Research Snapshot: Ultrasonic Level Detection

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In addition to our analytical marketing skills, clients also value the ability to see and interpret for themselves the unfiltered comments discovered during research efforts with both existing and potential customers. Product developers and engineering managers often find new insights – little nuggets of qualitative gold – in our reports.

​Here's one example from the more than 250 projects we’ve done in technical B2B markets:
Process engineering manager for a major brewery in 1992 regarding the merits of ultrasonic technology for detecting grain levels in large bins and silos. (Context: phone interview)
Ultrasonic technology will be a tough sell for Brand Y (MTR client) into this brewery because, “based upon the experience and results we’ve had with (Brand X) everybody’s very skeptical of ultrasonic level measuring devices.”

He believes that an engineering seminar by Brand Y salespeople “would be very apropos, to convince people on the merits of the technology. We had a rash of problems with (Brand X) because it didn’t work with spent grain in storage silos. Spent grain behaves differently from regular stored grain. I’m not sure that (Brand X) realized that. It (spent grain) has a vapor coming off it that masks the measurement system – and dust builds up on the heads” of the ultrasonic sensors, thus throwing off the readings. The brewery would need to be convinced that client Brand Y would not be susceptible to the same problem.