GIM Clinics
Testing and researching along the entire product development process
Topic
As a highly specialised form of product tests, our clinics provide reliable results regarding the development and success of your products or prototypes. These results can be implemented immediately on a national and international level.
Our car clinics have always been the centre of GIM Clinics. We tailor them to your every requirement: from standard approaches to highly complex and multi-method clinics, from small-scale qualitative versions to large-scale qualitative-quantitative events with 40 or more cars. We even conduct dynamic clinics, drive tests, fly-ins and fly-outs, VR clinics and more. The four pillars of our GIM Clinics are:
- Our research expertise and experience regarding the content
- Logistics (e.g. reference cars, venue procurement, lighting, exhibition stand construction, video, simtrans)
- Security (always in line with your security concept)
- Data management and technical equipment (e.g. survey devices, closed server structure)
We have a well-established network of partners with who we cooperate to complement our clinic service range (for example, in the area of the recruitment of respondents or interviewer trainings).
Areas of application
GIM Clinics are often (however, not always) used in case of research questions regarding the design or the concept. We test new product developments, as well as certain isolated aspects (e.g. interior concepts that are new in the area of automotive, scent concepts or driving tests, also with semi-autonomous prototypes or new mobility concepts in the area of e-mobility).
Automotive is the heart of our clinic research, but that does not mean that we neglect other product areas or industries. Of course, we also develop individual product clinics for other markets like, for example furniture, household and electronic devices, lawn mowers, industrial goods, bicycles and innovative seating concepts for airplanes.
Toolbox
Of course, we can deploy any method from our GIM portfolio in the scope of our clinics: qualitative and quantitative, online and offline, static and dynamic. However, in recent years, four specific approaches have proven to be particularly effective for automotive clinics (partly also applicable for the industries mentioned above):
Quantitative qualitative clinics
- The quantitative evaluation is substantially extended by diverse qualitative modules: in this way, reliable hard facts are supplemented by qualitative understanding.
- Typical qualitative research elements that are used as add-ons are, for example, in-depth interviews, creative workshops, focus groups, specific target group deep dives with fleet managers or lead users etc.
- Typical research topics: perceived quality, advanced features, flexibility of the interior, features/functions (loading, doors, and many other topics)
- Typical clinic forms: design/concept clinics, user interface and usability clinics, package clinics
Qualitative clinics
- One-on-one explorations and/or group discussions in a clinic setup.
- Drive-in clinic with own vehicle (satisfaction and quality perception etc.).
- Clinics with focus on usage, optimisation of details and practicality (e.g. cargo area).
- Typical research topics: design, perceived quality, functionality and handling, usability and concept of how the vehicle is operated.
Inspection clinics
- Qualitative and combined quantitative-qualitative drive-in clinics with own vehicle in the scope of which the problems identified by the consumers are discussed with the manufacturer (engineers, designers).
Drive tests
- Normally a combination of quantitative and qualitative research modules.
- Can also be deployed as one module of a static clinic.
VR clinics
- Hardly any or no physical exhibits at all.
- Products that are to be assessed are presented via VR glasses, partly also as projections in real-life size, all virtual procedures require great experience regarding the handling and interpretation of the results, a requirement that all of our GIM Clinic researchers fulfill.
References
Contact:
For further information please contact:
Clément Catinchi
c.catinchi@g-i-m.com