Autodesk, a 3D design, engineering, and construction software company, came to us with some unique business challenges. They wanted to understand the overall experience of using Autodesk products from the perspective of their customers. We suggested using an online insights community, enabling them to run ongoing, interactive research activities in a secure and managed platform. They were able to test marketing, evaluate pricing models, and develop the next generation of Autodesk products.
CLIENT
audience
Design Professionals
community overview
The Autodesk community is comprised of 585 customers of Autodesk, referred to as “Autodesk Advisors.” The community includes engineers, architects, construction personas, building design personas, and contractors, and has been active since 2016.
activity spotlight
For this particular activity, Autodesk wanted to understand how their Autodesk Advisors were adapting to working from home at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Having a standing research community allowed them to react with research to a disrupted market, and gather actionable insights in real time.
ideation session
Navigating Work from Home
When COVID put a halt to in-office work, Autodesk recognized it was more important than ever to gather feedback from their customers and to understand how they were adapting to the new reality. They were most interested in specific changes to their customers’ work life. The ideation session was the ideal activity type, because it allowed Autodesk Advisors to communicate with each other, fostering a sense of community and encouraging open and honest discussions.
Designer
CAD/BIM Manager
Architect
Architect
IT/IS Manager
unique challenge
Communicate with Non-English Speakers
The platform’s built-in translation tools allows community managers to easily engage with a diverse group of respondents, regardless of the languages they speak.
Conclusion
The 71 Autodesk Advisors who participated in the activity were generally split on their feelings about working from home. Those who preferred working from home cited time savings and flexibility. The Advisors who preferred going into the office said they missed the face-to-face interactions with co-workers. Many discussed the challenges of balancing family and work responsibilities. Advisors posted work-from-home tips, shared pictures of their home office setups, and vented about IT issues and VPN struggles.
Connecting with their customers and showing empathy during a challenging time allowed Autodesk to go beyond research and have conversations that matter. Creating authentic dialogues builds trust and brings brands and consumers into collaborative partnerships where business decisions are supported by market insights.
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