Did you take the tour?

We are excited to share our new website with you! After months of designing and planning, we finally launched our new site in the beginning of August. Have you had a chance to tour it?

You may be asking yourself, “What is different with the new site, and why are we so excited to share it?” Well, for starters, it’s a whole new design. When we first started talking about what we wanted to do with the website, we all came to the conclusion that we wanted something clean, something professional, but at the same time fun – which is why we have a stock ticker on our homepage! We also wanted to showcase our different aspects of research, and also highlight Strategic Planning more.

Some of our new highlights to our new website are the Strategic Planning FAQs, our TWI Nonprofits Matter, TWI Bank, and Around Greater Reading. Let’s go into a little more detail about these different sections.

Strategic Planning/FAQs

What is strategic planning? Why does your company need it? What are the benefits? Our strategic planning page, along with our FAQs, goes into detail about why strategic planning is important to your business and answers the questions you may be asking yourself to decide if it is what your company needs.

TWI Nonprofits Matter

Our TWI Nonprofits Matter brand is dedicated to helping nonprofits achieve their mission and vision. In our TWI Nonprofits Matter brand, we offer Board Assessments and Executive Director Assessments to help nonprofits. Learn more about our processes, and read testimonials from nonprofits in the area about our great assessment services.

TWI Bank

Our TWI Bank brand is something new to us, and we are proud to offer services to banks. What does our TWI Bank brand offer? We offer board assessments for both banks and credit unions so they can gather perceptions from board members in an effort to meet regulatory standards and measuring board performance, compliance, and efficiency. Also, our TWI Bank Board Self-Assessments meets FDIC requirements –an added bonus!

Around Greater Reading

One of our newest pages, and something close to our hearts, is our Around Greater Reading page. We wanted to be able to share with readers our love for our community since we are Reading Proud. This page focuses on the latest happenings around our community, but also highlights our community service as a team. 

To view our new website, click here!

Step Aside Paper and Pencil!

In today’s world, people are constantly on the go. Whether it’s checking emails, searching the latest news, updating a company’s choice social media, or contacting clients, people heavily rely on their mobile devices to do everyday tasks while they’re out and about. The days of solely using a desktop computer are slowly dwindling. Technology has allowed us in the research industry to easily create detailed questionnaires that would normally cause hand cramps and multiple sheets of paper and writing utensils. Not to mention, online surveys are more engaging and reduce data collection bias by allowing respondents to directly answer questions themselves. 

When it comes to survey research, the percentage of people using their mobile devices to take online surveys continues to increase. The movement to online survey completion causes concern over the user experience, as well as the shift to shortened research studies. It’s no question that mobile devices provide much less screen space than traditional desktop computers. Does that affect the end user taking the survey? Researchers question if they should condense surveys into a series of single-choice questions, or should they continue to use research instruments that respondents may find annoying and time-consuming. 

Have no fear! With a little ingenuity and technological tools, it’s possible to ask the questions you need answers to without requiring too much from the respondent. Mobile users want two things: speed and usability. As research companies, we need to be able to provide them with exactly that. Although screen sizes continue to decrease, an increasing number of resources are available to help collect the data you need in order to help create clarity and understanding for your clients. Much like Google and Amazon who have mobile-specific websites, researchers should have the ability to redirect respondents using a mobile device to a mobile-friendly version of the survey, allowing them to enjoy the same functionality as they would on a desktop computer. No more zooming in and out in order to see the questions or images on the screen. 

Research companies need to focus on making online research enjoyable, not just bearable. One way to do that is to make the core content of the survey responsive. With responsive design, there is one set of content and one template for both the desktop site and the mobile site. Your survey will automatically adapt to the respondent’s screen size, regardless if they’re using a mobile phone or a traditional desktop computer. Aside from design, you need to make sure that each survey page can handle touch commands. Touch support can help increase functionality. It’s important to also consider the bandwidth. Some mobile users can’t access advanced services because of slower service. In order to improve their experience, develop your survey as simple as possible. Lastly, always make sure to put yourself in the respondent’s position. When you put yourself on the other side of the survey tool, you are able to identify and improve the kinks for a more enjoyable experience.

As researchers, our overall goal is to ensure that our instruments allow for honest and thorough feedback from our respondents. Whether they’re using a mobile phone, a tablet, or a desktop computer, there needs to be an environment conducive to providing comments. When you use online survey research, your interview length will be shorter and your respondents will care less about time. Author of Easy Answers, Ken Berry, says “if we build instruments that are respectful of their time, they will be more likely to give it.”

To find out more about our online survey options and how they can help you KNOW MORE so you can DO MORE, contact Tweed-Weber, Inc. at  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).

