Timely Response is Critical

In the voice of the customer world it is our role as market researchers to listen and follow through on what the customers are saying. Quite often this puts us in the position of ‘middle men’ between the customers and internal groups (e.g. sales, marketing, finance, customer service, etc.)...read more

The Emotional Dimension

In a previous post I discussed the basics for conducting online advertising testing. With the advent of online survey platforms the ability to test various advertising messages and formats is easier than ever. Gone are the days of renting large rooms and embedding ads in mock programs. The current...read more

Who Owns the Customer?

A study recently conducted by the CMO Council and SAS brought up an interesting question…Who owns the customer? The overall thrust of the study was to highlight the gaps and opportunities for CMOs to partner with their colleague in arms the CIO. In this day of ever increasing data it is critical for...read more

Know Thy Competition!

The number of true monopolies in the global economy is not that large. What this means to the rest of us is that we have to compete to sell our products and services. Competition can come from both global competitors and those homegrown in your back yard.To grow in a soft economy companies must be...read more

Customer Experience ≠ Customer Satisfaction

There comes a time when those of us in consumer and B2B market research realize that we are not just the messengers, the conduit for the voice of the customer, but we also are the change agents. This realization came to me some time ago, but was reaffirmed while reading the book Outside In by Harley...read more

Customer Profitability Requires a Good First Date

The season of Valentine’s brings out the best in some and the worst in others. Many of us find ourselves reminiscing about first dates and whether or not the date led to a meaningful relationship. The same romantic wonderings can be applied to the customer – company relationship. When cast in this...read more

What is Loyalty?

LinkedIn can be an excellent platform not only for networking, but also for holding meaningful discussions with others in your line of work. A member of the Customer Experience Management LinkedIn Group posed this discussion question to her fellow CRM-minded members: How are we actually defining...read more

Time is an Element Worth Considering

Measuring customer loyalty and satisfaction is a primary task for both consumer and B2B market research professionals. Today’s question is a matter of time as in a snapshot (one period in time) or a trend (measurements over a period of time.) Should satisfaction, awareness or other measures be...read more

Fast Follow Up Matters (Best in Class Secret is Instant Alerts)

Think about your own experiences, when you are unhappy with a product or service and tell the company, what do you expect to happen? If you're thinking, "Nothing. Companies don't listen to customer feedback" I wouldn't blame you. But I hope you're more like me: I expect a response. But not a generic...read more

There is No One Ring: Segmentation Basics

Well the good news is that I am back on the podium instructing another session of Market Research 101. Teaching brings many joys for me, one in particular is that it challenges me to go back over my practices and check to see if they are indeed ‘best practices.’ In a recent class session we began a...read more
The Rise of the Smart Phone: Are you Leverging Mobile? 10 Tips for Mobile-Friendly Survey Creation