How your research community can elevate your position as a thought leader

In our December webinar, Justin Coates of Eastman Chemical Company and Taylor Doolittle of Bellomy gave a presentation on how Eastman uses an online research community to gain a deeper understanding of sustainably-minded consumers.

They touched on everything related to the online research community, from its value to Eastman to success stories to engagement activity. However, I would like to address the main takeaway — Eastman’s ability to position itself as a strategic thought partner to its clients due to their use of an online research community.

Focus on making your clients successful

As a materials manufacturer, Eastman is a unique company. Its products are used in the manufacturing of products across almost all industries — everything from shampoo to reusable sport bottles. Eastman has clients all over the world that count on their materials to create and market valuable consumer products. Although Eastman is a B2B company, its online community, The Sustainable Insights Community, is made up of consumers. Since Eastman’s goal is to help their clients make products for the end-consumer, Eastman’s online community engagements includes research activities that seek to understand what drives consumers, like:

• Online discussions on indoor air quality
• Digital focus groups on which materials concern consumers
• A mobile shopping mission to discover what drives shampoo purchases

Access the webinar recording to see how an online research community delivers insights that can elevate your company as a thought leader.

Uncover actionable insights for your clients

From over 900 customer interactions, Eastman was able to uncover purchase priorities amongst sustainably-minded consumers. They learned that, across product categories, these consumers need their products to perform well — first and foremost. The sustainability of a product and its materials turned out to be secondary. In order to successfully market a sustainable product, businesses must either meet or exceed performance expectations, then underpin the product with that sustainability. Eastman was able to bring this information to its clients, providing insights to help them produce and position products accordingly.

Demonstrate your company’s value

Eastman does not want to simply produce materials based on market research; they want to demonstrate to their clients why those materials are best for the consumer. Using data collected from The Sustainable Insights Community is the most efficient way for Eastman to do that.

Get the full benefit from your online research community

The ability to continually engage with consumers and distill responses into actionable insights allows you to demonstrate your company’s value over and over again.

At Bellomy, we don’t just deliver data, we are consultants — our clients’ business problems are our business problems. Bellomy positions ourselves as thought partners to Eastman, so that Eastman may position itself as a thought partner to its clients. Eastman Chemical Company and our other B2B clients use online research communities to deliver insights that help their clients create the best products for the end-consumer.