*To read the whole article, click here: quirks.com/articles/2015/20150206

What is a Net Promoter Score® (NPS)?

The Net Promoter Score, or NPS®, is based on the fundamental perspective that every company’s customers can be divided into three categories: Promoters, Passives, and Detractors.

By asking one simple question – How likely would you be to recommend XYZ Company to others as a good company to work with? – you can track these groups and get a clear measure of your company’s performance through your customers’ eyes. Customers respond on a 0-to-10 point rating scale (10=extremely likely; 0=not at all likely) and are categorized as follows:

• Promoters (score 9-10) are loyal enthusiasts.
• Passives (Neutral) (score 7-8) are satisfied, but unenthusiastic.
• Detractors (score 0-6) are unhappy customers.

The NPS can be as low as −100 (everybody is a Detractor) or as high as 100 (everybody is a Promoter). A NPS that is positive (e.g. higher than zero) is felt to be good, and a NPS of 50 is considered excellent. To calculate the NPS, you subtract the percentage of customers who are Detractors from the percentage of customers who are Promoters.  

If you would like to find out about your customer NPS, 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).

How Satisfied Are Your Customers?

We have in our “interesting read file” a great article highlighting five important things you need to know about customer surveys. The article was written by Julia L. Rogers of The Huffington Post. She wrote it so well that we wanted to share the main gist of it with all of you. Julie hit it right on the mark, so we figured we wouldn’t reinvent the wheel. Here’s a bit of what she had to say....

Surveying your customers regularly and in a variety of ways is a critical part of running a successful business, regardless of your industry, product or service. Surveys measure satisfaction -- or dissatisfaction -- with your offerings, determine critical needs and offer an opportunity to effectively communicate and build truly personal relationships with your customers. And when you take both praise and criticism to heart in order to fulfill the true needs of these customers, you build invaluable loyalty that can create buzz around your business and bring in enthusiastic, highly qualified referrals.

Still, many business owners don't use regular surveys as an opportunity to reach out to their customers and really get to know them. For some reason, they fail to realize that satisfied customers are the key to staying in business for the long haul.

What's the best way to get started? Here are five things you need to know.

1. Focus on the narrative, not the number.
The most valuable part of any customer survey is the narrative. Make sure to include open-ended questions in any survey you launch that allow the customer to give you specific, actionable feedback.

2. Don't stack the deck.
Objective feedback from your customers and clients is more useful than good feedback. Therefore, you should make sure the structure of your survey, as well as the distribution method, promotes the flow of truly candid customer opinions. The point of surveying is to get honest reactions.

3. Choose survey methods that garner real information in real time.
Getting real information from real customers in real time is the best way for small-business owners to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their businesses, especially as their businesses grow. Many other types of self-serve and full-service survey solutions can be integral to helping businesses quickly build their email lists and businesses that meet their customers' needs well.

4. Close the loop by reaching out and following up.
The most enlightening customer feedback often comes from just picking up the phone and having direct contact with customers. Your survey feedback is worthless if you don't take action on it. You need to put plans in place to resolve issues revealed by surveys. Also, the mere act of surveying a customer can increase satisfaction.

5. Marinate in the survey feedback.
As someone trying to build a solid business, you need to immerse yourself in customer feedback. Don't stick survey results in a binder and forget about them without analysis. Share the results -- including verbatim customer comments -- and what these results have taught you with your entire staff. Take time to thoughtfully review survey responses and consider their implications.

The five points Julie Rogers outlined in her article are definitely worth thinking about relative to customer surveys and feedback. If you would like to know the level of satisfaction among your customer base, give us a call. We specialize in customer satisfaction surveys. 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).

What's your objective?

Working in the consulting industry and preparing client’s strategic plans, I have come across numerous strategies and objectives a company wants to fulfill in that given fiscal year. Some clients may have three or four objectives, while others have ten or twelve or even more. But being able to achieve these objectives is the challenge for each company. “You can always tell how important a goal is by how much time and money a company invests in it,” says Kevin McConville and Jeff Durr, writers of Six Ways to Make Customer Programs Work.
 
This quote sums up the importance of setting objectives for a company, and their want and need to achieve them is based on the company itself and how much they invest – money and/or human resources – into each objective. We have to remember that the goals a company is setting is for the benefit of the company in either the long- or short-term, or both. According to McConville and Durr, there are six factors that play an important role in the success of companies’ objectives – belief, credibility, actionability, accountability, systems, and human capital. In order for a company to be successful in the implementation of the objectives, these six factors MUST be present.

