Trust the specialist
Unit Director Hans-Jochen Brückner is an expert in the energy industry and mobility market research. Before joining INNOFACT AG he held leading positions at Glaxo Deutschland (market research consultant), Vaillant Group (head of corporate market research) and E.ON Ruhrgas (head of product management, marketing and market research services).
RANGE OF SERVICES: QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE STUDIES IN RELATION TO YOUR NEEDS ON THE FOLLOWING TOPICS
Field of Customer
- Customer satisfaction, retention, enthusiasm
- Customer recovery
- Target group segmentation as input for customer value analyses and churn management
- KPI determination and tracking along the customer value chain and customer journey for optimization of customer-relevant processes
- Referral analysis (NPS tracking)
- Segmentations
- Customer and non-customer typologies such as persona analyses
Field of Brand
- Brand core, image and driver analyses as input for brand (re-)positioning
- Brand Funnel
- Mirror surveys
Field of Innovations
- Support in the development and expansion of business areas (e.g., energy efficiency projects/services or smart home), for example, with regard to customer acceptance, willingness to buy, and willingness to pay for innovative product and service packages
- Support in the innovation process for the development of product and service innovations
Field of Marketing
- Marketing mix optimization and marketing mix design
- Examples of advertising pre-tests and post-tests
- “First Buyer” Analysis
- Web checks
- Price positioning:
Pricing and optimization using PSM, Garbor Granger or conjoint analysis. - Product and service optimizations:
Concept tests, short concept tests, ACB or CB conjoint analyses (Sawtooth license), first-buyer analyses - Communication/Advertising:
Advertising pre and post tests, motif and logo tests, website optimization, customer magazine analysis and optimization, market insights for press releases - INNOFACT Attention Drawer
SALES / CHANNELS DIVISION
- Sales channel and segmentation analyses
- Mystery shopping
- Customer journey analyses
- Website optimization incl. closing section
- Customer service analysis and optimization incl. mirror survey
MARKET AND COMPETITION DIVISION
- Market analyses
- Potential analyses
- Competition analyses
- Feasibility studies
PROJECT PARTICIPATIONS
- City network
- Real labs
- Smart Home
- Ambient assisted living
- Renewable energies in the city, etc.
USE OF THE INNOFACT TOOLS
- Placement of exclusive questions in the population-representative daily/weekly INNOFACT Omnibus.
- Weekly INNOFACT Omnibus Survey: Placement of exclusive questions/studies
- Population-representative nationwide, regional or target group-specific such as energy decision-makers, promoters/first movers, homeowners, renters, lay renters, users of PV systems
- INNOFACT Mobility Monitor: Insight into the experience of citizens with the aim of providing market players in the mobility industry with regular up-to-date information on the behavior and expectations of citizens with regard to mobility offers. Currently, INNOFACT is realizing a study with drivers of electric and hybrid cars, which we are conducting within our German online panels.We will soon inform you here about the results of the E-driver survey with the opportunity to use our E-car driver sample or the mobility monitoring for your own questions or studies on the topic of mobility.
STUDY EXAMPLES (German language)
Gains and Pains when Charging Electric Cars at Home
This core result is a part of the detailed study report of INNOFACT Energy and Mobility Market Research and was prepared on the occasion of the conducted webinars.
Energy Minister Günther: "Saxony is renewable!" Most comprehensive study to date on acceptance of renewable energies presented
Around two thirds of people in Saxony have a positive attitude towards renewable energies. This is the result of a comprehensive INNOFACT survey presented by Energy Minister Wolfram Günther in Dresden on Friday (March 11). According to the survey, the approval ratings differ only insignificantly between urban and rural areas. In addition, the approval ratings for renewable energies in Saxony are comparable to those at the federal level.
On the occasion of the study presentation, Günther said: “The study results are a strong signal for the expansion of renewable energies. As far as their acceptance by the people is concerned, Saxony is a normal case and not an exception.
INNOFACT study "Hydrogen"
SURVEY ON HYDROGEN: BASICALLY HIGH OPENNESS, BUT INFORMATION DEFICITS
The ramp-up of hydrogen, which has begun in the context of the goal of climate neutrality and is supported by EU funding of 40 billion euros, offers immense opportunities to meaningfully supplement green power production in terms of achieving climate goals.
In addition to the innovation and technology side, which are currently the focus of technical discussion, consideration of the demand side in terms of knowledge, requirements and expectations in the B2C and B2B sectors represents a critical success factor in the context of successful market development and penetration.
This study by INNOFACT Energy and Mobility Market Research shows initial population-representative top-level assessments, which we are happy to expand upon with further studies at the sector, segment, concept and supply levels.
INNOFACT Study "Modern Storage Solutions"
SURVEY ON ELECTRICITY STORAGE: POSITIVE IMAGE, BUT UNCERTAINTY ABOUT ECONOMIC VIABILITY
In the course of the expansion of photovoltaics, interest in electricity storage systems in private households is also increasing. A representative survey commissioned by ener|gate shows that younger residents in particular are receptive to the idea.
More and more people are becoming interested in electricity storage systems in private households. According to a representative survey conducted by the market research institute INNOFACT on behalf of energate, almost a third of Germans have already looked into this topic. The interest in storage systems is also likely to be linked to the increasing spread of photovoltaic systems.
