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Have
you ever thought of conducting a survey for your company?
Do
you think surveys and market research are a waste of time?
Is
the whole idea of research just too confusing and too costly?
Well, I have good news for you.
Research
from Houston's Rice University, cited in a Harvard Business Review
article, tells us that simply ASKING
customers their opinions can increase
their profitability over the long run. Customers who
had been surveyed were:
- Three
times more likely to buy more,
- Were
half as likely to defect, and
- Were
more profitable than those who hadn't been surveyed.
Even
as much as a year later, those customers who had been surveyed -
whether satisfied or dissatisfied - were still buying more and defecting
at a lower rate.
We
know that learning what our customers think about our products is
a good thing. If we want our businesses to succeed, we need to make
sure that customers are satisfied with what we have to offer and
that we offer products that provide value.
But
who knew research could serve another purpose, as well?
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Why Does This Work?
In
order to understand how and why this happens we need to turn to
consumer psychology theories for some possible answers. Here are
three potential reasons:
- Surveys
appeal to a customer's desire to be coddled - reinforcing
positive feelings they may already have about the company,
- Surveys
increase awareness of the company's products -
thereby encouraging future purchases since that company is now
top-of-mind,
- Surveys
cause folks to form a judgement about the company -
and that alone encourages behavior that confirms its validity
(walking the talk - in layman terms!).
Are
you composing your survey questions, yet?
Use This Knowledge Wisely
A
word of caution to anyone considering using a survey as a pure marketing
tool!
The
research is still not conclusive in all of its findings. For example,
although initial data suggests the opposite, surveying
dissatisfied customers might
conjure up and strengthen negative opinions
- reducing purchases and decreasing profitability.
AND…selling
under the guise of conducting a survey (called "sugging")
is not only ethically unprofessional, it is also ILLEGAL.
The Bottom Line
If
you have legitimate reasons to conduct market research for your
company, do so with a happy heart. Not only are you getting your
money's worth of valuable information that will empower you to make
smarter business decisions in the future, you will also be creating
and strengthening relationships with customers.
Who
knew? It's a WIN-WIN!
Need
help with market research and building surveys? Give me a call,
let's chat!
Remember,
Mosaic creates customers for business-to-business companies through
specific project work, on-going retainer assignments or marketing
coaching sessions.
Until
next time...
Rosemary
Walter
847-483-5018
Rose1Walter@MosaicMM.com

Quote
of the Month
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"Customers
buy for their reasons, not yours. "
-Orvel
Ray Wilson
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