Uncovering New Market Opportunities: Research Driven Insights for Growth
I partnered with the Service Design team to lead a foundational research initiative. This study informed the development of key iStock features, influenced company-wide strategy, and product initiatives.
In 2019, market research identified Small Business Owners (SMBs) as a key growth segment for Getty Images—an opportunity that aligned perfectly with iStock, Getty’s mid-tier offering.
As part of Getty Images' commitment to expanding iStock’s market presence, we led a qualitative research initiative focused on understanding the needs, behaviors, and challenges of small business owners (SBOs). This research wasn’t about solving a predefined problem—it was about discovery: uncovering insights that would inform product strategy, improve customer alignment, and identify untapped opportunities that would fuel Getty Images growth.
Timeline
Q4 2020 - Q2 2021
Role
Lead product designer | E3 Track
Services
User Research + Testing
Qualitative Studies + Behavioral Insights
Service Design + Opportunity Mapping
Stakeholder Management + Alignment
Small businesses represent 95% of all companies in the US and Canada—yet iStock was failing to connect with this massive market segment. This research wasn’t about minor optimizations; it was about unlocking a critical growth opportunity that iStock wasn’t addressing.
95%
Most businesses are small businesses. 95% of the companies in the US & Canada have fewer than 50 employees.
85%
85% of small business owners in the US are over 40, but younger generations show huge potential for growth.
3X
Millennials and Gen Z are nearly 3x more likely to start a side business than Boomers.
Setting goals and objectives
Our overall goal is to leverage service design and human-centered design methods to gain a deeper understanding of customers to enable us to innovate on the end-to-end experience of iStock.
Project organizational goals
More specifically, we're aiming to achieve these organizational goals:
Ensure there are no duplicate efforts
Help with visibility into multiple teams tackling the same customer problems and ensure there are no duplicate efforts.
Help teams understand (educate)
Help teams across the organization internalize the findings of our Small Business research and apply them in their current and future projects.
Enabling continuous discovery
Practice continuous discovery and provide a real-life case study on how to apply opportunity trees at Getty Inc.
How might iStock deliver more value to small businesses in the US?
A Service Design-Led Research Study
Our overall goal is to leverage service design and human-centered design methods to gain a deeper understanding of customers to enable us to innovate on the end-to-end experience of iStock.
I collaborated with service designers, UX researchers, and cross-functional teams to conduct two phases of qualitative research:
Phase 1: Interviews with small business owners (1-10 employees) to explore how they work with visuals, their marketing challenges, and their decision-making process for stock content.
Phase 2: Expanded research to larger small businesses (10-250 employees) to compare behaviors, pain points, and opportunities for iStock to better serve this audience.
Methods
Our methods included:
12 in-depth user interviews with business owners, marketing managers, and decision-makers.
Experience mapping to visualize their end-to-end journey with stock content.
Behavioral segmentation to classify SBOs into actionable user groups.
Opportunity mapping to highlight high-impact areas for iStock to improve engagement.
Who did we speak with?
Our overall goal is to leverage service design and human-centered design methods to gain a deeper understanding of customers to enable us to innovate on the end-to-end experience of iStock.
I collaborated with service designers, UX researchers, and cross-functional teams to conduct two phases of qualitative research:
Phase 1: Interviews with small business owners (1-10 employees) to explore how they work with visuals, their marketing challenges, and their decision-making process for stock content.
Phase 2: Expanded research to larger small businesses (10-250 employees) to compare behaviors, pain points, and opportunities for iStock to better serve this audience.
Methods
Our methods included:
12 in-depth user interviews with business owners, marketing managers, and decision-makers.
Experience mapping to visualize their end-to-end journey with stock content.
Behavioral segmentation to classify SBOs into actionable user groups.
Opportunity mapping to highlight high-impact areas for iStock to improve engagement.
SMBs don’t just need stock images—they need help making their businesses look professional. Visual content is a means to an end, not the end itself."
This led to a fundamental shift in how we approached SMB support—from simply providing stock photos to empowering businesses with the tools to succeed visually.
Deeply understanding the needs, behaviors, and motivations of SMBs in the US & Canada.
✅ Uncovering opportunities for iStock to deliver more value, shifting from a purely transactional model to a more relational, value-driven approach.
✅ Creating a shared framework for cross-functional teams to align on SMB strategy and avoid redundant efforts.
This research directly informed multiple key iStock initiatives, including AI-powered search tools that help SMBs quickly find the perfect visuals for their needs.
Why SMBs Matter:
95% of all companies in the US & Canada have fewer than 50 employees, making SMBs a dominant segment for growth.
50% of small businesses fail within five years.
Millennials and Gen Z are nearly 3x more likely than Boomers to start a side business.
Stock licensing confusion & pricing concerns are major blockers to SMB adoption of stock content.
Understanding SMBs wasn’t just a research project—it was a critical investment in iStock’s long-term growth.
