Build for who your customers are — not just what they do today.

AdWords was driving 97% of Google's revenue. Primary research surfaced who those customers were, what they needed, and where the real growth opportunity was. The product was already working. Knowing the people behind it unlocked what came next.

The Brief

"Understand who our unmanaged clients are, and how the SMB marketing organization can help them succeed."

AdWords represented 97% of Google's revenue — a customer base that was highly active, deeply invested, and largely unknown at the audience level. The research goal was to move from behavioral signals to genuine understanding: who these small businesses were, what drove them, and what Google could do to help them grow.

What the Research Found

A brand positioning problem hiding inside a product — and a clear strategic center that behavioral data had never surfaced.

Primary research with AdWords customers produced four distinct profiles: Outsourcer, One-time Creator, Weekly Manager, Daily Optimizer. The strategic center of gravity: the Weekly Manager — not the most engaged customer, not the least, but the one with the highest growth leverage. And a finding that reframed Google's entire marketing approach: customers identified as AdWords customers, not Google customers. The platform mattered more to them than the brand running it.

"One of the current user groups was by far the most involved, engaged, responsive focus group we've ever experienced — in more than 10 years of focus group moderation. This is a reflection of how important this product is to their businesses."

Research facilitator — Sterling Brands

What Changed

Four customer profiles. One strategic center. A complete reframe of how Google talked to its own customers.

Four customer profiles built from primary research — Outsourcer, One-time Creator, Weekly Manager, Daily Optimizer — giving the SMB team a segmentation framework that didn't exist before.

Weekly Manager identified as the strategic center of gravity — the profile with the highest growth leverage, reshaping where acquisition and retention investment was focused.

Brand insight surfaced — customers identifying as "AdWords customers" not "Google customers" revealed a positioning gap that reshaped communications strategy.

Three concrete recommendations for customer experience, communications structure, and proactive outreach — all grounded in what customers said they needed, not what the product team assumed.

97%

Google's revenue from AdWords customers at time of research

Customer profiles built from zero prior segmentation

10+ yrs

Experience of research facilitators, who called this their most engaged group ever

Why This Matters for Custom Research

Product lens, no audience lens. That's what your current data gives you — and what Custom Research changes.

In Practice — Custom Research

Google's product was already working — 97% of revenue, millions of active customers. Primary research didn't fix what was broken. It unlocked more growth by revealing who those customers actually were: their motivations, preferences, and the segmentation that told Google where to invest next. The product grew further because the decisions after it were made from audience understanding, not behavioral patterns alone.

That's what Custom Research does. From product lens — what your customers do — to audience lens: who they are, what they believe, what they need before they act, and where your real growth opportunity sits. One engagement. A segmentation and strategic direction built from the people, not assumptions about them.

Custom Research · ~1–3 months · $10K–$100K

See if custom research fits your situation.

30 minutes. We'll scope the methodology and confirm whether the timing and investment make sense for your decision.

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