CNET Channel's DataSource™ Revolutionizes the Way Momentum Market Intelligence Conducts Market Research

It's imperative for high tech companies to fully understand and respond quickly to their customers' business needs. As the number of purchase channels available to consumers continues to grow, decision makers can't wait three months for results or rely on time-consuming studies that profile an opportunity at a single point in time. Corporate management has less and less time to respond to changes in market conditions and have come to depend on quick turn-around studies to gauge movements in the market. That's why Portland, Oregon-based Momentum Market Intelligence, Inc. (MMI) builds its business on the latest analytical techniques that guarantee a competitive edge.

In the past, MMI relied on phone interviews and mall intercepts to con-duct traditional market research, but wanted to be on the cutting edge in the world of market research. With telephone interviews declining in effectiveness, the company needed a new way to test products and advertising campaigns and give the most meaningful, up-to-date product feedback to customers. MMI, a subsidiary of Columbia Information Systems, decided to develop a tool to manage content and analytic techniques that would replace the former emphasis on data collection and place a new emphasis on translating information into action.

SolutionOptimizer Helps Transform Market Research into Market Intelligence

As MMI began transitioning to Web-based interviews and online question- naires, they knew they needed a product content delivery solution that could keep pace with the rapidly changing needs of their customers. They turned to CNET Channel's DataSource, and used that solution as the basis for their SolutionOptimizer offering. SolutionOptimizer takes advantage of how DataSource allows users to search more effectively, view side-by-side product comparisons, and act on informed choices. MMI is able to capture the user's actions in real-time as they shop online, which helps technology companies understand the thinking process of IT project managers who are considering various products. All of this valuable information is tracked through the DataSource component of SolutionOptimizer.

Without being able to employ DataSource in SolutionOptimizer, MMI would have found it much more difficult to provide its mainly IT and health industry customers the kind of detailed market information they need to stay competitive in their market sectors. "It's been very cost effective for us to employ DataSource in our application, and it has given us capabilities that we really just couldn't have managed before," says Project Architect Matthew Hicks. "Using DataSource in SolutionOptimizer has given us the ability to provide important research findings to our customers on how consumers shop online for their products. Without DataSource, this would have been a nearly impossible undertaking."

No More Lagging Market Research

CNET Channel's DataSource solution enables MMI to report to its customer companies how many people are currently considering their product compared against another. "We can then provide real-time market intelligence as what is going on right this second with the market," says Hicks. "We can help our customers answer important questions. Why are people considering your product? Against whose products are they considering your product? And then based on the final decision of what product they chose, what capabilities, what functionality, and so forth, were customers considering? Our customers invest in research that provides actionable insight and can be used to guide their strategic decision-making."

While technically still in beta testing, SolutionOptimizer is being used by approximately 6,000 users. A full release is expected in late May 2005. What does MMI hope to see with the full implementation of CNET Channel's solution? "Using DataSource in SolutionOptimizer gives us a competitive edge over other market research firms. I believe it's the differentiating factor between us and everybody else out there,” says Hicks. "And it will help us add value to a lot of the traditional research reports that we typically deliver to our customers."

DataSource Adds Value to Keep MMI Ahead of the Pack

Integrating DataSource into SolutionOptimizer has been very easy. Two programmers at MMI were able to fully integrate the product in about a week and a half. The tools provided with the advanced training course have allowed the developers to seamlessly implement the catalog of roughly 1 million SKUs.

“This has been very simple compared to some of the upgrades we’ve tackled in the past,” says Hicks. "In fact, we were expecting that taking on such a huge catalog would be quite a shake up in our infrastructure, but it has proven to be a virtually effortless integration. DataSource fit in quite easily and required minimal effort.”

Hicks also says that CNET Channel’s technical support team has been very responsive and supportive. "Everyone we’ve worked with there has been accommodating to us in providing timely information. A lot of what we do is mission critical, so we require a personal relationship with the technical support people. We found that relationship with CNET Channel.”

Looking Ahead: Taking SolutionOptimizer Global

MMI envisions DataSource as a key component both now and in the future. “Our intention for the tool is to have a product catalog, which is continuously kept up to date. And we intend to use DataSource as the real core of SolutionOptimizer,” says Hicks.

The fact that DataSource supports different languages was good news to MMI. The company has plans to roll out SolutionOptimizer into different countries, with a British English version for the United Kingdom, as well as French, Italian, German, and Spanish versions. MMI is pleased to be working with a solution that supports their global market. “We are a very, very satisfied and happy customer,” says Hicks. “CNET Channel’s DataSource is really the core of our offering. Without it, what we are aiming to do would be very difficult. With it, the future of our market research solution looks bright indeed.”

About Momentum Market Intelligence, Inc.

Since 2000, Momentum Market Intelligence has provided market intelligence to the high tech sector. The traditional research company, and its subsidiary, Columbia Information Systems, conducts marketing studies, focus groups, and in depth interviews with IT professionals for Fortune 500 companies.