Driving success for Japan’s top skincare brand
SKIM helps skincare brand TAKAMI optimize its subscription model through stakeholder interviews, collaborative innovation, and conjoint analysis.
Written in collaboration with Marc van Aken, Senior Market Intelligence Manager at Philips Lighting
Over the last couple of years SKIM and Philips have been working together on research challenges in several product categories, for example in the lighting category. We asked Marc van Aken to share his thoughts about working with SKIM: “When I need to know it is done reliably and thoroughly, I choose SKIM.”
Market research to define innovation opportunities
For Philips Lighting, market research is a crucial tool in driving growth, especially growth through innovation. “When you face decisions on where to invest, you need to have the right information and insights available. Within Philips the role of the end client has become more and more important in our innovation process; nowadays we talk about ‘people focused innovation’.”
Marc van Aken: “SKIM’s flexibility, understanding and methodological expertise allows them to provide custom solutions for our studies, while still guaranteeing accurate results.”
Understanding the business and business questions
According to Marc, these kinds of studies require a research partner who truly understands the business questions as well as the context in which they are asked. “In our projects, SKIM has shown that they know how important it is to fully understand the business questions. During each phase of a study SKIM people ask for further understanding about the Philips business and try to think along: What are the issues of the business? What is the reason for doing this study and what will happen with the results? Questions like this prove that SKIM is aiming for an optimal study design and results, which best serve the business needs of Philips.”
SKIM’s methodological expertise and reliability
Besides understanding the business questions, a good research partner should think along about the best methods to use. Marc explains: “To me SKIM is a true sparring partner for the more sensitive, complex business issues for which it is difficult to find the best research design. SKIM’s flexibility, understanding and methodological expertise allows them to provide custom solutions for these studies, while still guaranteeing accurate results. When I need to know it is done reliably and thoroughly, I choose SKIM.”
Creativity in applying conjoint
“Over the years we have solved different types of business questions with SKIM, all based on the principles of conjoint. We’ve used traditional conjoint to define the value of product attributes and optimal product prices, but by means of less straight-forward conjoint models we’ve also done research to find out the potential of new technologies or how to position our products in line with the benefits they deliver. In all of these studies we needed to gain insights into the consumers’ choices, for which conjoint is a very accurate tool. SKIM has the methodological expertise to apply conjoint in creative, yet reliable, ways – leading to new insights.”
