by Linda Pophal
All marketers know how important it is to understand their target audience so they can effectively craft messages and select communication channels that will most appeal to them and move them to some desired action. (more…)
Businesses spend a lot of time and money trying to gain insights into how customers perceive their product or service offerings. This might involve conducting surveys and focus groups to hear directly from customers. Or, it might involve efforts to ascertain customer preferences based on online behavior and purchase decisions. And yet, despite the general accessibility of this type of information, so many businesses still misread customers. That lack of awareness limits their ability to improve the customer experience. (more…)
by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA
Amazon has proven time and again to be particularly adept at figuring out what its customers want and giving it to them. Whether it’s shopping suggestions based on previous orders, on-demand media content or same-day delivery, the retail giant answers the demands of the people whose purchases are lining its pockets.
The latest example of this as-you-wish mentality was recently announced and reported in an article for CNN by Taylor Nicole Rogers titled “Amazon’s new waste-reduction strategy: Delivery only once a week.” (more…)
What event or events would you say have had the greatest impact on the United States during YOUR lifetime? It’s a question put to 2,025 adult survey respondents in a mid-2016 Pew Research Center poll, the results of which were covered by Claudia Deane, Maeve Duggan and Rich Morin. Before looking at the article, try to answer the question yourself. What are the 10 historic events during your lifetime that have had the greatest impact on the country? (more…)
Market research is key to any business, big or small. Your market defines the boundaries of your potential sources of revenue. The more you know your market, the more you can craft your products and services to fit that market’s needs. As Shawn O’Connor writes for Forbes, “By doing your homework before starting your business, you can be assured that your product or service is properly priced and positioned and you are offering the most sought after attributes.”
How can you do that homework, especially if budgets are tight? Technology has had a big impact on how market research is conducted, for better and for worse. Here’s what you need to know. (more…)
Customer surveys are one of the most commonly used arrows in a marketer’s quiver. What better way to get an idea of how your customers think than by asking them directly? While the basic idea is sound, the execution of customer surveys is often lacking. (more…)
Surveys and polls are two little tools that are widely used and often incorrectly. They’re tools that look easy enough to create and, after all, with apps like Survey Monkey, Zoomerang and others widely available they are vastly easier to prepare than in days gone by.
Yet, despite the ease and availability of tools to help in the process, far too many surveys and polls contain very easy to avoid errors that can cause the results attained to be of questionable value. I work with both students and clients on the development and use of marketing research instruments, and I often review and provide feedback on survey instruments. Some of the most common errors I see include: (more…)
A recent experience I had, contrasted with a similar experience my husband had a few years ago, made me consider how easy it can be to not only gather key marketing research intelligence from customers but also to improve the service experience, generate positive word-of-mouth and, ultimately, increase sales. (more…)
Businesses of all sizes and types are concerned with staying abreast of constantly changing customer and consumer expectations. The information age we are in represents both challenges and opportunities for doing this. The challenges are related to the sheer volume of information we now have available to use. The opportunities are related to the same thing! As both a small business person and a marketing consultant, I approach keeping us with customer needs from a couple of different perspectives: (more…)
Can you think of the last time you were engaged in a marketing research project? If you’re like most business people, when you hear that question you’re probably thinking about some long-range, very intensive, data-gathering exercise that involved a lot of time, a lot of money and a lot of data analysis. And, yes, that is research. But we’re guessing that you are engaged in research far more frequently than you realize. Importantly, your research efforts don’t have to be full-blown initiatives that involve extensive quantitative research and analysis. Sometimes, yes–but, often, no. The trick is determining when you need to gather more information. And that comes down to two important steps: (more…)
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