Prepared for Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Supplier name: Phoenix SPI
Contract number: U1400-186782/001/CY
Contract value: $46,262.20 (including HST)
Award date: 2018-03-09
Delivery date: 2018-11-19
Registration number: POR 114-17
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© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Industry, 2018
Catalogue Number: Iu4-234/2018E-PDF
International Standard Book Number (ISBN): 978-0-660-28776-8
Aussi offert en français sous le titre Nuans : Recherche sur la satisfaction et les profils de la clientèle.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) commissioned public opinion research with clients of Nuans. Nuans is an online service of the federal government that new businesses, or their representatives, use at the time of their incorporation to compare their proposed name with already existing names and trademarks. The purpose of the research was to help ISED better understand the different expectations of Nuans audience segments.
The research was designed to generate information and insights on: 1) profiles of typical Nuans clients; and 2) client satisfaction, program expectations, channel and website feature preferences by audience segment.
The specific objectives of the research were to:
The research results will be used to improve the services offered by Nuans and to address Nuans' underused services through awareness raising and/or program changes.
A set of 20 one-on-one in-depth interviews was conducted with the target population: Nuans clients who had completed at least one transaction in the 12 months preceding the research. This included three types of clients:
Self-serve clients are individual entrepreneurs; jurisdictional clients are provincial corporate law administrators; and intermediaries are private sector business users who offer their services to clients that wish to obtain a report and/or an opinion in the process seeking approval on a corporate name.
The breakdown of interviews by client group was as follows: four interviews with self-serve clients, four interviews with jurisdictional users, and 12 interviews with intermediaries This distribution was designed to reflect the population of Nuans clients.
Interviews were conducted by telephone by senior researchers from Phoenix Strategic Perspectives (Phoenix SPI) and lasted approximately 30 minutes. The fieldwork was conducted between April and June 2018.
This research was qualitative in nature, not quantitative. As such, the results provide an indication of participants' views about the issues explored, but they cannot be generalized to the full population of Nuans clients.
In addition to Nuans, interview participants mentioned a variety of websites or online resources that they use when looking for existing corporate names, business names and trademarks. The resources mentioned with the greatest frequency were the Internet, specifically Google, Corporations Canada's federal incorporations database, and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO). The reasons participants use these specific resources are varied, ranging from cost factors, to ease of use, to necessity.
There are two main reasons clients use Nuans: first, to check name availability and reservation, primarily for the purpose of facilitating incorporation; and second, to search for corporate or business names for trademarking purposes.
When asked how they first heard about Nuans, self-serve clients pointed to the Internet or, specifically, to Corporations Canada website while private sector and jurisdictional users tended to mention their workplace. Beyond name searches and name reservation, very few participants were aware of any other services offered by Nuans. Those who claimed knowledge of other services offered by Nuans mentioned corporate name pre-approval and trademark reports.
All interview participants were satisfied with Nuans, at least to some extent. They characterized Nuans as easy to use, fast, user-friendly, and available 24/7. When asked what they like about using Nuans, most participants mentioned the speed of the report generation (reports are generated immediately, in real-time). Widespread satisfaction notwithstanding, participants also pointed to areas or aspects of Nuans in need of improvement (e.g., the level of detail in the Nuans reports) or technical issues they have encountered using Nuans (e.g., signing in).
None of the self-serve clients interviewed had been in contact with a Nuans representative during the past 12 months. In contrast, most of the intermediaries and jurisdictional clients interviewed said they had been in contact with Nuans. Reasons for contacting a Nuans representative during the past 12 months include the following: to address a login issue; to ask about retrieving a report; to inquire about billing or to report an issue with billing; and to add or remove users from their account. Most participants in contact with Nuans used email and were satisfied with their service experience.
Regarding their preferred service channel for dealing with a Nuans representative, participants were divided between telephone and email, with some preferring either channel and others preferring one over the other. In general, telephone is preferred because it is direct and can lead to quick problem resolution. Email, on the other hand, is preferred because it provides a written record of the inquiry/transaction.
The findings from the interviews were used to construct four profiles of those who use Nuans—personas.
These profiles are based on the information collected through the interviews. They cannot be considered representative of the full population of Nuans clients and should be used with this in mind.
The contract value was $46,262.20 (including HST).
I hereby certify as a Senior Officer of Phoenix Strategic Perspectives that the deliverables fully comply with the Government of Canada political neutrality requirements outlined in the Policy on Communications and Federal Identity of the Government of Canada and Procedures for Planning and Contracting Public Opinion Research. Specifically, the deliverables do not contain any reference to electoral voting intentions, political party preferences, standings with the electorate, or ratings of the performance of a political party or its leader.
Alethea Woods
President
Phoenix SPI
Nuans is an online service of the federal government that is mainly used by new businesses, or their representatives, at the time of their incorporation to compare their proposed name with already existing names and trademarks. Before approving a new corporate name, most provincial and territorial governments require a Nuans report, which is a list of existing corporate and business names, as well as trademarks, that are similar to the one being proposed. The Nuans report provides the information needed to reject or approve the name of a proposed business. As such, Nuans contributes to a fair, efficient and competitive marketplace, aligned with the mandates of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), and the provincial/territorial jurisdictionsFootnote 1 served by Nuans.
Monitoring changing client and evolving business needs is critical to targeted program delivery and improved client services. As a result, ISED commissioned public opinion research to help understand the different expectations of Nuans audience segments. The research was designed to generate information and insights on: 1) profiles of typical Nuans clients; and 2) client satisfaction, program expectations, channel and website feature preferences by audience segment.
The specific objectives of the research were the following:
The research results will be used to improve the services offered by Nuans and to address Nuans' underused services through awareness initiatives and/or program changes.
To meet the objectives, a set of 20 one-on-one in-depth interviews were conducted with the target population: Nuans clients who had completed at least one transaction in the year prior to the research – 2017. This included three types of clients, namely:
Self-serve clients are individual entrepreneurs who act on their own behalf; jurisdictional clients are provincial corporate law administrators; and intermediaries who act on behalf of someone else (i.e. they obtain a report and/or an opinion on a corporate name for their clients).
Participants were recruited from several sources, as follows:
The breakdown of interviews by client group was as follows:
Type of Client | Number of Interviews |
---|---|
Self-Serve | 4 |
Jurisdictional | 4 |
Intermediaries | 12 |
Business Registration / Name Search Organizations |
7 |
Financial / Accounting Organizations |
3 |
Trademark Agents |
2 |
This distribution was designed to reflect the population of Nuans clients. The greatest proportion of interviews was conducted with intermediaries (approximately two-thirds of Nuans users represent the private sector). The remainder of the interviews were divided evenly between self-serve and jurisdictional clients of NuansFootnote 2.
Interviews were conducted by telephone by senior researchers from Phoenix Strategic Perspectives (Phoenix SPI) and lasted approximately 30 minutes. The fieldwork was conducted between April and June 2018.
This research was qualitative in nature and, as such, the results provide an indication of participants' views about the issues explored, but they cannot be generalized to the full population of Nuans clients.
The findings from the interviews with clients of Nuans were used to construct profiles. These profiles are based on the information collected through the interviews with the individuals who agreed to participate in the research. While efforts were taken to interview a mix of different types of Nuans clients, these profiles are not based on quantitative data, generated through probability sampling. They cannot be considered representative of the full population of Nuans clients and should be used with this in mind. Moreover, given the narrow focus of Nuans, it should not be surprising that the personas uncovered align closely with Nuans' clients: entrepreneurs, businesses and provincial governments.
Self-serve client users are the most varied persona. What these clients have in common is that they are owners of (or involved with) a start-up business, have chosen to do the name search as a precursor to incorporating their business, and access Nuans through the self-serve portal. They are not using an intermediary to undertake the business name search, reservation and registration on their behalf. This suggests that these individuals are comfortable enough operating online to have decided to undertake this step in the incorporation process on their own. Beyond this, self-serve users have very little in common. They represent businesses operating in different sectors of the economy, providing different types of services. While they have some post-secondary education, their level of educational attainment varies, from below a bachelor's degree to a bachelor's degree.
Defining Characteristic
Experience with Nuans
Key Need
Frustration/Concern
Communications
Casual users are a sub-set of Nuans' intermediaries and, like trademark users, they appear to represent a small proportion of Nuans' clients. Compared with power users (see 3.3 below), they use Nuans infrequently. On average, they use Nuans once per month and they do so through their member account and/or the self-serve portal.
Casual users typically provide services to businesses, such as accounting, bookkeeping, payroll, and/or incorporation, for example. Unlike power users, casual users do not specialize in incorporation and business registration exclusively. They represent clients operating in different sectors of the economy, but these companies tend to be micro-businesses in the start-up stage of their lifecycle. Casual users have a high level of online expertise, conducting personal and professional transactions online every day. In terms of online resources, casual users use Google followed by Nuans to search for corporate and business names. Once they use Nuans, they consult with their client and proceed to incorporation.
Defining Characteristic
Experience with Nuans
Key Need
Frustration/Concern
Communications
Power users are also a sub-set of Nuans' intermediaries that appear to represent a large proportion of Nuans' clients and typically work for business registration firms, name search firms, or provincial governments. These users differ from casual users in two key ways: 1) they use Nuans multiple times a day; and 2) corporate and business name searches are their primary responsibility. In addition, these users do not access Nuans through the self-serve portal. They have a Nuans account and access Nuans services through the member sign-in. The level of educational attainment among power users varies, from high school graduation to a bachelor's degree. However, college education was mentioned most often by interview participants.
Power users are very sophisticated users of Nuans, in large part as a result of the frequency with which they use the service. They represent clients operating in different sectors of the economy, although some may focus on specific industries. The businesses they provide services to can be start-ups or well-established companies, although some work primarily with companies that are in the start-up stage. When it comes to the size of these businesses, once again, power users' clients run the gamut from micro-businesses to large businesses.
Defining Characteristic
Experience with Nuans
Key Need
Frustration/Concern
Communications
Trademark users are a sub-set of Nuans' intermediary clients. They appear to represent a small proportion of Nuans' clients. These clients tend to use Nuans as one source among others required to undertake their work on trademarks. They are lawyers and trademark agents, with a post-secondary education that includes at least a bachelor's degree. They can be involved in screening trademarks, applying for trademarks, enforcing trademarks, as well as managing trademark portfolios. Trademark users are sophisticated searchers who use specialized databases to research and protect trademarks on behalf of their clients. They represent clients operating in different sectors of the economy. These businesses can be start-ups or well-established companies, small or large in terms of corporate size, and they can be Canadian or international. Trademark users tend to use Nuans on a weekly, but not daily, basis, and they do so through their member account and/or the self-serve portal.
Defining Characteristic
Experience with Nuans
Key Need
Frustration/Concern
Communications
Intermediaries and jurisdictional clients service a variety of different types of businesses representing myriad industries. Specifically, when it came to business size, most participants said their clients run the gamut, from micro-businesses to large businesses. That said, some participants tend to do work on behalf of micro-businesses more than other sizes of business.
In terms of business lifecycle stage, most participants represent a full spectrum of clients, from start-ups to mature stage businesses. No-one mentioned representing exit stage businesses. Participants who do not work with the full spectrum of businesses are most likely to represent start-up businesses or businesses in either the growth or expansion phases.
Most participants work with clients from many different industries. This include the legal profession, accounting, consulting, technology, plumbing, food services, hair and salon services, oil and gas, cannabis and pharmaceuticals, and construction. To the extent that some participants work with business clients in specific industries, law and accounting were the two most often mentioned by interviewees.
The self-serve clients interviewed, not surprisingly, were sole proprietorship start-ups. They tend to operate in the following areas: graphic design, energy, accounting, and business services consulting.
All interview participants described themselves as comfortable or very comfortable using the Internet. In addition to conducting business activities online, most participants do every day activities online, such as shopping and banking. Only a few participants mentioned having used Nuans on a mobile device. While one found the experience similar to the desktop version and easy to use, the others found it hard to use on a mobile device (e.g., the menus were difficult to access).
In addition to Nuans, interview participants mentioned a variety of websites or online resources that they use when looking for existing corporate names, business names and trademarks. The resources mentioned with the greatest frequency were the Internet, specifically Google, Corporations Canada's federal incorporations database, and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO). Other online resources included:
Nuans clients working with trademarks also mentioned using the following online resources:
The reasons participants use these specific resources are varied, ranging from cost factors, to ease of use, to necessity. Specifically:
After listing the resources they use, and explaining why they use them, participants were asked how those resources compare with Nuans. Almost everyone said that it is not possible to compare these resources to Nuans because they serve a different purpose—that is, they are using each of these resources to accomplish something different or to complement their use of Nuans. For example, CIPO can be used to check the trademark status of a proposed corporate name, and then based on the findings, Nuans can be used to conduct a corporate name search.
The length of time participants have been using Nuans ranged from as little as a few days to more than 30 years. As expected, the individuals with the least amount of experience were the self-serve clients. Among the private intermediaries and jurisdictional clients interviewed, tenure ranged from a few years to more than 30 years.
In terms of frequency of use, the self-serve clients had used Nuans only once in the past 12 months as part of incorporating their company. That said, several of these participants said they had to access Nuans more than once to complete their name reservation. Among the rest, most interview participants are daily users of Nuans; only a few participants said they used Nuans less than daily in the last year. Among daily users, participants' use ranged from a few Nuans reports a day to 30 or more. Among non-daily users, participants' use of Nuans in the last year ranged from weekly to monthly.
There are two main reasons clients use Nuans—to incorporate a business or to support a trademark client. When using Nuans, most participants said they are checking name availability and reserving names, primarily for the purpose of facilitating incorporation. A small number of clients mentioned using Nuans to search for corporate or business names for trademarking purposes. For these individuals, Nuans is the starting point only; they then use their preferred trademark resources, such as CIPO or SAEGIS, to obtain the detailed information needed to advise their trademark clients.
In terms of next steps, the self-serve clients proceeded with incorporation once they secured a unique name for their business. Private sector intermediaries (excluding trademark clients) and jurisdictional users consult the end-client/business after receiving the Nuans report. If the name is approved, the end-client/business typically proceeds with incorporation.
The objective of trademark clients is somewhat different—a Nuans search is used to determine if a proposed trademark is available. Following this, trademark clients do a more in-depth search for relevant information pertaining to a trademark using resources such as CIPO or SAEGIS as noted above.
When asked how they first heard about Nuans, self-serve clients pointed to the Internet or Corporations Canada while intermediaries and jurisdictional clients tended to mention their workplace.
The self-serve clients interviewed are entrepreneurs starting a business. They used the Internet to determine what was required of them to incorporate a company and first learned of Nuans through a Google search and/or information available on Corporations Canada's website.
Among the intermediaries and jurisdictional clients, virtually everyone interviewed mentioned their workplace—that Nuans is a tool or resource they are expected to use as part of their job responsibilities. Those participants who identified a specific source mentioned the ISED website, a private company, Ontario Government, Service Alberta, a workshop, and a registry office.
Beyond name searches and name reservation, very few participants were aware of any other services offered by Nuans. Those who claimed knowledge of other services offered by Nuans mentioned corporate name pre-approval and trademark reports.
All interview participants were satisfied with Nuans, at least to some extent. They characterized Nuans as easy to use, fast, user-friendly, and available 24/7. With one exception, everyone said the information on the Nuans website is clear and easy to understand. The exception was the observation from one participant that some mnemonic codes are not uniform.
In addition, virtually everyone indicated they were satisfied with the format and content of the Nuans reportFootnote 3, as well as with the timeliness of the report. Not surprisingly, all interview participants said that using Nuans meets their expectations.
When asked what they like most about using Nuans, most participants mentioned the speed of the report generation (reports are generated immediately, in real-time).
In addition, several participants pointed to
Widespread satisfaction notwithstanding, participants also pointed to areas or aspects of Nuans in need of improvement or issues they have encountered using Nuans. Feedback tended to focus on the Nuans reports, technical issues, and the name search itself. These areas for focus, by category, include the following:
Participants who had experience using the previous and current versions of Nuans were asked whether the current version is better, the same, or worse. All things considered, participants felt that the current version is an improvement—that is, it is better than the old version of Nuans. The reason offered to explain their preference was the speed of the reports: the reports are generated faster in the current version of Nuans than they were in the previous version of Nuans.
While there was a clear preference for the current version of Nuans, some participants pointed to features or aspects of the old version that they liked better or that are not available in the current version. These included:
With just a few exceptions, what these features or aspects tend to have in common is that they contribute to the usability of service; they make Nuans easy and efficient to use for clients.
None of the self-serve clients interviewed had been in contact with a Nuans representative during the past 12 months. In contrast, most of the intermediaries and jurisdictional clients interviewed said they had been in contact with Nuans during this time period.
Reasons for contacting a Nuans representative during the past 12 months include the following:
Most participants in contact with Nuans used email and were satisfied with their service experience. They had no issues or concerns with the service they received via email.
Some participants contacted Nuans by telephone. While these individuals were generally satisfied with the quality of service they received, a few observed that the telephone response time is worse now than it was with the old version. Simply put, they had to wait longerFootnote 4 than they had previously to hear back from a Nuans representative.
Regarding their preferred service channel, participants were divided between telephone and email, with some preferring either channel or others preferring one over the other to contact a Nuans representative.
The same service channel preferences were evident when participants were asked how they would prefer a Nuans representative to communicate with them. If a participant prefers to contact Nuans by telephone, they also prefer Nuans to contact them by telephone.
In general, telephone is preferred because it is direct and can lead to quick problem resolution. In particular, telephone is used when an issue is urgent. Email, on the other hand, is preferred because it provides a written record of the inquiry/transaction.
At the end of the interview, participants were asked if there is anything that could be done to Nuans to make it more useful to them. The following suggestions were offered in relation to Nuans specifically:
Other suggestions included:
(Active offer of French/English before proceeding with recruitment)
Note type of user (if available in sample).
TYPE:____________
If not available ask:
How would you best describe your user type with respect to Nuans? Are you…
A. Government of Canada client research representatives may monitor this call strictly to take notes. They will not participate in any way in our interview. Are you comfortable with the possibility that your interview could be monitored?
☐ Yes
☐ No
B. Request to record interview at this point.
I will be taking note during the interview; however, with your permission, I would also like to record the interview. The recording is to accurately document the information you provide and will be used only in writing the report. It will not be shared with any third party. If you choose not to be recorded, I will only take notes. If you agree to being recorded but feel uncomfortable at any time, I can turn off the recorder at your request. Do I have your permission to record this interview?
☐ Yes
☐ No
I'd like to begin by asking you a few questions about you and your businessFootnote 5 (organization).
ASK NEXT 3 QUESTIONS TO SELF-SERVICE USERS ONLY:
ASK NEXT 3 QUESTIONS TO PRIVATE SECTOR / JURISDICTIONAL USERS:
ASK EVERYONE:
I'd now like to talk about your use of Nuans. As you know, Nuans is a federal government online service that new businesses (or their representatives) use at the time of their incorporation to verify whether their proposed name already exists or is trademarked.
NOTE TO INTERVIEWER:
New user: after June 2016, when the current version of Nuans was launched
Long-time user: June 2016 or prior
INTERVIEWER: ADJUST LANGUAGE FOR INFREQUENT VS. FREQUENT USERS.
Prompts:
Prompts:
ASK PRIVATE SECTOR / JURISDICTIONAL USERS
Prompts:
ASK EVERYONE
Prompts:
IF YES:
Prompts:
ASK EVERYONE
Prompt:
Prompt:
Think about your use of Nuans during the last 12 months,
INTERVIEWER: ADJUST LANGUAGE FOR INFREQUENT VS. FREQUENT USERS.
Prompts:
Prompt:
Prompt:
NOTE TO INTERVIEWER: Reports are generated in real time, but some users may note that they cannot perform batch reporting and that this costs them time or feels inefficient.
Prompts:
Prompt:
ASK LONG-TIME NUANS USERS:
Prompt:
Prompts:
Prompts:
Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with me today. Your feedback will be very helpful.
Record name, position, organization, phone number and length/date of interview.