Business POV

Looking for a cost-effective way to glean valuable insights about your customers and clients? Think guerilla research, says Jeremy Alexis, an assistant professor at IIT's Institute of Design. It's the kind of approach that allows for a quick — and often critical — insights during the product development process.

Sony PlayStation, Palm Pilots and the Apple iPhone all sprung out of ground-level research, Alexis says. So who should do this kind of research? "The individuals responsible for change: product or brand managers, designers..."

From a time standpoint, Alexis says that one hour of interviewing should equal one hour of prep and analysis. (In a typical research project, a one-hour interview would equal five or more hours of prep and analysis.)

"Statistical surveys allow you to ask a 1000 people one question," says Alexis. "Guerilla research allows you to ask one person a thousand questions, which can help companies dig in and understand why certain things are happening."

Most business owners already spend time with their clients and prospective customers, Alexis says, but they often don't realize that they could be getting more out of the encounters. "You should be asking yourself: what did we see, what did we learn, and what can we do about it?"

Official Bio

Jeremy Alexis is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Design. He holds both a Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Design degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Jeremy has spent the majority of his professional career leading interdisciplinary teams tasked with defining next generation products, services, and business models. He has worked with clients such as Unilever, Motorola, Citibank, Pfizer, American Express, Target Corporation, and Zebra Technologies. Before joining ID full time this year, Jeremy was a member of the adjunct faculty beginning in the spring of 2000.