Cultivating Success: How John Deere Harvested Insights with Optimal
Leading heavy equipment manufacturer
When John Deere's marketing team needed to refine their communication approach, they turned to Optimal's suite of user research tools to drive their decision-making process. Over a six-year partnership, John Deere has conducted regular studies using Optimal's platform, establishing a consistent research cadence that has allowed them to make data-driven decisions about their communication strategy. The team has gradually increased their usage across multiple departments, resulting in significant improvements in information findability.
Diverse Applications
John Deere has applied Optimal's tools across various communication challenges:
- Marketing Message Prioritization: Card sorting exercises helped identify effective messaging hierarchies for product launches
- Communication Portal Improvement: Qualitative insights revealed navigation pain points, informing a comprehensive redesign
- Translation Process Optimization: Research identified high-priority content for localization efforts
- Communication Tactics Organization: Structuring outreach strategies across different channels and markets
- Internal Knowledge Management: Reorganizing their Confluence repository based on user research findings
From Card Sorting to Qualitative Insights
While John Deere initially focused on card sorting exercises, they expanded their approach by incorporating Optimal's Qualitative Insights tools. This combined methodology revealed valuable insights about user preferences for navigation and organization, directly informing their portal redesign strategy.
The research program now incorporates multiple methodologies, creating a comprehensive view of user needs and preferences that guides their communication decisions.
Results and Impact
The ongoing research program has delivered significant benefits for John Deere:
- Streamlined Communication: More intuitive organization of messages and channels
- Enhanced User Satisfaction: Improved navigation and findability in internal systems
- Optimized Resource Allocation: Better prioritization of translation and localization efforts
- Data-Driven Decision Making: Replacing subjective opinions with user research insights
Want to learn how you can get started gathering meaningful user insight? Reach out to us today.
