Posts Tagged ‘market research’

Take a look at these interesting survey results about the connection between customer feedback/dialogue and how it powers better decision making. (The study was conducted by from Aberdeen Group and Empathica Partners.) As a reader of this blog, you know I’m an advocate of a two-way dialogue between a business and their customers, and how that dialogue and responsiveness can grow retention. I appreciated how

No doubt you’ve seen a building with broken windows. This is often due to neglect or vandalism and it is a clear message that "no one cares." What signals does a company give off that sends the same message? Frankly, too many to list here, but last week a company reminded me of a few of those indicators of not caring. EZ Lube is a chain of

I picked up this survey at a local restaurant because I was impressed with its simplicity. I’m a fan of well-designed, brief, yet specific surveys. (I notice every survey that I can – inside stores, restaurants and such.) I like the simplicity

Two elements of customer communication include: (1) setting expectations of what customers will get from your product/service, and (2) measuring whether you are meeting those expectations. Part One: Setting Expectations Customers don’t know what to expect from a company they haven’t done business with before, so tell them what to expect. You can accomplish that via your website text, your email messages, or through your

Here is a quick refresher on the basics of writing a survey. I'm bringing this up because I recently received a survey that violates several of these commandments. 1. Keep each question focused on a single issue and be specific. 2. Keep the questions clear (don’t confuse the survey respondent). 3. Keep the survey brief. 4. Make sure to allow for comments. 5. Write the questions so you can take

Ever since 1999 when I worked at my first dot com I've been using pewinternet.org. The site offers free research reports about online consumer activities. I always check their site when I need information about online consumers -- no matter what kind of information I need. Yes, I am a research junkie, I love stats and research --

How can I possibly say complaints are a gift? Here is why: The customer was in communication with you – instead of just telling others and not telling you what issues exist. The customer will tell you exactly what happened and what went wrong – so you

Do you know what your customers really want? Do you make assumptions based on what you think they want or what only a few customers want? There are plenty of businesses that guess what their customers really value. It isn’t worth guessing. Just ask them. You can use a simple online survey, call them, or ask them a question on your invoices so that

Someone I met today at a speaking gig said to me, “I’ll be loyal to any company or person that treats me nicely.” I can relate. And likely you can too. Customers are looking for good experiences. They want to be respected, thought of in your decision making and pay a fair price for your service or product. Her comment almost sounded

Today I came across this article on the intention vs. actual use of customer surveys by many companies. This is a good reminder what surveys are really meant to do.   Read the article here.