Challenge:
Catalist’s customer base and the application of its data products and tools increased dramatically in 2008. Having navigated its first presidential election year, the company sought to better understand its customers’ perceptions of the experience of working with Catalist, as well as the usage and impact that Catalist’s data and support had on their programs.
Solution:
grassroots solutions developed a qualitative assessment framework and then conducted a thorough review of Catalist’s services, data access, and pricing structure during the 2008 election cycle. This was the second such assessment undertaken by grassroots solutions for Catalist. The first was undertaken after the 2006 election cycle. The 2008 assessment’s scope expanded to reflect Catalist’s larger and more diverse client base as well as the increased complexity and sophistication involved in product and service delivery in 2008. The assessment explored how customers felt about Catalist’s product and services, examined the usage and impact of Catalist’s data and support in 2008, identified the key lessons from 2008, and related the 2008 lessons to those of 2006. The assessment included phone interviews with a representative sample of Catalist customers (by subscription and organization type), staff, and funders. Additionally, five customers were selected for more in-depth exploration. The ways that Catalist data was utilized by these customers and the impact that working with Catalist had on their programs were examined by grassroots solutions in greater detail. Interview results were analyzed in conjunction with an extensive examination of other relevant documentation and a hands-on exploration of Catalist’s tools.
Results:
- grassroots solutions developed and presented a comprehensive report with the assessment findings, which represented respondents’ commonly held views and consistent themes.
- grassroots solutions wrote up a separate memo with five in-depth customer profiles to showcase the variety of customers’ data needs and specific usage of Catalist’s data products and tools in 2008.
- The strengths and shortcomings identified through the assessment process helped Catalist clarify and focus on key issues, and the specific recommendations included in the assessment provided potential solutions to improve its customers’ experience in the years ahead.