologies and project goals.Fieldwork Execution
We conduct research activities, ensuring quality, consistency, and professionalism throughout.Analysis & Reporting
We contribute to or deliver findings, participate in midpoint reviews, and provide a report in the format you need. We’re available to communicate with your client if desired.
Getting research right
Avoiding error and bias in research starts with careful planning, clear research questions, and rigorous methodology. That is why we: Use well-designed tools, including secure systems and AI, when appropriate; ensure diverse and representative sampling; and avoid personal assumptions and leading questions that might influence outcomes.
Collaborative review, transparency, and thoughtfully combining data sources are also steps that we take to enhance the credibility of our findings.
Designing your project
Being clear on what hope to learn from your project helps determine the type of research approach to take. There are two main approaches, each with their own purpose and value. They can also be mixed to provide greater understanding, if project needs and resources allow.
Quantitative Research = Measurement, “How Many, How Much”
Research questions sound like: How many people engage in X behavior? How many people responded favorably to Y?
Great for large, quantifiable data sets and understanding trends in behavior.
Surveys are the most common method of generating numerical data that is used to describe behavior from a population perspective.
Note: Most organizations also have access to quantitative customer data that can offer insights or points of exploration via their customer data tracking systems, payment systems, email systems, or social media.
Qualitative = Meaning, “How and Why”
Research questions sound like: Why do people behave the way they do? Why do people feel the way they do?
Great for understanding customers’ views, wants, and needs; focused on capturing their experiences, perspectives, motivations, and behaviors in their own words or in a “natural” setting (read “as natural as possible”)
In-depth interviews, group interviews, diary methods, and observational methods generate descriptive data that offers glimpses in an individual’s world.
Mixed-Methods
Both quantitative and qualitative approaches have their place and may be sufficient, depending on the research questions and objectives of the project. Combining methods may provide a more holistic view of customer behavior and preferences in some cases.
Example: Qualitative methods are helpful when first exploring areas for growth, say, for a new product (e.g. expanding to a new market or adding a new feature), when deeper insights into what customers want and need, and how they perceive what your brand offers, are needed to decide on a direction. Quantitative methods may then be used to validate qualitative findings (e.g. assessing customer satisfaction, or validating usability issues), across a much larger audience.
Barriers: A common challenge
When it comes to insights projects, understanding the people who aren’t customers/users/clients, but should be, is one of the most common challenges to tackle. While it may be easier to learn a lot of about current customers, it can be challenging to find out what makes people tick who are not customers.
Barriers are anything that stands in the way of people engaging with a process, product, or system, or that negatively influences their likelihood of engagement.
Barriers can be revealed through thoughtfully employed research. In some cases, a survey may be the appropriate method for capturing feedback from a known group, such as lapsed customers. In other cases, domain experts, or in the case of B2B relationships, individuals in decision-making positions within organizations, may need to be interviewed to better understand potential barriers.