Issue:

A large energy company wanted to learn more about the potential decision-making process of key commercial and industrial customers in a new market environment brought about by deregulation.

Approach:

Challenged to investigate a yet-to-be formed decision process, the Blackstone Group designed an innovative, but highly effective research approach.

• The research’s first phase developed hypotheses based on face-to-face, in-depth interviews.
• In the second phase, half-day simulation sessions with employees of the client’s largest accounts helped articulate potential decision-making processes.
• Members of the client’s sales force played key roles in these simulations.