Market Research Narrowed the Vision

Handspring used a combination of market research vehicles to narrow its vision of what an effective mobile communicator should be like. Some of this research involved traditional focus groups, and other research involved talking to a lot of customers face to face, on the phone, and through e-mail over the Internet. Some consumer input came from unsolicited customer feedback over the Handspring web site. This input taught Handspring a lot about what people wanted in a mobile communication device. It also identified what they did not like about the Visor Phone and other early competitive devices, such as the Palm VII.

Based on consumers likes, dislikes, and stated desires, Handspring constructed a nonworking model of a potential new wireless product that was far more advanced than the Visor Phone, or anything else in the marketplace at that time. The device was a mobile phone, a Web device, an e-mail device, and an organizer. Models are necessary for focus groups because people have trouble conceptualizing the idea if they cannot actually see it. Although this was not a working model, potential users could hold it in their hand and see what it would look like. Computer screens were created to show the software concepts.

Once Handspring had this prototype, it went to formal focus groups to finalize everything. A variety of different types of respondents were recruited for these focus groups, including Palm OS users and non-Palm OS users. The timing of the focus groups was staggered so that changes could be made from one set of groups to another. The focus groups were held in various cities in the United States and in Europe. Europe was included because this was planned as an international venture, and Handspring wanted to understand the needs of consumers on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

Based on consumer input concerning the prototype, an actual product was built to an engineering quality level. It did not really use the final hardware or software, and it did crash from time to time. However, it gave the respondent a pretty good idea of what the new device would actually be like. More focus groups were conducted to obtain reactions to this refined prototype. Handspring wanted to see how people would actually use the product. It wanted to see how they would dial the phone, how long it would take them to learn to use the device, how long it would take them to look up a phone number, and where they had to struggle. A whole series of questions about the perceived benefits and negatives were also asked. Respondents were also exposed to a variety of different positioning statements.