Custom User Research Services
When your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. While usability testing is our everyday tool, it’s not the right method for every research challenge. From early-stage market research to IA testing to UX audits, we leverage and customize a wide range of methods to meet your needs.
Recent User Research Project Examples
Personas for Herman Miller
10 contextual interviews with customers of HM’s Design Within Reach furniture brand. Then a 1-day persona-building workshop at their HQ in Michigan.
Card Sort for United Nations
Card sort and first-click testing for a 2,500-person agency within the UN System. 12 moderated plus 105 unmoderated sessions. Informed the IA for a new HR portal.
Content Testing for GEICO
Content testing of the current digital claims flow plus prototypes. Drove research-backed changes to link/button text, form field labels and other microcopy.
Tree Testing for Nu Skin
Tested 3 navigation variations for Nu Skin’s main website, running participants through 14 findability tasks. Small-scale moderated testing plus 150 quantitative sessions.
Buyer Journey Research for PenFed
In-depth interviews with 10 recent home buyers about their journeys. Defined 11 key home-buying steps and identified pain points and highlights.
Heuristic Evaluations for Epsilon
Partnered with Epsilon to conduct UX audits for a top 20 global pharma company. Analyzed 2 consumer sites and 1 professional site. Prioritized 50+ recommendations.
UX Evaluation & Training for BI
A 3-phase UX evaluation of BI’s enterprise software: 1) current state field study with 3 site visits, 2) prototype testing with 3 user groups, and 3) UX training for 50 developers.
Intercept Testing for Travel Leaders
For concept testing of a new website feature, we wanted frequent travelers actively searching for a travel agent. We recruited them via intercepts on relevant web pages.
In-Home Research for Tonal
In-home interview and observation sessions with Tonal home gym customers in 4 cities. Followed by a 2-day persona and journey mapping workshop in the Bay Area.
“I thought the interview set-up, organization, and deliverables were all fantastic!”
Our Typical Process
While we customize each project, many of our UX research projects follow a variation of this 5-step approach.
Plan
We get up to speed and align on your project goals, audiences and KPIs.
Report
We deliver a summary report with all findings, solution ideas and recordings.
Workshop
We facilitate a 1-day on-site or remote workshop with research observation, analysis, and ideation.
Recruit
We conduct a rigorous recruiting and screening process to find representative users.
Research
We moderate 1:1 research sessions, and often supplement this with quantitative research.
“Fantastic. I loved the the process to brainstorm at a very abstract level and then quickly distill that into real action items.”
Our User Research Methods
Here are some of the methods we use on a frequent basis. Often we mix and match methods based on the research goals.
Usability Research
Usability Testing | UX Audits | Intercept Testing
Audience Research
Personas | Journey Maps | Concept Testing
IA & Navigation Research
Card Sorts | Tree Testing | First Click Testing
Analytics & Experiments
Web Analytics | A/B Testing | Session Replay Analysis
Content Research
Content Testing | Content Audits | Keyword Research
“Working with Marketade has been an amazing experience. I highly recommended them to anyone!”
We've Led User Research & Training at:
