The challenge

HP is a dominant or leading player across a range of business and consumer technology markets. In one fast growing category, it was facing exceptionally fierce competition from a large number of other significant and experienced global players. Faced with this, it asked Quadrant, with our expertise in market analysis and strategic insight, to confirm the key emerging competitive drivers and recommend potential routes forward for HP within the category.

What did we do?

In a relatively new category, consumers were open to a wide range of influences, including existing knowledge, friends and relatives, the media, advertising, review sites and the retail environment, both on and off line. We responded to the complexity of the environment by following the customer journey from inspiration to possession, assessing competitive dynamics at each step of the way with a blend of media review, advertising audit, bespoke research, competitive analysis, product assessment, retail audits and mystery shopping.

We also sought to understand the motivations and drivers of other key influences by interviewing head office staff from the key retailers and the personnel of HP’s local sales and marketing teams.

What was the breakthrough for HP?

The holistic view, because it:

• Provided a comprehensive analysis of all the drivers of competitive performance
• Clearly indicated areas on which to focus to achieve improved results
• Enabled the client team to develop a shared view of the market with its agencies and other stakeholders