Because the business climate in virtually all industries has become increasingly competitive, and the marketplace continues to change, it is even more important for all employees of an organization to demonstrate responsiveness and respect toward their customers. This means developing a whole new orientation toward customer service.
Business in general is becoming much more customer-focused in this new era of ubiquitous technology that allows for instant personal contact. Companies are recognizing that the degree to which they meet or exceed their customers' expectations will dictate their relative success in the marketplace. In order to be customer-oriented, it is important that your people understand these expectations and perform accordingly. It is also important that your people develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that enable and empower them to demonstrate customer responsiveness and respect.
Two Points of Focus
Unrivaled Customer Service begins with two points of focus, customer expectations and organizational outcomes. Customer expectations fall into two areas: needs and wants. When a customer's problem is solved, his or her needs are met. When a customer is made to feel good, his or her wants are satisfied. Providing unrivaled customer service means that your people understand both your customers' needs AND wants.
The first step in identifying what customers want and need is to ask them. Conducting a Customer Perception Survey to identify exactly how your customers view you is essential to understanding how to satisfy them in the future. Annual customer surveys are a best practice among the top organizations that taut unrivaled service.
Organizational outcomes fall into three areas: quality in fact, process outcomes, and final results. If your organization is not getting the outcomes it needs to survive and succeed, then you risk being marginalized in the market, or worse yet, going out of business. It is critical that you are able to balance customer expectations with organizational outcomes.
The Internal Customer/Supplier Chain
Experience shows that most external customer disappointments are created by internal process problems. Often, people within the organization are not working together to serve the customer. An effective way to deal with this is to clarify the internal customer/supplier chain. Every employee in your organization has other employees who are their internal customers. Everyone also has internal suppliers, people they depend on for support to do their jobs.
Organizations with a focus on unrivaled service work hard to clarify this internal customer/supplier chain. Every person needs to know precisely who his or her internal customers are, and what they need and want. Imagine everyone in your organization focusing on their internal customer, and working together to serve your external customers.
Knowing what your customers need and want and delivering it are two different things. The critical ingredients in are people and processes. First, your people must have the knowledge and skills to serve your customers effectively. Second, your internal processes must be designed for unrivaled service.
If you are trying to differentiate your organization through unrivaled service, we can help. Call us toll-free at 1-800-999-6615, email us at mail@tweedweber.com and/or visit us on the web at www.tweedweber.com. Also, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn (Tweed-Weber, Inc.) and Twitter (@TweedWeber). Tweed-Weber can help you identify what your customers need and want, not only today, but in the future, so that you can be the consistent market leader.
Showing posts with label customer service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label customer service. Show all posts
Friday, September 19, 2014
Monday, May 12, 2014
Why?
I’ve often been told I’m inquisitive by nature and that a childlike sense of curiosity permeates through my personality. I envision myself having been that caricature of an annoyingly sweet child always asking “Why? Why? Why?” as my parents silently pull out clumps of hair while grinding their teeth. Perhaps this is the reason I’ve found myself in the market research industry for the past five-plus years and enjoying almost every second of it.
One of the many things that fascinates me about this industry is how welcomed the question “Why?” is in everyday business. Our clients contract us to find out “why” things are the way they are. As a student of economics, both behavioral and business, I’ve come to appreciate that simple yet so complex three-letter word.
The easiest arena in which to ask that question is, of course, face-to-face. There are times when this method is ideal—focus groups and intercept surveys come to mind first and foremost. However, there are other times when it’s cost-prohibitive to commit resources to such an endeavor. One solution? Telephone interviews with a client’s customers.
But why?
While market researchers adhere rather strictly to a scripted set of interview questions during a telephone survey, we are often compelled by that inquisitive nature to go “off-script” and ask what are called probing questions, the most common and informative of which is “Why?”
But why?
One of the staple questions of a customer survey is “What is Company X’s main strength?” Likewise, one of the staple responses to such a question is “The staff.” If the interviewee is filling out his own paper-and-pencil survey, answering an online survey, or dealing with an inexperienced live researcher, that’s all you’re going to get—a bland, flavorless, stock response that provides no insight whatsoever. The probing question “Why?” will almost always yield an anecdote that tells of a positive customer service or sales experience that data analysts and report writers can use to tell an overarching story about why customers appreciate Company X.
Needless to say, the probing question “Why?” is equally, if not more so, important when it comes to findings areas for improvement. It does little good for our imaginary Company X to learn that its main weakness is, for instance, its lead time (the time it takes from order placement to order shipment). It’s more useful to know why lead time is an issue—perhaps the real issue is a complicated computer system, or a slow supplier, or even staff that doesn’t record orders properly.
“Why?” makes a big difference when devoting resources to address weaknesses. Rather than blindly throwing countless dollars and hours at an issue and hope that something works, “Why?” can help Company X be precise in its improvement efforts, saving time and money. Nowadays, that’s golden.
There are many things “Why?” can do for your business and your bottom line. Above all, “Why?” will help you Know More so you can Do More. If you’d like to know what “Why?” can do for you, call us toll-free at 1-800-999-6615, email us at mail@tweedweber.com and/or visit us on the web at www.tweedweber.com. Also, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn (Tweed-Weber, Inc.) and Twitter (@TweedWeber).
About the author: Michael Thompson has been with Tweed-Weber, Inc. since 2008 and serves as Project Manager. He handles all internal aspects of market research projects, including implementation, database creation, data analysis, and report writing.
One of the many things that fascinates me about this industry is how welcomed the question “Why?” is in everyday business. Our clients contract us to find out “why” things are the way they are. As a student of economics, both behavioral and business, I’ve come to appreciate that simple yet so complex three-letter word.
The easiest arena in which to ask that question is, of course, face-to-face. There are times when this method is ideal—focus groups and intercept surveys come to mind first and foremost. However, there are other times when it’s cost-prohibitive to commit resources to such an endeavor. One solution? Telephone interviews with a client’s customers.
But why?
While market researchers adhere rather strictly to a scripted set of interview questions during a telephone survey, we are often compelled by that inquisitive nature to go “off-script” and ask what are called probing questions, the most common and informative of which is “Why?”
But why?
One of the staple questions of a customer survey is “What is Company X’s main strength?” Likewise, one of the staple responses to such a question is “The staff.” If the interviewee is filling out his own paper-and-pencil survey, answering an online survey, or dealing with an inexperienced live researcher, that’s all you’re going to get—a bland, flavorless, stock response that provides no insight whatsoever. The probing question “Why?” will almost always yield an anecdote that tells of a positive customer service or sales experience that data analysts and report writers can use to tell an overarching story about why customers appreciate Company X.
