About
Problem
A discovery project to empower the Sandwell Business Growth team with data-driven insights, enabling them to better understand their audience, fuel local business growth, and optimise their digital presence. Through in-depth market research and a thorough website audit, we paved the way for a more effective and responsive business support ecosystem.
The Sandwell Business Growth team needed more data and insights about their key audiences to make informed decisions, shape new offerings that meet their needs, and serve them more effectively.
Solution
We conducted a deep investigation into what Sandwell businesses want from business support. Using a mixture of methods to gather a significant body of quantitative and qualitative data we audited the website, reviewed competitors and conducted a large survey to provide clear direction.
A discovery project to help the team better understand their audience, fuel growth and audit their existing website. 300+ businesses surveyed, 32 actionable insights identified, 7 new offerings crafted.
Fueling Growth: Market Research to Transform Sandwell's Business Support
-min.png)
Behind the scenes
300+
People completed the survey across three core groups
15%
Of survey responses were new prospective customers'
32
Actionable insights from the UX Audit to help improve the website
15
Direct and Indirect competitors reviewed across 5 categories
8
Clear future developments identified in competitor report
7
Offerings crafted as part of their 2024 plan
Process
01
UX Audits to guide
We conducted a UX audit assessing categories such as navigation, layout, forms, and UI interactions. Based on these findings, we provided a prioritised list of recommendations to imrpove the website offerings.
02
Competitor Research
In order to provide strategic context to identify opportunities and weaknesses for Sandwell, we considered a range of direct, peer and indirect competitors. We reviewed areas such as service offerings, usability, CTAs and design approach.
03
Market Research Survey
In order to find routes to their audience, craft messaging and get actionable results for the team, we created a detailed market research plan. We then reviewed 300+ responses and analysed the data to form a clear plan.
CLIENT FEEDBACK
WHAT CLIENTS SAY
WHAT CLIENTS SAY
WHAT CLIENTS SAY
"The project provided us with valuable insights and the confidence to make informed decisions. In just 8 weeks Sophie conducted thorough audits, market research, and data analysis, truly grasping our needs. The comprehensive final report offered actionable next steps to build out our offering.”
Growth Manager, Sandwell Business Growth
Nicy
Explore other projects
Crafting a Creative Digital Hub for UKRI's MyWorld Programme
Web • User Research • Prototyping
Challenges
Survey reach: Uncovering the most effective outreach methods proved challenging. Ensuring a good survey reach required an extensive cross-channel approach, tapping into various business channels including emails.
Survey results: The public nature of our survey channels resulted in some spam responses. Filtering out invalid data required time and in-depth expertise to ensure the integrity of our findings.
Impact
Our market research and website audit have provided Sandwell Business Growth team with a clear roadmap for improvement, including a newly launched website and offerings.
The insights gained are enabling more targeted support services and informing website enhancements to boost user engagement. With 7 new offerings crafted as part of their plan.