KNow’s Partnership with USF School of Management

Published On: January 7, 2024By

In the fall semester of 2024, our team had the incredible privilege of collaborating with undergraduate and graduate students at the University of San Francisco School of Management on a series of market research projects. This partnership not only provided students with real-world research experience but also yielded fascinating insights into some of today’s most pressing market research challenges for our key industries of focus.

USF students tackled 4 distinct research briefs, each focusing on critical areas of understanding Gen Z and Millennial behaviors and preferences:

  1. A deep dive into the “tax season journey” for younger generations; to support our work with Financial Services brands
  2. An exploration of belonging and engagement in university settings; to support our work with Higher Education clients and our Belonging Benchmark product
  3. An analysis of market research participation preferences and incentives; to support our role as thought leaders in the consumer insights industry
  4. A comprehensive study of brand expectations in today’s retail landscape; to support our work with retail brands

What particularly impressed us was the students’ sophisticated approach to research design. Each project employed a robust mixed-methods design that combined the breadth of quantitative insights with the depth of qualitative understanding.

  • First, the teams conducted large-scale surveys to identify broad patterns and themes across their respective topics. This quantitative foundation provided a comprehensive overview of trends and preferences among Gen Z and Millennial participants
  • Building on these survey findings, the students then conducted in-depth interviews to uncover the “why” behind the numbers. These qualitative discussions revealed nuanced insights into participants’ motivations, challenges, and decision-making processes

The students demonstrated remarkable skill in synthesizing these two data streams, weaving together statistical significance with rich personal narratives to create holistic insights that neither method alone could have produced.

Stay Tuned for Ground-Breaking Insights

Here’s what makes this particularly exciting for our community: Throughout 2025, we’ll share detailed findings from these studies. If you’ve ever struggled to engage Gen Z and Millennial participants in your research (and who hasn’t?), you won’t want to miss this.

The depth and breadth of our data set is particularly noteworthy. While these younger generations are often characterized as difficult to reach and engage in research, our partnership with USF has yielded robust data that offers authentic insights into their perspectives, preferences, and behaviors.

We’ll unpack these insights piece by piece, providing you with actionable intelligence that can help shape your research strategies and enhance your understanding of younger consumers. From optimizing research participant engagement to understanding evolving retail expectations, our upcoming content series will offer practical, data-driven guidance for modern market researchers.

Special thanks the students and faculty at USF School of Management. Their dedication to research excellence, demonstrated through their masterful handling of both quantitative and qualitative methods, exceeded our expectations. This collaboration reinforces our belief in the power of bridging the work between academia and industry, and to double down on our commitment to mentoring and fostering the next generation of researchers.

Watch this space as we begin sharing these valuable insights in the coming months. Whether you’re a market researcher, brand strategist, or business leader, these findings will help you better connect with and understand the next generation of consumers: https://knowresearch.com/contact-us/