Belief
We all have something that we believe in or have beliefs that we instill in ourselves and others, so how is it any different from the corporate world? Beliefs in the corporate world are instilled in employees from the top-down, and one must follow the company’s beliefs because it is their “golden rule” per se.

For example, if a company has poor customer service, but says “the customer always comes first,” and doesn’t instill this belief into its employees, then nothing will ever change. A company can create objective after objective for its company about its customer service issue, but they have to be willing to put in the effort to accomplish it.  

Credibility
Credibility is defined as the quality of being trusted and believed in and the quality of being convincing or believable. These two definitions are extremely important to a company because it is what drives a company to success. If a company isn’t credible in its processes, how does one believe in them to stick to their word?  

Actionability 
Lights, Camera, ACTION! This is even true in the business sector as well. With every objective or strategy that is put in place, the company needs to have the initial set up (lights), along with a plan in place for how it will work out (camera), and then ultimately make that plan come to life (action).
 
Accountability
To be held accountable means to accept responsibility or to account for one’s action, something most of us have been instilled with since birth. Imagine a world where people didn’t take responsibility for their actions, especially in the business world. How could businesses thrive? Most businesses thrive on being the number one in something – whether it is customer service, packaging, delivery, etc. – but being accountable for their main goal is something else entirely. In order to make a real change, it requires real change. How can you do this?
 
Imagine you are playing a basketball game, and each time your team has the ball, they do the same play each time, but without much success. After some time, you begin to realize, “This isn’t working for our team. Something needs to change.” And after some careful thought, the next play is different, and WHAM! a basket is scored. To make a real change, the behaviors or events have to change to create a new, better outcome. Just like in the basketball game, change is beneficial to anything in life, even in business.
 
Systems
A system, in essence, is what makes the world go round. Everything revolves around some sort of system, so it only makes sense for a program to work that a good, solid system should be in place – no matter what it is. Having a bad organization-wide system can inhibit growth and send a message that customers are everyone’s responsibility except leaderships, according to McConville and Durr. A good balance is needed between the top leadership and the workers. If top leadership doesn’t follow by the rules they mandate, how can they expect the workers to as well? Find a balance, and practice what one preaches. 

Human Capital
We all know that a person can’t really change. As hard as we may try to change them, they will always remain the same. The same holds true for those who interact with customers. If the person has an attitude problem, then the customer experience will be bad. No policies, procedures, or rules will change the outcome because, ultimately, it’s how a person is that makes the experience. McConville and Durr stated that based on their experience, companies that focus on natural talents and strengths do better. 

Teams with managers who received strengths feedback have 8.9% greater profitability and 12.5% greater productivity compared with teams with managers who received no strengths feedback.
Turnover rates were 14.9% lower among employees who received feedback on their strengths.

These six factors go hand-in-hand. If one is missing, the others will suffer. With the start of the New Year, it’s time to look at your company and see what is and what isn’t working, and to implement these six factors into your everyday, business life. To find out how we can help you achieve this goal and how we can help you KNOW MORE so you can DO MORE, contact Tweed-Weber, Inc. at 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).

To read the whole article, click here: Six Ways to Make Customer Programs Work

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

Is your organizational culture a good one?

Organizational culture is the unwritten and often unspoken assumptions on which all organizational decisions are made and action is taken. It is the result of demonstrated behavior over a period of time. In other words, it is behavior that has become organizational habit over the years. Organizations pursuing a true quality culture are finding that developing the long-term behavior consistent with that pursuit is more difficult than realized.

Management behaviors consistent with a quality culture include coaching, guiding, and facilitating an empowered work force toward organizational goals and objectives. In more traditionally managed organizations, management behavior involves goal attainment through the direction of others. Problem solving is largely seen as a management responsibility. The challenge many managers face today is demonstrating quality behavior in "moments of truth." Moments of truth are those daily situations that require immediate attention. Often times, our routine behavioral tendencies guide us to actions that can only be defined as disempowering. However, it is in these situations where we have the best opportunity to demonstrate our organization's respect for the ability of our employees to add value, and to have an empowered workforce.

Below are some things to remember when you are faced with moments of truth.

•Think before you act. "How can I involve and empower my people in this situation?"

•Seek first to understand; get all of the facts straight before moving forward.

•Your employees are watching your behavior; set a good example that is consistent with the message you want to send.

•You are not expected to have all the answers; respect the idea of teamwork in problem solving.

•Think of how you would like to be treated by your manager. Most times, this will hold true for how you manage your people.

If you are trying to ensure a culture of employee involvement and empowerment, 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 provide you with a tried and true method for obtaining employee feedback that can help you strengthen your organizational culture.