The 411 on Dynamic Scoring

With the new Web Survey release in April, we added dynamic scoring. Through the use of chapters (grouped questions with common attributes), survey authors can dynamically score respondent’s answers. In most cases, dynamic scoring can be used for knowledge based testing at schools and universities as...read more

Categories Gone Wild

As someone involved in B2B market research I am intimately aware of the fact that survey response is a function of the questions we ask and the overall length of the survey. Other factors affecting response, both response percentage and the quality of the data, include the engagement level of the...read more

Skip This: Survey Logic Best Practices

Online survey platforms, such as Cvent, offer the user a wide variety of tools designed to maximize the user experience. After all isn’t that what we are looking for…an engaged respondent that provides truthful and enlightened responses? With that said it amazes me how many surveys go out that do...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

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

Tips for Building a Better Product or Service

Are products services and vice versa? There is a bit of confusion in the marketing waters nowadays about this issue. Essentially, from my humble perspective, there is little difference between a product and a service. Yes, it is difficult to load a service into your car and install it in your...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

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

Making Customer Retention a Goal

Marketing as we know it is comprised of two primary functions – customer acquisition and customer retention. Much of the effort skews toward acquisition and its numerous strategies for lead generation, nurturing and eventual hand-off of qualified leads to sales. The volume of companies selling CRM...read more

How representative is my sample?

The question that lies in the back of any researcher’s mind centers on what degree is their sample a reasonable measure of the population of interest? All aspects of the survey project can be spot on, but if the respondents do not form a representative sample then all bets are off for the quality of...read more
The Rise of the Smart Phone: Are you Leverging Mobile? 10 Tips for Mobile-Friendly Survey Creation