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

Getting Back to the Trenches: Getting too Far Removed from the Customer Experience

Some days as a B2B market researcher, and in my previous lives in consumer research, I find myself becoming more intimate with SPSS files and questionnaires than with our customers. Ah, you might say, such is the life of a quant junkie. Well that may be true, as I do love working with the data that...read more

Quota Design

Not all surveys will be applicable to all potential respondents. Targeting our survey efforts to those most likely to respond will increase our engagement levels and in theory provide a more interesting experience. How do we know who is most likely to respond? This is a question for the ages, but in...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

Using Qualitative and Quantitative Question Formats

In both consumer and B2B market research we are often faced with questions from clients that require both quantitative research methods as well as the deeper insights that come from unstructured or more qualitative approaches. Fortunately, online survey platforms such as Cvent allow us the ability...read more

Keeping your Survey Reporting On-Track

Creating reports from your online survey platform can be both a blessing and a curse. There are numerous pre-designed report options available which can easily shave hours of time off a project. Reports follow several themes including: Answer Summaries and Details – individual frequency counts for...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

Is Life Really as Simple as Yes or No?

Are questions with dichotomous answers the best use of our online survey design? Answering this question is not as simple as saying Yes or No. Dichotomous questions (those with two response options) may be simple to answer, however they leave one key component behind. Variance allows us to dive more...read more

Adding Questions to the Matrix

On occasion a survey comes my way that illustrates, either with excellence or lack of vision, good online survey design. The illustration below comes from a customer satisfaction survey provided by a regional grocery store to their online community. The table speaks to one dimension of the...read more
The Rise of the Smart Phone: Are you Leverging Mobile? 10 Tips for Mobile-Friendly Survey Creation