Attitudes Drive Behaviors or is it the Reverse?

In a previous post we examined the fundamentals of Likert scale development. In case you missed it, Likert survey questions are designed to measure attitudes using a five or seven-point scale agreement scale (e.g. strongly disagree to strongly agree). These scales and their derivatives continue to...read more

5 Benefits of Online Employee Surveys to Improve Your Small Business

Not long ago, I learned some startling statistics: The loyalty of employees who work for small businesses has dropped by almost 20% since 2008, and currently stands at a paltry 50%. Although I have never experienced any serious turnover in my own venture, I decided to take preemptive action by...read more

Philosophers & Market Researches, One in the Same? Dancing in the Consumer's Shoes

Just who we are is a question that has been asked by philosophers since time immemorial. Market research professionals are no different than those wise men from ancient Greece in this regard. Our task is to create an understanding of the consumer’s mind in which we can shape our brand positioning...read more

Measuring Work Personalities

Survey research can be used to assess the attitudes and opinions of virtually any group or sub-group. Most of my work has been in the areas of consumer and B2B market research, but from time to time my focus has shifted toward surveying employees. This makes perfect sense as our employees are the...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

Survey and Research Incentives 101

Incentives are de rigueur in survey research. For some reason respondents are just not willing to take all of the surveys they are invited to. I cannot understand why. Sarcasm aside, the amount of time available to respondents is becoming increasingly scarce. In order to compensate for this trend,...read more

AWKWARD! Avoiding Awkward Moments in Employee Feedback

Collecting feedback from employees and asking the right questions can be difficult. And, let's be honest, sometimes it's downright awkward! But it's critical if you want to improve employee satisfaction, loyalty and retention. Couple those goals with the fact that employee engagement is the next...read more

Keeping an Eye on What is Important

What is statistical significance anyway? The core of our survey data analysis should be directed toward generating consumer insights that are both meaningful and actionable. In order to achieve this joint goal we have to keep our eye on significance, both statistical and managerial.Previously we...read more

Customer Satisfaction + Importance

Customer satisfaction measurement can be best described as part art, part science, and part intuition. Regardless of how you view it there are several moving parts to this equation. Satisfaction, as a measure itself, is part of a larger equation centered on profitability. When designing a...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
The Rise of the Smart Phone: Are you Leverging Mobile? 10 Tips for Mobile-Friendly Survey Creation