Editor's Note

MR Perspectives is a twice-monthly newsletter that provides perspectives on market research topics of interest, best practices tips, emerging trends, quick case studies, and other useful information.

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July 29-Aug. 1, 2005

San Francisco

AMA Summer Marketing Educators’ Conference

The American Marketing Association will host its annual Summer Marketing Educators’ Conference at the Marriott Hotel in San Francisco, California.

Aug. 15-16, 2005

Boston, MA

Front Line: Excellence in Customer Service

The American Society for Quality will host a two-day course entitled “Front Line: Excellence in Customer Service” at the Hyatt Harborside in Boston, Massachusetts. Attendees are invited to stay Aug. 17 for a one-day follow-up course entitled “Leading the Front Line: Keys to Excellence.”

Aug. 26, 2005

Boston, MA

Registration Deadline for AMA Marketing Research Conference

The early registration deadline is Aug. 26 for the American Marketing Association’s Marketing Research Conference, scheduled Sept. 25-28 at the Marriott Copley Place in Boston, Massachusetts.

Survey The Customer Throughout Their Lifecycle

Customer lifecycle market research surveys have recently become very popular among top companies as they try to improve their products and services and their customers' overall experience. Achieving that objective requires better and more immediate customer feedback, which is best obtained through a well-designed market research survey program.

A comprehensive customer lifecycle market research survey program might include surveying:

• Prospective Customer/Competitive Customer
• New Customer or Early Life Customers
• Current Customers
• Customer Retention
• Lost Customers (Customer Churn)

Different questions are asked at each stage in a customer’s lifecycle, and the methodology for each of the market research surveys would differ in questionnaire and sample design. For more information on customer lifecycle market research, see the Polaris website, www.polarismr.com.

Employees Are Best Source Of Ideas For Fixing Customer Problems

As illustrated in previous editions of this newsletter, many companies both large and small have made it an accepted practice to use customer satisfaction studies as a standard measure of business performance. Companies that embrace feedback from their customers, however, frequently fail to exploit another rich pool of data available to them -- their own employees. A firm’s employees are not only capable of identifying key areas of poor performance within the organization, but are frequently the best source of suggestions on how these problem areas can be fixed. The ability to mine important insights from a firm’s employee pool can even give one company a competitive advantage over another, and can ultimately have a decisive impact on the long-range success of a firm.

The benefits of running a successful employee satisfaction study are not limited to identifying and fixing problem areas. Gaining insight into employee attitudes, beliefs, and opinions can translate into other benefits as well:

• Evaluate how the current workplace climate is driving employee performance
• Proactively discover and address areas of low employee morale
• Identify and remove all factors from the process that might contribute negatively
• Recognize and isolate issues that are contributing negatively to a company’s ability to hire and retain talent
• Lower turnover rates and improve job productivity
• Discover which managers and departments are highly thought of, and which ones are in need of correction
• Track the effectiveness of training programs, and whether results of training are aligned with program goals
• Open dialogue about your organization’s strengths and weaknesses.

There are several possible methodologies for employee satisfaction, including surveys, in-depth interviews, and focus groups. Because it is efficient and cost-effective to distribute surveys within an organization, the survey methodology has become extremely common. Over the last decade many companies have adopted annual employee satisfaction surveys, but the implementation programs are frequently wrought with mistakes.

One of the most common errors is designing a questionnaire casually without including questions about issues that matter most to employees. The absence of relevant and important topics from a questionnaire can breed cynicism, as employees often think that management is trying to avoid a particular issue if it is not included in the survey. In order to avoid this pratfall, companies should carefully research which issues are relevant and design questions that allow management to isolate and quantify these particular hot topics.

A second common mistake is when companies fail to act upon the results of an employee survey. What firms don’t realize is that the establishment of an employee satisfaction program creates the expectation both that employee feedback is valued and that a certain amount of change will result from the program. All too often, management merely pays lip service to the survey results, at the expense of their credibility among the rank and file. Every reasonable effort should be made to implement initiatives based on the survey results. If for some reason promises resulting from a survey are not acted upon, a company is best off acknowledging that this has happened and explaining to its employees the reasons why. Failure in this area can lead to low response rates on future surveys and to the alienation of employees, who feel that their input is not valued by management.

A well-managed employee feedback program can be a valuable tool and can even help a company differentiate itself from its competition. An inherent risk comes with implementing such a program, however, as management essentially puts its credibility on the line with employees. Common mistakes such as poorly designed questionnaires or lack of follow-through can lead to disaster. Ultimately, the rewards outnumber the risks as organizations that treat their employees as “customers” and solicit their opinions frequently emerge as leaders in their areas of business.

Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Research

Here are a few of the pros and cons of doing your company’s marketing research in house vs. outsourcing to a marketing research company:

• Marketing research companies bring an objective third party view to the research, but they don't know the ins and outs of your business like an internal employee might.
• Professionals at marketing research companies have up-to-date knowledge of research and analysis tools, but they can't always communicate the value or outcomes to management as well as an internal employee might.
• Outsourcing marketing research can be a costly expense, but decreased client headcount and various efficiencies marketing research companies can take advantage of can effectively minimize costs while maximizing value.
• Marketing research companies have the ability to contact a high volume of customers, but they don't always represent the client's company as well as the company itself would.
• Contracted marketing research companies provide a quick turn around for reports and help, but they might assign junior (less experienced) project managers to write the report.

When checking out marketing research companies, you should look for evidence of their financial stability and quality standards. You should consider the advantages and disadvantages of hiring large vs. small and local vs. out-of-state marketing research companies. Other important considerations may be the amount of experience within your industry, the type of research they specialize in, or their policies for assigning project management.

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