Emerging Industries and Technologies

When e-commerce was still in the embryonic stage, we completed several different assignments with clients in banking and credit card services, computer hardware and software, and telecommunications and Internet services. Our goals varied with each assignment, but over about a two-year period, we helped various clients learn what their target markets wanted, needed and expected from the Internet; the various ways in which innovators and early adopters were making what they considered to be safe on-line transactions; the concerns these target users had which they wanted various providers to address; and related issues that allowed our clients to move quickly to take advantage of this rapidly growing phenomenon.

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When on-line purchasing of medical and pharmaceutical products was just beginning, working with a pharmaceutical firm to understand the needs of site users and purchasers regarding content, navigation, order processes, confidentiality, security, etc. Based on this research, the client revamped its web site, Internet ordering process, and its professional sales process.

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For a computer hardware manufacturer exploring new growth arenas, conducting a series of focus groups with heavy laptop users and with users of a range of communications devices. The goal was to learn how users envisioned portable consumer and business-to-business technologies evolving - and what they really wanted from current and newly developed devices in their most exciting dreams. Our goal was to brainstorm some adventurous development paths for the client, to help them set internal goals, timetables, staff allocations, and budgets.