The main reason for conducting customer satisfaction research is to improve your customers’ overall experience with your organization.  It is imperative that the research process lends itself to helping management make informed changes that will ultimately advance the process.  The research should not only be used as a safeguard against issues that might arise, but also be more proactive by finding ways to take the customer experience to the next level.  Here are a few tips we put together to help you develop an effective customer research process: 

• Form a team.  First and foremost, when you are starting a research project – ask yourself, who in your organization would most likely make changes based on the results of the research; and who in the organization best understands customer issues?  In most cases, this may involve pulling in a front-line manager – or a staff member that will truly be able to understand the overall needs from the research and what the organization has to learn to help deliver a better overall customer experience.  Having your market research analysts work hand-in-hand with this team of “the right people” will help set the research process in the right direction, and in the end will help positive changes be made from the results.  Sometimes with market research, you need to bring the scope down to a comprehensible level for all.  On a side note: it is often more efficient and easier for everyone involved if the team picks a point person that can funnel all changes and logistics back to the team.  

• Understand the Challenges and Identify the Goals.  Work with your market research team to understand challenges that your organization is facing – tell them everything you know about those challenges, including the consequences of not correcting them, potential solutions, etc.   Providing this information will help in the development of an effective research study.  Additionally, the goals of any research project should be clear from the start.  In the end, the market research findings will find a resolution for you, or at least point you in the right direction!  With some reports involving multiple, components the RMS Analytics team will formulate our PowerPoint reports by asking a question from the objectives and answering the question with data from our research.  It seems to be an effective way with our clients to hit on the salient goals. 

• Get Information, Not Data. Research reports should not just be a measurement of individual metrics (and certainly not a dump of all the data charts – we hate that!) – but a true source of information.  Have your research analysts identify the findings and major takeaways from the customer experience research, or in other words: translate the data!  This will mean actionable findings, not data that will confuse anyone who reads it.  The information in the report should truly be ready for your organization to take action on.  

• Adjust the Customer Feedback Process.  Lastly, always be on the lookout for ways to improve the research process for the next wave.  This could be as simple as finding ways to increase response rate or something more considerable like adding questions based off of previous research; questions that you think will help your organization identify a route to providing the best customer experience possible.

In the end, it is not only very important to select a market research team that will help your organization generate actionable findings (once again – rather than data), but also for your organization to provide your research team with the right tools and information to make an effective research process.  If you have any questions about customer satisfaction research give Sandy Baker (our Business Development Director) a call at 315-635-9802 or email her at SandyB@RMSresults.com.