Identifying behavioral segments
DECIDERS: People who 'own' the marketing/brand strategy in their organization. They are accountable for setting the direction for others to follow.
INFLUENCERS": People who 'influence' the marketing/brand strategy and have taken on some Decider tasks in the interim.
PRACTITIONERS: People who 'apply' the marketing/brand strategy in their organization.
All SB user segments compare and contrast based on 2 key attributes that help predict their behavior The 2 segments share a lot of similarities, but diverge in a few key areas
Behavioral and attitudinal segments
Opportunity mapping
The opportunity tree helped drive alignment by visualizing the ecosystem of needs, we could strategically decide where our efforts would drive the most meaningful change.Key insights + HMW statements
CSR users have distinct pain points, yet their challenges are deeply intertwined. These insights shaped our 'How Might We' (HMW) questions, guiding our design decisions toward holistic solutions.
Key Insights and takeaways 98
Two Key Behavioral Segments Emerged:
Deciders ("Dina") – Own the marketing strategy, set the direction, and select stock content with a long-term view.
Influencers ("Asani") – Support marketing efforts, often wearing multiple hats, and are more reactive in their stock usage.
Common Pain Points Identified:
Authenticity vs. Accessibility – SBOs struggled to find stock content that felt genuine and unique while still being affordable.
Licensing Confusion – Many found content rights confusing, leading to anxiety around legal use.
Marketing Challenges – SBOs lacked expertise in marketing and design, often using Canva Pro or free stock sites instead of premium stock platforms.
Three High-Impact Opportunities for iStock:
Offer stock content that feels more “ownable” – Small businesses wanted visuals that felt exclusive, not overly generic.
Provide guidance and education – Many SBOs needed help understanding visual marketing, creating an opportunity for iStock to become a resource, not just a vendor.
Introduce more flexible pricing models – Cost was a major barrier; businesses needed scalable solutions that fit fluctuating budgets.
Who are SMBs: The Knowledge Gap
Our research used a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods to uncover how small business owners think, work, and use visual content.
🔍 Research Methods:
✅ User Interviews & Contextual Inquiry → Explored SMBs’ daily workflows, pain points, and how they make content decisions.
✅ Behavioral Segmentation & Personas → Developed user groups based on stock usage behaviors & business phase.
✅ Journey Mapping → Mapped end-to-end workflows to identify gaps in iStock’s current experience.
✅ Synthesis & Opportunity Mapping → Used affinity mapping & opportunity trees to connect research insights to business strategies.
✅ Cross-Functional Shareouts → Ensured findings were actionable and adopted across multiple teams.
🚀 Key Insight:
"SMBs don’t just need stock images—they need help making their businesses look professional. Visual content is a means to an end, not the end itself."
This led to a fundamental shift in how we approached SMB support—from simply providing stock photos to empowering businesses with the tools to succeed visually.
Create Consistency
With multiple disconnected pricing pages and no clear.
Provide Clarity
With multiple disconnected pricing pages and no clear.
VKey insights and opportunities
Stock imagery often falls short of the authenticity SMBs need.
📌 Content licensing is a major source of anxiety, leading to purchase hesitation.
📌 Pricing & commitment concerns prevent SMBs from adopting stock content long-term.
📌 Small businesses need cost flexibility, preferring pay-as-you-go or all-in-one tools over rigid subscriptions.
📌 There’s an opportunity for iStock to move beyond transactions—to become a trusted partner in SMB growth.
To visualize these insights, we created an Opportunity Tree, capturing SMB pain points, needs, and desires.
🎯 Top-Level Business Outcome: Increase Acquisition & Retention of Small Business Customers
From here, we prioritized three key opportunities based on:
✅ Customer Impact (Most mentioned by users)
✅ Business Value (High impact on iStock’s growth goals)
✅ Strategic Fit (Aligned with iStock’s product vision)
Impact: A Company-Wide Shift in How iStock Thinks About SMBs
Key Outcomes:
Insights became a foundational resource across Getty Images, influencing multiple teams & strategic roadmaps.
Shaped multiple iStock features, including AI-powered search tools that help SMBs find images faster.
Created a shared framework for SMB strategy, ensuring cross-team alignment and reducing redundant efforts.
Served as a case study in continuous discovery, helping teams apply research insights to their own initiatives.
🚀 Key Takeaway Statement:
These insights didn’t just inform strategy—they changed it. By identifying SMBs as a priority segment, this research directly influenced iStock’s roadmap, driving the development of new AI-powered search tools and a more targeted product approach.
Final Thoughts: Lessons & Next Steps
Final Thoughts: Lessons & Next Steps
🔍 Lessons Learned:
✅ Deep research drives long-term strategy, not just short-term features.
✅ Aligning teams is just as important as uncovering insights—research is only valuable when it’s applied.
✅ Continuous discovery should be a core practice, not a one-time initiative.
📍 Key Question:
"Understanding SMBs is just the first step. How does iStock continue evolving to support SMBs not just as customers, but as long-term partners in their success?"