TI: “Vision Critical is an indispensable partner in creating a truly world-class research program.”

Scientists are a particular bunch; electronic design engineers are no exception. Possessing deep technical expertise and well developed rationale, these subject matter experts take their work very seriously and can be highly critical of their peers. For global semiconductor manufacturer Texas Instruments, it’s absolutely critical to gain the trust and support of this discerning community. That’s why a private online community powered by Vision Critical makes so much sense.

THE CHALLENGE

The exact universe of design engineers is difficult to estimate due to its global nature. Even in a field as specialized as hardware design engineering there is a range of opinions and preferences that drive the market. Yet researching and understanding these opinions is as important as it is would be for the consumer goods industry. These engineers can carry tremendous clout when it comes to specifying the features and performance requirements of microchips and related components, which may heavily influence market demand.

Given the expertise required, chip manufacturers cannot rely on general-population sampling to provide reliable insights. Reaching this audience via the traditional means – buying a trade magazine subscriber list and sending them a survey, or outsourcing custom research – is prohibitively expensive and far too slow to yield timely, meaningful insights.

No one knows this better than Eddie Accomando, Research Program Manager for Texas Instruments’ Global Semiconductor division (TI). “We used to rent lists at an annual cost of $50,000 to $500,000, and we even issued Requests For Proposals to the big traditional research firms,” he recalls. “But they were tremendously expensive and didn’t offer the quick turnaround we needed. Back in 2008, we built an in-house relational database to try to systematize our research, but it was way too cumbersome to manage. We were running out of options.”

THE SOLUTION – A PRIVATE ONLINE COMMUNITY PANEL

In 2009, Accomando began to shop for online research platforms for those companies that had private online community panels. This emerging technology held the promise of more control, faster turnaround and better cost-effectiveness. After convincing his group’s management team that their existing research methodologies were out of touch with the needs of the business, he won support for an online panel and looked into a range of service providers.

The first research agency contracted experienced a whole host of issues, including shortcomings in vendor support, portal flexibility and overall panelist experience. A more robust solution was needed, so when that contract expired at the end of 2009 Accomando switched his panel to Vision Critical and has never looked back. “Today, our panel members span 82 countries and we do surveys in 13 languages. Our panelists constantly tell us how much they enjoy taking our surveys and how much they value being given a voice at TI.”

THE RESULTS

The transition from traditional research to the world of online community panels was easy once the company understood the underlying science and realized their needs were going to be better met. Today, the Texas Instruments Expert Advisory Panel plays several critical roles for the company, from product development to brand awareness. Its targeted and highly engaged panelists provide timely and detailed feedback on chip design and packaging, and they also help to drive high levels of brand awareness in both commercial and academic circles.

Once every department in TI’s global semiconductor business unit has learned how to take advantage of the panel, all decisions will be more customer-focused and responsive to the global market. No surprise, given that the Expert Advisory Panel is the largest proprietary engineering panel of its kind in the world.

TI’s online panel has dramatically increased the speed of research while simultaneously driving down the cost. Simple surveys can be fielded, completed and analyzed within 48 hours, a time frame that was unimaginable under the old way of doing things. What’s more, the panel allows for entirely new research options, such as detailed segmentation studies and deep panelist profiling that lets TI conduct even more targeted research. Accomando’s increasingly sophisticated research program takes full advantage of everything the panel has to offer.

“Vision Critical has helped us win stronger management support, allowing us to build a more complex research infrastructure in a short amount of time, and generate visible results more quickly. Their technology is far ahead of the field when it comes to multilingual and multinational panels and surveys, something that we desperately needed given our business model. And when it comes down to it, the people at Vision Critical are there to hold your hand and help you become an expert in online research.

They care about your success and will roll up their sleeves to help you execute. No other supplier comes close in this regard. Vision Critical is an indispensable partner in creating a truly world-class research program.”

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