Customer Service Survey

In this time of political craziness, marketers involved in supporting candidates and causes greatly benefit from timely marketing research. Surveys and public opinion polls are flying around everywhere and are being quoted almost daily in the media. Top line numbers such as percent likely to vote for candidate X are useful, but the real meat lies beneath the top line.

Research can provide guidance into the mindset of customers, prospects, or voters as in this case. In most political...

Most of what marketing does involves persuasion. To elaborate, we are involved in the creation and dissemination of information that is designed to affect perceptions, attitudes and subsequently behaviors. Big money is spent every year in the design of communications, developing tradeshow booths, training customer service representatives to be responsive, public relations efforts and so forth.

So the question is: “What do your customers and prospects think of your communication efforts?”

This is a...

What’s the difference between a survey and a poll? As we enter the political season, groups are conducting research weekly in an attempt to measure public opinion, an ever moving target.

At the basic level both surveys and polls are designed to measure attitudes, awareness and perception. Public opinion polls are often conducted by third parties such as media (e.g. CNN Poll or the Los Angeles Times Poll) or research organizations such as the Pew Trust. In general these polls are concerned with...

Mick Jagger once sang that time was on his side. Well if your business is retail or services then time may not be on your side. Numerous studies both in consumer and B2B marketing research have shown that time spent in queue has an impact upon customer satisfaction. The latest in this line of research appeared in the April issue of Quirk’s. According to the study, sponsored by Great Clips, a retail salon chain, the margin of difference for American consumers was as little as five minutes.

Let’s...

Within the realm of single response survey question lays the domain of the mystics. Okay perhaps it is not the Lord of the Rings, but numerical questions, including the famous Likert Scale, can generate very actionable data if constructed properly.

The respondent is asked to select a single response from a scale, typically 1 – 5, 1 – 7, 1 – 9, or 0 – 10. The power of this type of question comes when several are linked together to provide a more holistic viewpoint of the attitude under...

Many organizations are big fans of publicizing slogans about how their people are their number one priority, yet constantly increasing shareholder value is more often their biggest concern. Luckily for most of the workforce, recent studies have found that actively engaging (and not just satisfying) employees can be an indicator of a higher stock price. A 2009 study found that "the most engaged companies had five times higher total shareholder return over five years than the least engaged...

Those running social media campaigns can take a tip from presentation and meeting professionals: If you want people to remember your pitch and your product, focus on the beginning and end. For example, you well know that first impressions matter, and if you've ever attended a conference, it's often the ending and call to action that sticks with you the most.

Follow the same rules of thumb with social media marketing. Don't get bogged down in details, but spend more time preparing. Use market...

Even if you seem to be doing everything right, sometimes it just seems like your marketing campaign is stuck in neutral. Maybe you're not getting any responses, or maybe you're getting the same old responses. Either way, your current marketing campaign doesn't seem to be getting you anywhere.

One of the most effective ways of shifting into high gear is to remember the heart of your business: this is not your brand-new product or even your old steady stand-by; It's your customer relationships.

If...

The folks over at Young, Fabulous, and Self-Employeed are offering up some tips on how to make customers want you. Even though the magazine is geared toward entrepreneurs, their customer relationship management ideas are great for all types of businesses.

1. Keep it simple. Don't assume that because a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool has a lot of bells and whistles that it's the best fit for your organization. Utilize a survey to determine what your needs are and who will be utilizing the...

Pitney Bowes recently released the results of a survey of 6,000 consumers asking what common business practices they find irritating, as well as a few they deem generally acceptable. Here are some ways you can really annoy your clientele!

• Send weekly emails. AKA giving them one more listserv they have to unsubscribe from. Almost 90% of those surveyed said this drives them bonkers.
• Ask them to support your charity or ethical viewpoint. The 84% of responders who hate this just want to use your...