Needless to say, the probing question “Why?” is equally, if not more so, important when it comes to findings areas for improvement. It does little good for our imaginary Company X to learn that its main weakness is, for instance, its lead time (the time it takes from order placement to order shipment). It’s more useful to know why lead time is an issue—perhaps the real issue is a complicated computer system, or a slow supplier, or even staff that doesn’t record orders properly.
“Why?” makes a big difference when devoting resources to address weaknesses. Rather than blindly throwing countless dollars and hours at an issue and hope that something works, “Why?” can help Company X be precise in its improvement efforts, saving time and money. Nowadays, that’s golden.
There are many things “Why?” can do for your business and your bottom line. Above all, “Why?” will help you Know More so you can Do More. If you’d like to know what “Why?” can do for you, call us toll-free at 1-800-999-6615, email us at mail@tweedweber.com and/or visit us on the web at www.tweedweber.com. Also, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn (Tweed-Weber, Inc.) and Twitter (@TweedWeber).
About the author: Michael Thompson has been with Tweed-Weber, Inc. since 2008 and serves as Project Manager. He handles all internal aspects of market research projects, including implementation, database creation, data analysis, and report writing.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Can You Hear Me?
By Sharon Danks, Vice President, Tweed-Weber, Inc.
I recently had a brutally painful customer experience with a telephone service company. The amount of repeated efforts I had to go through to resolve an atypical, yet fairly simple issue was just “ridonculous.” To be more accurate, that would be ridonculous x 100. Suffice it say, they will never get our business again, and I’m just hoping the twitch I get every time I hear their name isn’t obvious and/or permanent. The overall experience left me asking the question, “How did the string of people I talked to throughout the process of trying to get resolution not hear me?” I was extremely clear, both verbally and in writing, about what our issue was and how we needed it to be resolved. However, not one person took the time to understand the details, nor did anyone care about what I was experiencing as a customer. The funny thing is, at every turn, I think each one of them honestly felt like they were doing the best they could to help given the “authorization” constraints placed on them. When each of them passed me off to someone else, I really think they felt good about their efforts to assist.
To add insult to injury, after months of lunacy, when the issue was finally resolved, we received an email sent automatically when your “case number” is closed out, asking, “How was your experience working with us?” Really?
The point of sharing my sad tale is to highlight this as a classic example of a company with a process for surveying customers that’s not connected in any way to the reality of the customer’s experience and/or to the touch points the customer has with the organization. If you’re doing customer surveys for the sake of saying you do them, and are not making your employees who deal with customers accountable for the experience and/or immediate problem resolution, then your process is fatally flawed.
The best way to gather customer feedback is through a proactive process that makes your customers feel valued versus a reactive process that customers easily recognize as an afterthought. All of us know when something is being done half-heartedly, and if your customers believe that is your attitude towards them, it’s only a matter of time before the result of that is lost business. All employees in the organization should be on-board with understanding how a customer’s experience impacts the bottom line, positively or negatively, and their role in providing customers with unrivaled service.
Conducting a customer perception survey on a regular basis should be an engaging, ongoing, exciting, meaningful activity that helps shape your organization’s products, services, and processes. It’s a chance to partner one-on-one with your customers to learn about the state of your organization as viewed from the outside. Bottom line: Is the opinion of anyone else more important than your customers when it comes to identifying ways to improve their experience so you can grow your business?
If you would like to know how effective your current customer survey process is, or if you’d like to be proactive in starting a new customer survey initiative, give us a call. We can help you Know More, so you can Do More. Call us toll-free at 1-800-999-6615, email us at mail@tweedweber.com and/or visit us on the web at www.tweedweber.com. Also, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn (Tweed-Weber, Inc.) and Twitter (@TweedWeber).
One last thing: “Ridonculous.” From the movie Nemo. A must see.
I recently had a brutally painful customer experience with a telephone service company. The amount of repeated efforts I had to go through to resolve an atypical, yet fairly simple issue was just “ridonculous.” To be more accurate, that would be ridonculous x 100. Suffice it say, they will never get our business again, and I’m just hoping the twitch I get every time I hear their name isn’t obvious and/or permanent. The overall experience left me asking the question, “How did the string of people I talked to throughout the process of trying to get resolution not hear me?” I was extremely clear, both verbally and in writing, about what our issue was and how we needed it to be resolved. However, not one person took the time to understand the details, nor did anyone care about what I was experiencing as a customer. The funny thing is, at every turn, I think each one of them honestly felt like they were doing the best they could to help given the “authorization” constraints placed on them. When each of them passed me off to someone else, I really think they felt good about their efforts to assist.
To add insult to injury, after months of lunacy, when the issue was finally resolved, we received an email sent automatically when your “case number” is closed out, asking, “How was your experience working with us?” Really?
The point of sharing my sad tale is to highlight this as a classic example of a company with a process for surveying customers that’s not connected in any way to the reality of the customer’s experience and/or to the touch points the customer has with the organization. If you’re doing customer surveys for the sake of saying you do them, and are not making your employees who deal with customers accountable for the experience and/or immediate problem resolution, then your process is fatally flawed.
The best way to gather customer feedback is through a proactive process that makes your customers feel valued versus a reactive process that customers easily recognize as an afterthought. All of us know when something is being done half-heartedly, and if your customers believe that is your attitude towards them, it’s only a matter of time before the result of that is lost business. All employees in the organization should be on-board with understanding how a customer’s experience impacts the bottom line, positively or negatively, and their role in providing customers with unrivaled service.
Conducting a customer perception survey on a regular basis should be an engaging, ongoing, exciting, meaningful activity that helps shape your organization’s products, services, and processes. It’s a chance to partner one-on-one with your customers to learn about the state of your organization as viewed from the outside. Bottom line: Is the opinion of anyone else more important than your customers when it comes to identifying ways to improve their experience so you can grow your business?
If you would like to know how effective your current customer survey process is, or if you’d like to be proactive in starting a new customer survey initiative, give us a call. We can help you Know More, so you can Do More. Call us toll-free at 1-800-999-6615, email us at mail@tweedweber.com and/or visit us on the web at www.tweedweber.com. Also, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn (Tweed-Weber, Inc.) and Twitter (@TweedWeber).
One last thing: “Ridonculous.” From the movie Nemo. A must see.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Have You Spotted New Customer Trends?
While reading the February issue of Quirks Magazine, I stumbled upon the article “4 customer experience trends for 2014,” and it got me thinking about how with each New Year, new trends are tracked and researched and the things of 2013 are no longer “cool.” This is true with every industry, especially fashion, which turns around new styles each season (sometimes a couple times a season). But how do these new trends of 2014 affect you?
