Unveiling Market Potential for Whirlpool's Non-Electric Washing Machine
Client: Whirlpool, yes, the washing machines and refrigerators market leader (some would say).
Timeframe: 8 months
Role: Project Manager, Innovation Strategist
Team: Behavior science leader, Innovation Strategist
In-field team: Three researchers from the Terwilliger Center for Innovation (Habitat for Humanity).
Challenge: Whirlpool, committed to social impact through innovation, originally designed this product as a non-profit project to aid in natural disasters. Our task was to discern whether this product resonated with the market, and if so, to pinpoint the specific groups that would benefit the most from its introduction and provide market introduction recommendations.
Methodologies:
Mixed Methods Research Approach: Starting with a wide sample to identify polarity profiles to continue with in-depth interviews.
Behavior mapping: Very similar to a journey map, it maps the steps to achieve a behavior in a detailed manner, overlapping layers or time, touchpoints, available data, and barriers and motivators.
Behavioral Archetypes Methodology: Based on classical personas methodology, we included an analysis of the behavior journey and identified barriers and enablers using the COM-B framework.
Phase 1: Building Behavioral Archetypes
This was by far the most comprehensive product research I’ve led, and I loved it. It was only possible thanks to a large team of capable designers and researchers.
Let’s start with the setting: This research had to take place within two different Mexican states where low-income communities could be studied. Guanajuato, with dry weather and water scarcity, and generally speaking lower levels of poverty; and Chiapas, a jungle state with plenty of water and higher levels of poverty.
To truly gauge the potential of this product we had to perform well-rounded research, starting with the context of the target population (weather, infrastructure, politics, etc), the product (usage, benefits, limitations, etc), and the market (benchmarking, competitors analysis, points of sale, etc).
The real excitement began post-implementation of 120 surveys and subsequent data analysis. Through data exploration, we uncovered several patterns leading to the identification of 10 preliminary archetypes. This enabled us to select 20 diverse individuals for in-depth interviews, carefully balancing the sample across different demographics. Our aim was to delve into their washing habits, needs, purchase intentions, and observe product usability during interactions.
Conducting the analysis proved to be a challenging task, given the complexity of handling 20 profiles and 19 variables for persona development. However, our perseverance paid off as we successfully distilled six behavior-based archetypes, each characterized by unique barriers and motivators along their journey.
Desktop Research plan:
Understanding of product's origin and usability
Journey map of the purchase and use experience
Context research of both cities
Field research plan:
Large-Scale Survey (120 People): Conducting an initial survey to gauge a broad understanding of perceptions and needs within the target market.
Proto-Archetypes Identification: Using survey data to form hypotheses about potential user profiles and preferences.
In-Depth Interviews: Delving deeper into identified profiles through qualitative interviews to gain nuanced insights and validate hypotheses.
Phase 2: Hypothesis validation
Validation plan: