City of Broad Shoulders and Valuable Opinions: Four Reasons to Conduct Usability Testing in Chicago

Companies look to test their products in cities that have a reputation for being at the forefront of the latest technologies. New York and San Francisco tend to be the most requested cities for conducting usability testing. Chicago is often overlooked as a potential testing location, but it shouldn’t be. With access to over 10 million users, the Second City and its surrounding suburbs is a honeypot for companies wishing to conduct usability research.  Here are the four key reasons to conduct usability research in Chicago:

1. The Windy City is the third largest city in the U.S.  Let’s face it, size matters. With almost 3 million residents in the city and another 7 million residents in the Chicago-land area, recruiting participants for usability research is easy. Chicago is also a stone’s throw away from other key cities, including Indianapolis and Milwaukee.
2. Chicago provides access to a variety of user segments and profiles. Chicago is tremendously diverse and provides companies access to a variety of user segments and profiles. Looking for early adopters of technology? Looking for a range of users across different cultures? Looking to get feedback from users across different SES? No problem.  In addition to being the third largest city in the U.S., we have access to a large urban population, as well as large suburban and rural populations.  
3. You get more bang for your buck. It’s simple math. The cost of conducting a usability research project in Chicago is cheaper than our coastal counterparts. The rate of using research facilities in Chicago is lower, as is the cost to recruit and incent participants. Our facilities at User Centric use state-of-the-art, all-digital solutions for a fraction of the cost compared to New York and San Francisco.  (Did you know our downtown Chicago facility is one of the largest usability testing studio amongst North American consulting firms?)
4. Chicago is no slouch city, and it’s definitely not a company town. Chicago is host to dozens of Fortune 500 companies across a variety of industries. Companies should leverage the diversity of these industries because Chicago’s users have an exposure to variety of experiences. Here’s a sample of some of Chicago’s premier companies:

• Abbot Laboratories
• AlbertoCulver Company
• Allstate
• Baxter International
• Boeing Company
• CDW Corporation
• Fortune Brands, Inc.
• Kraft Foods
• McDonald’s Corporation
• Motorola
• OfficeMax, Inc.
• Sara Lee Corporation
• Sears Holdings Corporation
• United Airlines 
• United Stationers, Inc.
• Walgreen Company
• W.W. Grainger, Inc.

As long as you don’t put ketchup on your hotdog or confuse the Cubs and the Sox, you’ll find Chicago a valuable location to test your users.