Voices: the CMB Blog

A practical and innovative approach to new product development.

The Challenge

Tauck Worldwide, an industry leader with over 85 years experience in premium guided tours, wanted to create a new travel concept to meet the needs of a population increasingly comfortable with researching, planning, and traveling on their own. Tauck needed innovative thinking to define and build a new type of tour product – one that appealed to next gen customers, conveyed a unique brand identity while standing out from competitors in the crowded travel market space. What We Did

CMB and principals from South Street Strategy Group used a multi-method, multi-source approach to:

• Select top opportunities on which to focus

• Ideate across functions with executives and senior managers, leveraging insight and experience in the market

• Research and assess the competitive landscape and baby boomer’s core  travel goals and needs – particularly un-met needs

• Test alternatives to guide product development, pricing and identify target guests who are most interested in the new product line

• Identify acquisition targets in the travel industry, new business models, and new product offerings, by leveraging core competencies, that would create significant value for the company and address baby boomer’s needs

• Work with the CEO, CFO, and COO and the New Ventures Group to ensure recommendations were aligned with business constraints, addressed operational challenges and met business goals

How It Was Used

Tauck launched the Culturious brand as a totally new product line on time and with unanimous board approval. The new brand, which currently consists of 8 packages and destinations, meets customer needs by offering small-group tours geared toward active baby boomers with an interest in active, culturally engaging travel. The brand has won awards, including the 2010 Innovation prize from the Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Partnerships (CQIA).

To learn more about our approach to New Product and Service Development click here.

For more of our award winning case studies click here. 

The 2014 implementation of many of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) key provisions has sparked a great deal of speculation about the future of the healthcare market; there seems to be no end to the models predicting how the law will impact the insurance industry. There is no question that reform will shift the health insurance industry to a more retail based model, and in the process challenge traditional insurers to develop new consumer oriented capabilities.  A vital piece of planning for this shift will require understanding changes in consumer decision-making. The traditional approach of health insurers to segmenting the market is unlikely to provide the kind of insight necessary to win in an industry facing such fundamental regulatory, economic, and cultural change.

Traditional segmentation approaches cut the consumer market by demographics (e.g. age, gender) or funding source (e.g. who pays).  This approach was appropriate in years past when there was relatively little competition, differentiation, and when choice was limited. However, the insurance industry’s move to a more complex and competitive model requires a more nuanced understanding of customer needs and differentiators. The newly minted college grad indeed has different needs from their parents moving toward retirement or the young professional starting a family. This is proven out in some recent research we conducted.

To get a better sense of insurance consumers and their preferences, CMB and the South Street Strategy Group analyzed the responses of nearly 1,500 Americans over the age of 18, surveyed as part of CMB’s Consumer Pulse Program.  We then segmented the market by plan features and found five distinct segments that illustrate the needs and goals people have for their insurance coverage.

The segments we found are defined not solely by age or insurance source but by the needs and goals people have for their insurance coverage, and provide far more insight than traditional methods. For example one large segment, who we’ve termed “e-Patients” are the most interested in managing their healthcare or “visiting” their doctor online.  They’re price sensitive, want out-of-network coverage and are willing to switch primary care providers to get the benefits they want. Knowing the attributes of this and other significant segments of the insured population is invaluable to insurance providers who are facing an increasingly customer-centric industry.

To learn more about our approach and see more detailed profiles of the other segments click here.

Posted by J. Mark Carr, Mark is co-founder and managing partner of South Street Strategy Group.

South Street Strategy Group, an independent sister company of Chadwick Martin Bailey, integrates the best of strategy consulting and marketing science to develop better growth and value delivery strategies.