A customer’s experience is the make-or-break for their loyalty with a company. According to the study from New York customer experience management company, LivePerson, consumers are willing to wait an average of 76 seconds for customer service support when visiting a website. That’s 76 seconds for a customer to see if they like, or don’t like, your company.
Because you only have 76 seconds for a customer to decide your fate, there are some steps you can take to improve the outcome and maintain customers.
The first is there is always room for improvement. No matter how good one person is at something, there can always be tweaks to make it spectacular. The same goes with any company. In today’s society, consumers are quick to go somewhere else if a deal, service, or product is better – it’s the name of the game. According to Anurag Wadehra, blogger for LivePerson, 33 percent of consumers struggle to help or locate customer service, whereas 49 percent of consumers find websites to be difficult to navigate. By stepping-up your game, those 76 seconds can be a life-changer.
The second is brand trust and loyalty. People tend to stay with or go with companies that have a good reputation and can provide a good quality service. With that said, 78 percent of consumers agree that they will be loyal to a company that provides real-time, one-on-one support.
The third is, speed and efficiency, especially with our fast-paced society today. Everyone expects to have everything at lightning speed, no matter what the situation. This is especially true with consumers. About three-quarters stated speed and efficiency were the most important factors in creating a great experience.
The last, but not the least, is high-impact moments. How does this affect you? Consumers are looking for anything to help them during their times of need, especially when navigating a website. If you provide the right support, it will be a “high-impact” moment because of the willingness of your company to help them. According to the Quirk’s article, 35 percent of consumers say the actual moment of purchase is when they need the most help. Does your company have an easy, turn-key check out process?
Though this article is driven by trends in the online sector, I thought it was important to write about it because our society is so focused on technology and the impact of this is huge when it comes to companies. It is important to come into the 21st century and adapt to the changes popularized by Gen-Y, since one day they are going to be your biggest customer. As a Gen-Y myself, I know how important it is to have an easy process from navigating a site to check out. I want it to go smoothly and efficiently, and any hiccup makes me go elsewhere. This is true for mostly everyone of my generation because we are used to having everything at the tips of our fingers. How is your company dealing with the shift in technology? Do you think your company is up-to-speed on all of the latest social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogging? Maybe it’s time to analyze the inner-workings of your company and see what your employees are saying about this.
Let Tweed-Weber, Inc. help your company find its strengths and weaknesses to make your “New Years’” resolutions a reality. Call us toll-free at 1-800-999-6615, email us at mail@tweedweber.com and/or visit us on the web at www.tweedweber.com. Also, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn (Tweed-Weber, Inc.) and Twitter (@TweedWeber). “With every new year, comes a new you.” We have all heard that saying each time another year flies by, but now with the end of the first quarter quickly approaching, it’s time to look to back and see if the new year really did bring a new you.
About the author: Gretchen Koch has been with Tweed-Weber, Inc. since 2012 and serves as Operations Manager. She oversees office processes and provides quality control on all market research reports and strategic planning documents.
A customer’s experience is the make-or-break for their loyalty with a company. According to the study from New York customer experience management company, LivePerson, consumers are willing to wait an average of 76 seconds for customer service support when visiting a website. That’s 76 seconds for a customer to see if they like, or don’t like, your company.
Because you only have 76 seconds for a customer to decide your fate, there are some steps you can take to improve the outcome and maintain customers.
The first is there is always room for improvement. No matter how good one person is at something, there can always be tweaks to make it spectacular. The same goes with any company. In today’s society, consumers are quick to go somewhere else if a deal, service, or product is better – it’s the name of the game. According to Anurag Wadehra, blogger for LivePerson, 33 percent of consumers struggle to help or locate customer service, whereas 49 percent of consumers find websites to be difficult to navigate. By stepping-up your game, those 76 seconds can be a life-changer.
The second is brand trust and loyalty. People tend to stay with or go with companies that have a good reputation and can provide a good quality service. With that said, 78 percent of consumers agree that they will be loyal to a company that provides real-time, one-on-one support.
The third is, speed and efficiency, especially with our fast-paced society today. Everyone expects to have everything at lightning speed, no matter what the situation. This is especially true with consumers. About three-quarters stated speed and efficiency were the most important factors in creating a great experience.
The last, but not the least, is high-impact moments. How does this affect you? Consumers are looking for anything to help them during their times of need, especially when navigating a website. If you provide the right support, it will be a “high-impact” moment because of the willingness of your company to help them. According to the Quirk’s article, 35 percent of consumers say the actual moment of purchase is when they need the most help. Does your company have an easy, turn-key check out process?
Though this article is driven by trends in the online sector, I thought it was important to write about it because our society is so focused on technology and the impact of this is huge when it comes to companies. It is important to come into the 21st century and adapt to the changes popularized by Gen-Y, since one day they are going to be your biggest customer. As a Gen-Y myself, I know how important it is to have an easy process from navigating a site to check out. I want it to go smoothly and efficiently, and any hiccup makes me go elsewhere. This is true for mostly everyone of my generation because we are used to having everything at the tips of our fingers. How is your company dealing with the shift in technology? Do you think your company is up-to-speed on all of the latest social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogging? Maybe it’s time to analyze the inner-workings of your company and see what your employees are saying about this.
Let Tweed-Weber, Inc. help your company find its strengths and weaknesses to make your “New Years’” resolutions a reality. Call us toll-free at 1-800-999-6615, email us at mail@tweedweber.com and/or visit us on the web at www.tweedweber.com. Also, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn (Tweed-Weber, Inc.) and Twitter (@TweedWeber). “With every new year, comes a new you.” We have all heard that saying each time another year flies by, but now with the end of the first quarter quickly approaching, it’s time to look to back and see if the new year really did bring a new you.
About the author: Gretchen Koch has been with Tweed-Weber, Inc. since 2012 and serves as Operations Manager. She oversees office processes and provides quality control on all market research reports and strategic planning documents.
Monday, February 17, 2014
BE SURE: Customer Research from Tweed-Weber
Customer
feedback. We’re told how essential it is to a successful business. At
Tweed-Weber, we absolutely support that notion. Here are some common questions
we get asked about obtaining customer feedback:
- How can we engage our customers in a way that will encourage them to provide us with candid perceptions about our performance?
- How do we obtain customer input that is objective?
- How do we know what to ask our customers about us?
- How do we obtain customer input that is easy to understand?
- How do we make the customer feedback we receive actionable?
- How do we obtain customer input in a way that is most cost-effective?
- How do we get satisfaction ratings we can benchmark over time in an effort to track our progress?
- How do we impress our customers with a genuine effort to understand their business issues?
- How can we identify specific opportunities for increased sales within our current customer base?
- How do we do a customer survey when we really don’t know how?
Many
companies still mail a paper-and-pencil survey to gather feedback from their
customers, thinking it will meet their most basic requirements for gathering
their input. However, every completed paper-and-pencil survey that you receive
represents a missed opportunity to have strengthened that customer relationship
on a more personal level. Mail surveys are most effective when you are mailing
to an enormous audience, like in consumer research versus B2B research, because
the number of surveys sent out will hopefully garner a large enough sample that
is returned to be meaningful.
For B2B
customer surveys, we highly recommend online surveys or telephone interviews.
Online surveys are more engaging, and the entire process of online surveys can
be managed, implemented, and tracked in a much more targeted and efficient
manner. Customers also love incentives, so online surveys with incentives can
help increase response rates.
We believe
telephone interviews offer the best way to obtain in-depth customer feedback.
If your customers were willing to take the time to complete a survey without
you being present, just imagine what they would be willing to share if they
were asked purposeful questions by a person who was offering them his/her
undivided attention. The amount of feedback that can be gathered and
interpreted from telephone interviews is far more fruitful than other
methodologies.
In the past, we've talked about survey methodologies. Every
research method has its appropriate place and time, and we invite you to learn
more about how you can gather customer feedback in the most effective manner.
At Tweed-Weber, we specialize in designing and implementing customer surveys,
so we can help you create a process that’s right for you. Listening to the
voice of your customers will help you Know
More, so you can Do More. Call
us toll-free at 1-800-999-6615, email us at mail@tweedweber.com
and/or visit us on the web at www.tweedweber.com.
Also, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn (Tweed-Weber, Inc.) and Twitter
(@TweedWeber).
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Are You Hearing Everything Your Customer Says?
"There is only one boss: the
customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down,
simply by spending his money somewhere else." – Sam Walton
Certainly, knowing what your customers are thinking is critical to the success of any business, regardless of whether it specializes in straight-to-consumer or business-to-business products and services. We’ve written extensively about the importance of customer satisfaction here, here, and here; the synergy between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction; and how one company, in particular, has been using its customer satisfaction research to improve service.
A recent article by Gerry Katz in Quirk’s Marketing Research (“Hijacked again!” December 2013, pp. 38-42) caught our eye, as it describes three of the more popular viewpoints relative to the “voice of the customer.” VOC, as it’s colloquially known, can be made to mean just about anything, according to those Katz calls “the stretchers”:
Certainly, knowing what your customers are thinking is critical to the success of any business, regardless of whether it specializes in straight-to-consumer or business-to-business products and services. We’ve written extensively about the importance of customer satisfaction here, here, and here; the synergy between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction; and how one company, in particular, has been using its customer satisfaction research to improve service.
A recent article by Gerry Katz in Quirk’s Marketing Research (“Hijacked again!” December 2013, pp. 38-42) caught our eye, as it describes three of the more popular viewpoints relative to the “voice of the customer.” VOC, as it’s colloquially known, can be made to mean just about anything, according to those Katz calls “the stretchers”:
The
Stretchers take VOC well beyond its original definition. For many, VOC has
become a euphemism – it sounds better than “market research” or what we once
called customer satisfaction measurement (and its more recent incarnation, the
Net Promoter Score) and customer relationship management (CRM).
Katz notes
that some, but not all, of those who use VOC to mean customer satisfaction and
CRM interchangeably often downplay the synergy between the two methods. They use them as a sort of report card, a
tool to indicate where they’ve been or how well they’ve done. They view it as a
snapshot of the past rather than a springboard into the pool of discussion on
future planning. Katz uses the image of a child who brings home a failing grade
in reading: some families automatically blame the teacher or the methods used
to grade the child rather than asking the more fundamental question, “Why
[emphasis ours] can’t Johnny read?”
As these two
methods are necessarily symbiotic, any customer research that focuses on just
one of them is deficient. Yes, knowing that your customers rate their
collective satisfaction with your services as a 3.7 on a 1-to-5 scale is
valuable, but knowing exactly why that is the case (and why you were not rated
a 4 or 5) is infinitely more useful and actionable.
Learning why is a
hallmark of Tweed-Weber’s research capabilities. This sort of cohesion yields
the deepest, richest, and most action-oriented results, speaking truth to
numbers and backing up customers’ perceptions with data. Seeing the full
picture reveals emotional connections and underlying motivations to the data, helping
in validating and confirming insight on an emotional level and, ultimately, in
providing confident recommendations.
If you’re
wondering if customer research is right for you, we can help. Call
us toll-free at 1-800-999-6615, email us at mail@tweedweber.com and/or visit us
on the web at www.tweedweber.com. Also, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn
(Tweed-Weber, Inc.) and Twitter (@TweedWeber). As winter (hopefully) winds down
and spring arrives, new growth begins. Now is the time to notice the changes
within your industry and within your customer base, and remember that with
every change comes a new beginning. No one can guarantee certainty, but market
research can guarantee clarity. You will Know More, so you can Do More.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Are You Measuring What Matters?
We human beings are strange creatures full of contradictions. We often dislike the very things that are best for us. Such is the case with being measured. On one hand, being measured makes us very uncomfortable. It creates within us a degree of anxiety, fear, and apprehension. On the other hand, we almost always improve our performance in areas where we are specifically and regularly measured.
Remember high school? Teachers gave homework assignments. Some teachers were not consistent in collecting the homework and never corrected it. Other teachers consistently collected the homework, corrected it carefully, handed it back, and gave you very specific feedback about what you needed to do to improve. Although you might not have liked getting that feedback, it is what helped you learn. Today, those are the teachers you remember. They are the ones who helped you the most and for whom you have the most respect.
This is the principle behind Critical Measures of Success. What gets measured gets managed. What gets managed gets done. What gets rewarded gets repeated.
Critical Measures of Success are statistical indicators of an organization's performance. A Critical Measure is a statistic or data point that, when tracked over a period of time, will enable you to determine the progress your organization is making toward the intended outcome of the goals you have set. For example, one of our clients established a Critical Measure of a 4.5 for overall customer satisfaction for her company (based on 5.00 being the highest satisfaction rating possible). She asks us to conduct an annual survey of her customers which allows her to benchmark overall satisfaction, as well as other specific areas such as quality, technical abilities, customer service, pricing, lead time, and on-time shipping performance (just to name a few). This survey activity allows her and her management team to evaluate their performance with customers and apply course corrections and improvements as needed, with the goal of achieving and maintaining a 4.5 rating.
The concept of Critical Measures of Success is to identify the critical indicators of your organization. You then monitor these indicators on a regular basis and report the results to your management team. Monitoring and reporting the Critical Measures becomes the basis for communication, problem solving and continuous improvement within your organization.
Here are six steps you can use to make Critical Measures of Success a key ingredient for you:
- Define your Critical Measures of Success.
- Develop systems to gather the information you need.
- Display your Critical Measures of Success in a visual form throughout the organization.
- Build your Critical Measures of Success into your monthly management meetings and employee communication.
- Involve employees in generating ideas for improvement when your measures are off track.
- Use your Critical Measures of Success as the basis for employee recognition and rewards, and celebrate your successes.
Many of our clients use these steps to bring people together around common areas for continuous improvement. If you are wondering what’s most important for you to measure within your organization, we can help. Call us toll-free at 1-800-999-6615, email us at mail@tweedweber.com and/or visit us on the web at www.tweedweber.com. Also, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn (Tweed-Weber, Inc.) and Twitter (@TweedWeber).
Tweed-Weber can help you develop a strategic plan that includes your unique Critical Measures of Success. We can also help you measure your performance from the perspective of your customers so you know, in real numbers, how well you are satisfying your customers in today’s competitive business environment.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Happy Employees = Happy Customers?
Recently, a coworker stepped into our “Morning Jolt”
– our rendition of a daily morning meeting or catch-up – telling the most
horrid story about customer service. After a few laughs and jokes, we discussed
how often we find in our clients’ research that bad customer service is linked
to employee satisfaction. It’s inevitable. Employee satisfaction is essential
to the success of any business.*
In today’s society, most are driven by money and making that money fast, but they fail to look at all aspects involved in achieving success. With every transaction, every product, and every achievement, there is something hidden in the framework – the employees who make those actions a reality. As such, it only makes sense to keep those “little gems” in your company happy, which will aid in your overall business success.
But what exactly makes an employee unhappy? There isn’t always a flashing neon sign saying “I am unhappy with my job.” The reasons are likely to be more subtle – high stress, lack of communication, and/or limited opportunities for growth, just to name a few. In order to be at peak performance, management should focus on these factors to improve the workplace environment, ultimately increasing satisfaction and reducing turnover rates.
In a recent study by Gallup, businesses with higher employee satisfaction also had 86 percent higher customer ratings, 76 percent more success in lowering turnover, 70 percent higher profitability, and 78 percent better safety records.* What do these statistics mean to you? It’s simple: happy employees equal happy customers. They are the scene-setters for your business. They are the ones interacting every day with your most valued assets – your customers.
Every aspect of a company is somehow linked. For
example, imagine the inner workings of a business as a spider web, with the
spider being the company. Everything revolves around the spider – each thread
of the web (department, employee, policy, etc.) is meticulously constructed to
provide the utmost support for its daily life. Each intertwines in some shape
or form, and any “hiccup” in the daily business functions of the company,
regardless of where, could decrease profitability. For instance, when employee
satisfaction dips, so does employee performance, affecting everything in the
company.
Research from the University of Missouri shows CEOs who pay attention to employee job satisfaction are better equipped to increase customer satisfaction, as well as the volume of customers who intend to do repeat business.** By asking employees their thoughts on key areas in the company, it gives them a voice. It makes them feel like they belong, and that they are shaping the future of the company. This is extremely vital, especially when maintaining satisfaction on all fronts. But how do you go about doing this? It’s easy; conduct an employee perception survey. Employee research gives you the opportunity to identify what is, and what isn’t, working. By honing in on certain areas, such as overall work environment, employee empowerment, and management support, employee research can help change the “web” of your business.
If employee satisfaction research is an area you are interested in exploring, we can help. Call us toll-free at 1-800-999-6615, email us at mail@tweedweber.com and/or visit us on the web at www.tweedweber.com. Also, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn (Tweed-Weber, Inc.) and Twitter (@TweedWeber). Tweed-Weber can help you include your employees and their perceptions as a foundation for your continued success.
In today’s society, most are driven by money and making that money fast, but they fail to look at all aspects involved in achieving success. With every transaction, every product, and every achievement, there is something hidden in the framework – the employees who make those actions a reality. As such, it only makes sense to keep those “little gems” in your company happy, which will aid in your overall business success.
But what exactly makes an employee unhappy? There isn’t always a flashing neon sign saying “I am unhappy with my job.” The reasons are likely to be more subtle – high stress, lack of communication, and/or limited opportunities for growth, just to name a few. In order to be at peak performance, management should focus on these factors to improve the workplace environment, ultimately increasing satisfaction and reducing turnover rates.
In a recent study by Gallup, businesses with higher employee satisfaction also had 86 percent higher customer ratings, 76 percent more success in lowering turnover, 70 percent higher profitability, and 78 percent better safety records.* What do these statistics mean to you? It’s simple: happy employees equal happy customers. They are the scene-setters for your business. They are the ones interacting every day with your most valued assets – your customers.
Every aspect of a company is somehow linked. For
example, imagine the inner workings of a business as a spider web, with the
spider being the company. Everything revolves around the spider – each thread
of the web (department, employee, policy, etc.) is meticulously constructed to
provide the utmost support for its daily life. Each intertwines in some shape
or form, and any “hiccup” in the daily business functions of the company,
regardless of where, could decrease profitability. For instance, when employee
satisfaction dips, so does employee performance, affecting everything in the
company. Research from the University of Missouri shows CEOs who pay attention to employee job satisfaction are better equipped to increase customer satisfaction, as well as the volume of customers who intend to do repeat business.** By asking employees their thoughts on key areas in the company, it gives them a voice. It makes them feel like they belong, and that they are shaping the future of the company. This is extremely vital, especially when maintaining satisfaction on all fronts. But how do you go about doing this? It’s easy; conduct an employee perception survey. Employee research gives you the opportunity to identify what is, and what isn’t, working. By honing in on certain areas, such as overall work environment, employee empowerment, and management support, employee research can help change the “web” of your business.
If employee satisfaction research is an area you are interested in exploring, we can help. Call us toll-free at 1-800-999-6615, email us at mail@tweedweber.com and/or visit us on the web at www.tweedweber.com. Also, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn (Tweed-Weber, Inc.) and Twitter (@TweedWeber). Tweed-Weber can help you include your employees and their perceptions as a foundation for your continued success.
** Adapted from
http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/1039-workers-happy-customers.html.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Creating Long-Term Sales Growth
Whether you make widgets or sell a service, sales growth is always a major issue affecting your company's long-term success. But if you are like many other organizations, how you go about creating long-term sales growth is a daunting challenge. Sell harder? Advertise more? Modify your product or service? What's the most effective path to take, AND how can you do it without spending an inordinate amount of money?
In order to understand how to go about creating long-term sales growth, it's best to get back to fundamentals. The first fundamental understanding involves general market dynamics. If you want your market to buy more from you than your competitors, you need to give them a reason to do so. Is your price consistently lower? Do your products/services better meet their needs? Do you provide better service during and after the sale? Do you understand their business better, or have you established better relationships with their people?
The market is very difficult to predict in many areas. But one area that is predictable is that the market will, by itself, vote for the company that is perceived as meeting their needs the best. And the market votes for the winner with dollars.
The second fundamental understanding is more specific to your market(s) and your company. What is the nature of your market, its current and evolving needs, and what is your company's perceived ability to meet those needs relative to your competition?
The reason to gain this fundamental understanding is undeniable. As is common with most of us, our perception of the forces and trends affecting our markets and our companies is based on a combination of issues. It is based on our interpretation of various events and situations over time, as well as our many experiences in dealing with those events. Sometimes our interpretations closely match our market's interpretations, but many times they are off base, either by a little or by a lot. If you believe your perception of the market is closely aligned with the market's perception of you without testing that assumption, then you may be in trouble.
Setting sales growth strategies based primarily on subjective perceptions will probably result in something less than what you desire. Furthermore, if you want to get your people behind a strategy, you need to support it with something better than just your good thinking and intuitive prowess.
Obtaining that information is critical. It will serve as the fundamental basis for a strategy to create long-term sales growth. But how do you go about getting that information and what do you do after you've gotten it? That's where research strategic planning comes in and the use of an outside, integrated consulting firm proves its value in helping out.
Research/Information Gathering
Determining market dynamics and your company's competitive advantage is a result of learning your customers' perceptions of their industries, their current and evolving needs, and their interest in companies that are vying to fill those needs (including yours). Normally, this is accomplished through intensive surveying using a number of proven methods. This is best done by an expert, third-party consulting firm. By combining this information with internally generated data, (e.g., sales history, financial performance, etc.) the dynamics of the market and your position within it can be viewed and discussed objectively by your management team. As a result, a consensus can be achieved as to the starting point for determining the sales growth strategy that is right for your company.
Long-Term Sales Growth Strategy Development
Determining the correct sales strategy for your company is the result of combining the work done previously with the fundamental understanding of general market dynamics mentioned earlier. The market embraces the company that meets their needs better than the others. Determining your company's long-term sales strategy will involve defining what those needs are and what you can do to stand-out in meeting those needs in the marketplace.
Think about the affect the activities described previously would have on your company's ability to create long-term sales growth. Your people would see the logic that was involved and be more enthusiastic in supporting and contributing to the company's new and/or revitalized direction.
If you are trying to establish long-term sales growth, we can help. Call us toll-free at 1-800-999-6615, email us at mail@tweedweber.com and/or visit us on the web at www.tweedweber.com. Also, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn (Tweed-Weber, Inc.) and Twitter (@TweedWeber). Tweed-Weber can help you include your market(s) and their perceptions as a foundation for your continued success.
In order to understand how to go about creating long-term sales growth, it's best to get back to fundamentals. The first fundamental understanding involves general market dynamics. If you want your market to buy more from you than your competitors, you need to give them a reason to do so. Is your price consistently lower? Do your products/services better meet their needs? Do you provide better service during and after the sale? Do you understand their business better, or have you established better relationships with their people?
The market is very difficult to predict in many areas. But one area that is predictable is that the market will, by itself, vote for the company that is perceived as meeting their needs the best. And the market votes for the winner with dollars.
The second fundamental understanding is more specific to your market(s) and your company. What is the nature of your market, its current and evolving needs, and what is your company's perceived ability to meet those needs relative to your competition?
The reason to gain this fundamental understanding is undeniable. As is common with most of us, our perception of the forces and trends affecting our markets and our companies is based on a combination of issues. It is based on our interpretation of various events and situations over time, as well as our many experiences in dealing with those events. Sometimes our interpretations closely match our market's interpretations, but many times they are off base, either by a little or by a lot. If you believe your perception of the market is closely aligned with the market's perception of you without testing that assumption, then you may be in trouble.
Setting sales growth strategies based primarily on subjective perceptions will probably result in something less than what you desire. Furthermore, if you want to get your people behind a strategy, you need to support it with something better than just your good thinking and intuitive prowess.
Obtaining that information is critical. It will serve as the fundamental basis for a strategy to create long-term sales growth. But how do you go about getting that information and what do you do after you've gotten it? That's where research strategic planning comes in and the use of an outside, integrated consulting firm proves its value in helping out.
Research/Information Gathering
Determining market dynamics and your company's competitive advantage is a result of learning your customers' perceptions of their industries, their current and evolving needs, and their interest in companies that are vying to fill those needs (including yours). Normally, this is accomplished through intensive surveying using a number of proven methods. This is best done by an expert, third-party consulting firm. By combining this information with internally generated data, (e.g., sales history, financial performance, etc.) the dynamics of the market and your position within it can be viewed and discussed objectively by your management team. As a result, a consensus can be achieved as to the starting point for determining the sales growth strategy that is right for your company.
Long-Term Sales Growth Strategy Development
Determining the correct sales strategy for your company is the result of combining the work done previously with the fundamental understanding of general market dynamics mentioned earlier. The market embraces the company that meets their needs better than the others. Determining your company's long-term sales strategy will involve defining what those needs are and what you can do to stand-out in meeting those needs in the marketplace.
Think about the affect the activities described previously would have on your company's ability to create long-term sales growth. Your people would see the logic that was involved and be more enthusiastic in supporting and contributing to the company's new and/or revitalized direction.
If you are trying to establish long-term sales growth, we can help. Call us toll-free at 1-800-999-6615, email us at mail@tweedweber.com and/or visit us on the web at www.tweedweber.com. Also, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn (Tweed-Weber, Inc.) and Twitter (@TweedWeber). Tweed-Weber can help you include your market(s) and their perceptions as a foundation for your continued success.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Are you listening to the voice of your customers?
Hearing and clearly understanding the voice of your customers in today’s competitive environment is a best practice and has become an essential and fundamental requirement to future planning. It is ultimately your customers' voice that matters most. Successful organizations hear that voice and effectively use it to guide their activities. You may have heard rumors about what your customers are thinking, or even whispers from them along the way, but it is up to you to clearly understand the thoughts and opinions of your customers in order to compete effectively.
The following are just a few examples of essential information that should be obtained from your customer base.
Your organization’s strengths and weaknesses
Does it really matter what you perceive as your organization’s strengths and weaknesses if your customers view them as something entirely different?
Competitive information
Recognizing your customers’ opinions about your organization is paramount. Knowing what your customers think about your competition is even better. How beneficial would it be to identify opportunities that will help your organization stand out among the rest?
Unmet customer needs
Your customers are connected to your industry in different ways. How valuable would it be to hear about the needs of your customers from different perspectives to which your organization may be able to respond?
Marketing preferences
Knowing what attracts the most attention within your market and among your customers can make all the difference when allocating marketing resources. How helpful would it be for you to know which trade shows are most valuable, which trade publications get read most often, or what kinds of marketing activities your customers prefer the most?
Future trends and opportunities
Your industry may be changing at a pace that is measurable, or it may be changing so fast that it is almost impossible to keep up. How important is it to understand what your customers are doing differently in order to respond to industry changes? And how will you know if there are increased business opportunities unless you find out what future plans your customers are making?
Incorporating customer perception surveys into the normal, annual routine of your organization will ensure that the distinct voice of your customers is being heard loud and clear when making strategic business decisions. For manufacturing companies that are ISO/QS certified, it is a requirement to proactively obtain customer input and use that feedback to drive important growth and improvement efforts.
If you are wondering how to best gather customer feedback, we can help. We manage every aspect of the survey process from beginning to end, so you don’t have to. Call us toll-free at 1-800-999-6615, email us at mail@tweedweber.com and/or visit us on the web at www.tweedweber.com. Also, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn (Tweed-Weber, Inc.) and Twitter (@TweedWeber). Tweed-Weber can help you design and implement a customer perception survey that will bring the voice of your customers directly to your planning table.
The following are just a few examples of essential information that should be obtained from your customer base.
Your organization’s strengths and weaknesses
Does it really matter what you perceive as your organization’s strengths and weaknesses if your customers view them as something entirely different?
Competitive information
Recognizing your customers’ opinions about your organization is paramount. Knowing what your customers think about your competition is even better. How beneficial would it be to identify opportunities that will help your organization stand out among the rest?
Unmet customer needs
Your customers are connected to your industry in different ways. How valuable would it be to hear about the needs of your customers from different perspectives to which your organization may be able to respond?
Marketing preferences
Knowing what attracts the most attention within your market and among your customers can make all the difference when allocating marketing resources. How helpful would it be for you to know which trade shows are most valuable, which trade publications get read most often, or what kinds of marketing activities your customers prefer the most?
Future trends and opportunities
Your industry may be changing at a pace that is measurable, or it may be changing so fast that it is almost impossible to keep up. How important is it to understand what your customers are doing differently in order to respond to industry changes? And how will you know if there are increased business opportunities unless you find out what future plans your customers are making?
Incorporating customer perception surveys into the normal, annual routine of your organization will ensure that the distinct voice of your customers is being heard loud and clear when making strategic business decisions. For manufacturing companies that are ISO/QS certified, it is a requirement to proactively obtain customer input and use that feedback to drive important growth and improvement efforts.
If you are wondering how to best gather customer feedback, we can help. We manage every aspect of the survey process from beginning to end, so you don’t have to. Call us toll-free at 1-800-999-6615, email us at mail@tweedweber.com and/or visit us on the web at www.tweedweber.com. Also, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn (Tweed-Weber, Inc.) and Twitter (@TweedWeber). Tweed-Weber can help you design and implement a customer perception survey that will bring the voice of your customers directly to your planning table.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Problem Solving and Continuous Improvement
The most important tools you will use to improve the total quality of your organization are the problem solving and continuous improvement process that your organization has adopted. Notice that there is a clear distinction between problem solving and continuous improvement. Each process has a specific definition and a specific application, and it is imperative that you use the right process in the right situations.
Problem Solving Defined
Webster's defines a problem as “a question, matter, situation, or person that is perplexing or difficult.” That definition is fine for grammatical purposes, but it doesn’t help us much with problem solving in an organizational environment. A more functional definition of a business-related problem is “a deviation from the normal or expected for which the cause is unknown and for which one would like to determine the cause and find a solution.” Let’s look at an example to clarify our definition. Suppose, at the end of work today, you get in your car, you put the key in the ignition and turn it. The normal or expected result would be that the engine would start and you would be able to drive home. Today, when you turn the key, nothing happens. That’s a problem. A deviation from the normal or the expected. Do you want to find the cause and determine a solution? Of course. Something happened to cause the problem. Some kind of change took place. By finding what changed, you will find the cause of the problem. The cause of a problem is always found in some kind of change. Find the change, and you have found the cause. Put the situation back to the way it was, and you have solved the problem.
Continuous Improvement Defined
Continuous improvement is defined as “the ongoing process of making small changes in order to improve output or performance.” Continuous improvement is the opposite of problem solving. You are purposefully trying to change the normal or the expected in a positive direction. You are trying to make a change in the system that will cause a change in the outcome. Let’s use the automobile example again. Let’s say you are averaging 19 miles per gallon of gasoline, and you want to increase the fuel efficiency of your car. You begin to look for ways to improve your mileage. Each time you come up with an idea, you make a change in the process of how you maintain or drive your car. This change causes improvement. A series of small changes can result in a big improvement and give you increased fuel efficiency.
There are many different models for problem solving and continuous improvement, but the following are examples of the seven-step processes that your organization can choose to adopt, which are highly effective.
The Seven-Step Problem Solving Process
If problem solving and continuous improvement could benefit your business, our research and strategic planning professionals can help you. Call us toll-free at 1-800-999-6615, email us at mail@tweedweber.com, and/or visit us on the web at www.tweedweber.com. Also, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn (Tweed-Weber, Inc.) and Twitter (@TweedWeber). We’re ready to work for you in a way that will enhance the way your business operates today and in the future.
Problem Solving Defined
Webster's defines a problem as “a question, matter, situation, or person that is perplexing or difficult.” That definition is fine for grammatical purposes, but it doesn’t help us much with problem solving in an organizational environment. A more functional definition of a business-related problem is “a deviation from the normal or expected for which the cause is unknown and for which one would like to determine the cause and find a solution.” Let’s look at an example to clarify our definition. Suppose, at the end of work today, you get in your car, you put the key in the ignition and turn it. The normal or expected result would be that the engine would start and you would be able to drive home. Today, when you turn the key, nothing happens. That’s a problem. A deviation from the normal or the expected. Do you want to find the cause and determine a solution? Of course. Something happened to cause the problem. Some kind of change took place. By finding what changed, you will find the cause of the problem. The cause of a problem is always found in some kind of change. Find the change, and you have found the cause. Put the situation back to the way it was, and you have solved the problem.
Continuous Improvement Defined
Continuous improvement is defined as “the ongoing process of making small changes in order to improve output or performance.” Continuous improvement is the opposite of problem solving. You are purposefully trying to change the normal or the expected in a positive direction. You are trying to make a change in the system that will cause a change in the outcome. Let’s use the automobile example again. Let’s say you are averaging 19 miles per gallon of gasoline, and you want to increase the fuel efficiency of your car. You begin to look for ways to improve your mileage. Each time you come up with an idea, you make a change in the process of how you maintain or drive your car. This change causes improvement. A series of small changes can result in a big improvement and give you increased fuel efficiency.
There are many different models for problem solving and continuous improvement, but the following are examples of the seven-step processes that your organization can choose to adopt, which are highly effective.
The Seven-Step Problem Solving Process
- State the problem. What is the deviation from the standard?
- Specify the problem. Describe what the problem IS and IS NOT. The more specific you make your problem description, the closer you will be to finding the cause.
- Find the differences between the IS and the IS NOT.
- Brainstorm possible causes. What are some changes that could have caused this problem?
- Test the most likely cause. Which of these possible causes is most likely to be the cause of this problem?
- Validate the cause. What can we do to prove that the most likely cause is the real cause of the problem?
- Develop the solution. What action(s) can we take to undo the change that caused this problem?
- Select the condition to improve.
- Define how to measure the condition. Before you can improve a condition, you must be able to measure it.
- Set a target.
- Gather facts to define the condition as it is now.
- Generate improvement ideas.
- Select, test, and adopt improvement ideas.
- Establish, document, and discipline new procedures.
- everyone on your team is taking the same approach to solving problems and improving processes;
- everyone is speaking the same language;
- anyone from your organization (even if they are not members of your team) can study the solutions or improvement steps you are planning and understand how you arrived at them; and,
- people feel empowered because they are using a method that has been sanctioned by the organization.
If problem solving and continuous improvement could benefit your business, our research and strategic planning professionals can help you. Call us toll-free at 1-800-999-6615, email us at mail@tweedweber.com, and/or visit us on the web at www.tweedweber.com. Also, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn (Tweed-Weber, Inc.) and Twitter (@TweedWeber). We’re ready to work for you in a way that will enhance the way your business operates today and in the future.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Why do you need market research data?
It all depends on who you are.
In our business travels, many people ask us why they would need market data, and who within their organization would use research data in a way that is effective and actionable. In a nutshell, any individual or organization that requires any data or knowledge about themselves or their market will use some form of secondary or primary market research.
Secondary Research
Secondary research is based on information gleaned from studies previously performed by government agencies, chambers of commerce, trade associations and other organizations. It also includes Internet and database searches for information that currently exists in the market and is available for free access or purchase.
Primary Research
Primary research is tailored to a company’s particular needs. By customizing tried-and-true approaches (telephone interviews, focus groups, Internet surveys, field tests, etc.), you can gain invaluable information about your customers and target market. Primary research delivers more specific results than secondary research, which is an especially important consideration. In addition, primary research is usually based on statistical methodologies that involve a sampling of your target market.
It is important to remember that secondary research lays the groundwork and primary research fills in the gaps. Organizations that use both types of market research acquire a well-rounded view of their market and have the information they need to make important business decisions.
How research is used depends on your function or area of focus. The following are just a few examples of how different functions use research. The data that is being gathered can be tailored to a functional need, or broad information can be gathered that will benefit all functions at the same time.
Marketing Management
Research focus: All tactical and strategic marketing, segmentation, brand and product positioning decisions, marketing planning, forecasting, etc.
General Management
Research focus: Corporate and strategic plans, acquisitions and divestments, capital purchases, investments, etc.
Sales Management
Research focus: Understanding purchasing trends, competitors, pricing, customer needs/expectations, tactical sales plans, etc.
Customer Service Management
Research focus: Understand customer satisfaction, areas of strength/weakness, areas for improvement, incidental customer issues, CSR performance, etc.
Quality Management
Research focus: ISO/QS requirements for customer feedback, quality standards, quality specifications and adherence, etc.
Technology Management
Research focus: Technology trends and forecasting, technical specifications and features, user preferences/behavior, technologies to integrate/acquire (or get out of), etc.
Tweed-Weber’s research makes it easy to get the information you need to make important, strategic decisions with clarity and confidence. You call us toll-free at 1-800-999-6615, email us at mail@tweedweber.com and/or visit us on the web at www.tweedweber.com. Also, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn (Tweed-Weber, Inc.) and Twitter (@TweedWeber). Whether your research project is large or small, you can be assured that Tweed-Weber has the resources, skills and experience to provide the information and results you need.
In our business travels, many people ask us why they would need market data, and who within their organization would use research data in a way that is effective and actionable. In a nutshell, any individual or organization that requires any data or knowledge about themselves or their market will use some form of secondary or primary market research.
Secondary Research
Secondary research is based on information gleaned from studies previously performed by government agencies, chambers of commerce, trade associations and other organizations. It also includes Internet and database searches for information that currently exists in the market and is available for free access or purchase.
Primary Research
Primary research is tailored to a company’s particular needs. By customizing tried-and-true approaches (telephone interviews, focus groups, Internet surveys, field tests, etc.), you can gain invaluable information about your customers and target market. Primary research delivers more specific results than secondary research, which is an especially important consideration. In addition, primary research is usually based on statistical methodologies that involve a sampling of your target market.
It is important to remember that secondary research lays the groundwork and primary research fills in the gaps. Organizations that use both types of market research acquire a well-rounded view of their market and have the information they need to make important business decisions.
How research is used depends on your function or area of focus. The following are just a few examples of how different functions use research. The data that is being gathered can be tailored to a functional need, or broad information can be gathered that will benefit all functions at the same time.
Marketing Management
Research focus: All tactical and strategic marketing, segmentation, brand and product positioning decisions, marketing planning, forecasting, etc.
General Management
Research focus: Corporate and strategic plans, acquisitions and divestments, capital purchases, investments, etc.
Sales Management
Research focus: Understanding purchasing trends, competitors, pricing, customer needs/expectations, tactical sales plans, etc.
Customer Service Management
Research focus: Understand customer satisfaction, areas of strength/weakness, areas for improvement, incidental customer issues, CSR performance, etc.
Quality Management
Research focus: ISO/QS requirements for customer feedback, quality standards, quality specifications and adherence, etc.
Technology Management
Research focus: Technology trends and forecasting, technical specifications and features, user preferences/behavior, technologies to integrate/acquire (or get out of), etc.
Tweed-Weber’s research makes it easy to get the information you need to make important, strategic decisions with clarity and confidence. You call us toll-free at 1-800-999-6615, email us at mail@tweedweber.com and/or visit us on the web at www.tweedweber.com. Also, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn (Tweed-Weber, Inc.) and Twitter (@TweedWeber). Whether your research project is large or small, you can be assured that Tweed-Weber has the resources, skills and experience to provide the information and results you need.
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