INNOFACT study "Safe Processes"
Survey on energy supply in the Corona crisis: respondents expect higher consumption
This representative survey gives you an insight into how German consumers assess their energy consumption in times of the Corona crisis and to what extent they perceive their energy supply to be secure.
Joint study "Customer benefits of smart homes for homeowners and lay renters"
The core of the joint project “Customer Benefits Smart Home” was concerned with the requirements of homeowners and lay renters for smart home solutions.
This project result shows very clearly why the current smart home market volume is far below its commercial potential: Customer needs and actual offerings of smart home solutions are far apart.
For companies in the energy and heating technology industry, it is time to act and decide whether to take on the role of smart home system integrator or to be a “participant” at most, leaving market leadership to new players with strong ambitions such as Google and Apple.
For more information on the joint project “Customer Benefits Smart Home”, see the exciting article by e21.
If you are interested in the final report of the joint project “Customer Benefits Smart Home for Homeowners and Lay Renters”, please contact Mr. Brückner.
Community study "Ambient Assisted Living - the intelligent solution for living in old age".
Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) is considered to be a smart environment designed to enable elderly, disabled and dependent people to live self-determined lives in their own homes. The increasingly aging population is dependent on support in everyday life and care, especially in rural areas. As the birth rate continues to fall, there is a shortage of both trained nursing staff and relatives to provide care. In addition, many elderly people wish to remain in their familiar surroundings for as long as possible. AAL systems can provide targeted support and thus contribute to quality of life in old age. They are of interest not only to those affected, but also to relatives, health insurers, care service providers and providers.
INNOFACT Mobility Monitor
The INNOFACT Mobility Monitor provides an insight into the experiences of citizens and aims to offer market players in the mobility industry regular up-to-date information on citizens’ behavior and expectations with regard to mobility offerings.
In a recent study within the INNOFACT Mobility Monitor, we dedicated ourselves to drivers of e-cars with hybrid and purely electric drive systems and obtained insights into many exciting areas of development.
For more information on the study and the opportunity to use our e-car driver sample or the mobility monitoring for your own questions or studies on the topic of mobility, see here.
ADAC study electromobility
If you live in an apartment building and want to charge your electric car, you’re in for a tough time. This is shown by a recent study by INNOFACT on behalf of the ADAC. Only very few underground garages are equipped with a power socket or wallbox.
- Only four percent of larger ones have power outlets at parking spaces
- Managers fear high costs and technical problems
- ADAC: The responsible federal ministry should present a draft law this year to facilitate the installation of charging facilities
Even if the number of public charging stations for electric cars is increasing: The most convenient and usually also cheapest way to charge your electric car is to plug it into your own socket. It is comparatively easy for homeowners to set up the necessary infrastructure. The situation is quite different for tenants or owners of apartments in larger buildings. This is shown by an INNOFACT survey commissioned by ADAC among 310 property management companies and other companies from the housing industry in eleven major cities.
Support of the Design Thinking process
Design Thinking has established itself in various industries as a tried and tested method within the innovation and product development process. Since this does not yet apply to all companies in the energy industry, we have taken this as an opportunity to explore the Design Thinking process for you and make it manageable for your tasks within the framework of successful product and service development.
1. Understand
- Focus groups/in-depth interviews with experts
- Desk Research (market analysis)
- Data mining
2. Observe
- Survey of the target group
- Focus groups with potential customers
- Customer segmentation
3. Finding Ideas
- Ideas Screener
- Workshop/focus group with internal and customers
4. Concept development and prototyping
First of all, suitable product and service concepts are pre-developed within the company. The customer insights and ideas gained in the preliminary phases are incorporated and flow into alternative rough concepts, which in turn have to withstand detailed examination by the customers in order to ensure your customer orientation and marketability.
INNOFACT uses quantitative concept tests with the relevant target groups to answer the following questions:
- Which concepts have the best chances to successfully assert themselves against others in the market
- Which concept can be expected to generate the highest demand potential (Overall Liking, willingness/preference to buy)?
- What specifically appeals to the customer and where is still room for improvement (likes and dislikes)?
- Are the developed solution concepts accepted?
- How new and unique is the product or service concept perceived by the customer?
- How are the concepts assessed based on central characteristics (characteristics profile)?
- Which name and which design develops the best consumer appeal and intended product perception?
INNOFACT offers an extensive concept test or a short concept test depending on the desired level of detail.
5. Marketing and sales
On the basis of existing company goals and the previously determined customer benefits, suitable concepts are developed in-house to market maturity. In this context, INNOFACT provides support with regard to a success-oriented design of marketing and sales instruments by involving the customers.
INNOFACT uses quantitative market research instruments with the relevant target groups. Using the example of a price acceptance study to determine the optimal margin price positioning, the Grabor Granger method is used, which has the following objectives:
- Checking the price acceptance of the product/service concept with potential customers and evaluating it.
- Purchase and price willingness of potential customers.
- Achievable market price per customer segment and target group.
6. Services of the INNOFACT Business Unit Energy & Mobility
- Accompaniment of your design thinking process to ensure, through appropriate market research approaches, that the product and service concepts to be developed follow a maximum of customer orientation.
- Concept and questionnaire development in close cooperation with you as well as programming of the questionnaire. Screening and incentivisation of the test persons as well as field work.
- Data analysis, preparation and charting including identification of segment- and region-specific features. Result report including management summary and recommendations for action.
- Optional: Personal presentation of results on site.