Customer Satisfaction Research

In addition, we have customer-based performance assessment programs underway with hospitals, medical practices, colleges, and schools. The firm recently designed a satisfaction measurement system tied to compensation for a major telecommunications firm. We have also developed statistical models to predict customers most likely to be lost so that our clients can target retention interventions. In short, we have considerable experience with satisfaction surveys and customer retention studies — from questionnaire design and scale choices, to creative data presentations and retention programming.

If you're new to satisfaction measurement, scroll down to see an example of Importance-Performance (or quadrant) Analysis. For this type of research, we obtain customers' ratings of performance on selected criteria and then derive statistically the relative importance of each criterion to customers' overall satisfaction. The graphic below is a powerful way for clients to see where performance is strong and weak, and to identify those areas deserving more attention. In this case, only five of what could be dozens of service characteristics are located with respect to two dimensions: their performance score, and their importance to customers. The area that most draws managers' attention is at the lower right, the area of high importance but low performance. In this example, the client should focus on "responsiveness" in order to improve overall satisfaction.

An extension of this approach, known as Value Analysis, extends this idea to a competitive context: gauging satisfaction in comparison to competitors.

Importance-Performance Analysis Example

Corporate Image or Brand Analysis

What is this Image Research stuff? A major component of market analysis is the assessment of customers' perceptions of the organization, and its products and/or services. This assessment can take various forms, including:

• Image Analysis: How customers perceive the client organization.
• Gap Analysis: A comparison of the organization's image among key customer groups (e.g., prospective/current customers) or relative to a desired image (e.g., "75% of alumni should agree we are diverse").
• Market Positioning: A comparison of the client organization to its competitors.

Research Techniques

JTWack & Company employs both qualitative and quantitative techniques when it conducts market research. In the qualitative mode, individual depth interviews or focus groups can yield insights into customers' views. Qualitative research usually complements quantitative research. It can be used to guide the development of questions or assist in developing a deeper understanding of the quantitative results. Quantitative techniques generally refer to surveys and the means (paper, phone, web) of data collection.

Simple Image Analysis

Quantitative studies of image build from multivariate research techniques developed in cognitive and social psychology. Briefly, attributes relevant to the client organization are identified (e.g., well-known, leader, large). Then a sample (usually a minimum of several hundred is desirable for statistical precision) is drawn and one of several techniques is used to measure respondents' perceptions via a survey. The key measure is the average image. The chart below is one way of showing the organization's image in a graphical, tangible way that moves the discussion out of the realm of opinion and toward objectivity. In addition to the mean, sometimes the amount of variation informs the degree of market consensus or uniformity of view.

Gap Analysis and Market Positioning

Gap segmentation (or profiling) and positioning studies are extensions of simple Image Analysis. Gap Analysis refers to the comparison of images held by different groups, and Market Positioning is a comparison of the organization's image to that of competitors. Consider the graphic below. In the context of a Gap Analysis, profiles A and B might represent the images of the organization held by two different groups or constituencies. Examples in an educational setting might include the school's younger alumni versus older alumni, or faculty versus students, or students accepting versus declining admission.

In the above example, groups A and B differ most in their views of the institution with respect to the characteristics nearer the top and share greater consensus with respect to the items nearer the bottom. These results would provoke a number of important strategic questions, including:

• "Are we OK with the groups' discrepant images with respect to those items nearer the top?"
• "In the areas where there is consensus, is that the image we want to have, or do we want to drive the image in a different direction?"

Answers to these questions begin to drive strategy. In most cases, the first question applies to every item, whether the perception reflects reality or not. Depending on the answer, the solution to changing image lies with resetting perceptions through communications, or with changing reality, plus communications.

Extensions to the Model

JTWack & Company can extend the above general approaches in numerous ways (e.g., compare more than two groups' views). Indeed, in the case of a positioning study, there are usually several organizations being compared.

Another use: Many corporate clients track image annually. In these cases, line A could represent the baseline, and line B the measure of change the following year.

In one school's survey of its alumni, line A was "their views of the school when they attended" and B was "their views of the school today." This proved an interesting way to gauge in what areas alumni viewed the school had changed. There was also a line C, which represented how alumni would like the school to be viewed. The gaps between current and desired views helped guide image priorities.

Summary

Quantitative techniques offer several advantages in Image Analysis over qualitative approaches alone. For instance, quantitative image measurement permits organizations to:

• Test the relevance of specific aspects of image.
• Make more precise statements (e.g., twice as many people view us as _____ than _____).
• Characterize differences in the views among market segments more accurately.
• Obtain an objective picture that helps management, staff, and boards move quickly beyond personal opinion and "gut feelings," to agreement on image goals.