Manitowoc firm analyzes satisfaction and loyalty, explores new product development

By Michelle Turcotte, Herald Times Reporter

Name of business: Leede Research

Ownership: Dean and Sheila Halverson

Origins of the business: Dean Halverson, chief executive officer, started Leede Research out of the basement of his mother's house the day after he graduated from college in 1982. The idea cultivated after he developed software for a project in his marketing research course at Lakeshore Technical College.

"We actually did the project for WCUB back in 1981," Halverson said. "They liked it so much we did it a second year, and I liked it so much I just kept on developing the software."

Location: 1332 S. 26th St., Manitowoc

Phone number: (920) 683-5940

Web site: www.leede.com

Hours and days of operation: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday to Saturday.

Services provided-products sold: Leede Research provides marketing research and information services using telephone surveys, focus groups and online information gathering tools.

"About a third of the research conducted for clients is on customer satisfaction and loyalty," said Halverson. "Another third is for new product development, and the remaining third is a combination of projects."

That can be anything from Web site usability testing at their Minneapolis facility, to marketing effectiveness tracking, to use and attitude studies where they look at how people select and use different products, to ethnographic research.

"We also do something called Persona Development, which is basically taking research data and putting a face on it," Halverson said. "It's used a lot in Web site development where we'll identify a user segment and then create a persona for users, and it's used to guide their design process."

How has business changed since opening: Leede continually has grown its product lines and adapted information gathering processes to address changing needs and shifting technology. Halverson says the telephone, the traditional marketing research tool for years, has become more challenging as response rates dip and people become harder to reach.

"One problem with telephone surveys is young people, especially under 25, don't have landlines," said Halverson. Reaching the younger-than-35 population is increasingly challenging. "Yet our research tells us that group of people thinks very differently than the over-35 population, so it's really important to include them."

To compensate, Leede orders larger samples when surveying the under-35 population. Said Halverson, "You just have to make adjustments and understand it's going to take more time to get to them." However, online options have created new opportunities for information gathering.

"We have so many more touch points with consumers than we used to because of the Web," Halverson said. "It's definitely a big factor. Now even qualitative research is starting to move online — a lot of people are doing qualitative research through social networks now." Qualitative research methods include focus groups, ethnographic research, persona development and usability testing. Quantitative research is often survey research.

Who are the customers and from where: Leede primarily works with clients in the Midwest, but also has national and international clients.

"We're really fortunate in Manitowoc to be having some pretty significant impact," Halverson said. "We've done a lot of Web site design work for Best Buy, and Target has used our lab quite a bit." Leede works with consumer goods, financial, healthcare and equipment manufacturing clients.

Who or what is the competition: Competition varies by industry segment and, primarily, is other marketing research companies.

How is marketing done: Leede has a Web site, a full-time sales force and participates in many trade and community organizations. Halverson said referrals from existing customers are great advertising. "Networking has become tremendously important and not just within the industry, but also with people that are on the front-end of technology," Halverson said.

What are the keys to future success: Halverson says continuing to offer strong value and customer service while keeping up with how technology and societal changes are impacting information gathering and use are the keys to future success.

Factors under control or not under control of ownership: "Leede generally has control of its destiny," said Halverson. "It's probably been more of a challenge figuring out where not to go than where to go because it's one of those businesses that can apply anywhere."

Even the poor economy has been positive for Leede. "The last two years has changed consumer behavior forever," Halverson said, "so basically anything anybody knew three years ago is out the window and they've got to start over, which is wonderful for our industry."

What is the role of creativity: "Creativity in our business comes in the design of projects and questionnaires and in the analysis and use of the information," said Halverson. "It also comes into how we look to develop new and innovative tools to address the changing needs of the market."

What is challenging or frustrating: One challenge is staying ahead of the curve with ever-changing technology. "There are so many different tools that are mainstreaming very quickly and becoming part of the research process that weren't even thought of five years ago," said Halverson. It's also become more challenging to build business based on regional clients as Wisconsin loses businesses or regional decision-making.

What is enjoyable: Halverson says he's proud to work with many household-name companies, and to help them build customer loyalty and bring new products and services to the market. "Everyday is enjoyable… it is fun to be in a retail store and see a product or feature that is based on our work," he said. "It is fun to see ad content and know we played a role in their success."

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