State Farm Longitudinal Panel: Lifecycle Retention & Acquisition Insight Engine

Problem
State Farm had no durable mechanism for understanding how life events shaped consumer decision-making over time — creating a strategic blind spot for both acquisition targeting and retention intervention. Individual studies produced snapshots; there was no through-line connecting findings across the consumer lifecycle.

Context
As a Senior CX Researcher, I identified the foundational gap and designed the solution from scratch — no existing methodology, no established panel, no playbook. This was a greenfield build within a large, traditionally-structured enterprise, requiring both methodological rigor and internal stakeholder buy-in to fund and sustain over time.

Methodology
Built State Farm's first diary study and longitudinal panel end-to-end: designed the methodology, established cadence and prompt architecture, recruited and managed the panel, and built the benchmarking infrastructure to make findings cumulative rather than episodic. Outputs fed directly into acquisition targeting (LGBTQ+, Millennial segments) and lifecycle
Beyond the research itself, I built the operational framework necessary to transform individual studies into an ongoing organizational capability, creating a continuous feedback loop between customers and business stakeholders.

Impact
Created a durable, org-wide insight loop that informed acquisition and retention strategy across multiple planning cycles — the kind of foundational research that changes what an organization knows, not just what it decides in a single quarter. Directly surfaced untapped growth segments that shaped targeting and lifecycle positioning. The panel methodology and infrastructure outlasted the initial project, becoming a shared organizational asset.

Most importantly, the initiative shifted the organization from reacting to individual customer interactions to understanding the broader journeys and life transitions that drive long-term customer value.