Ten ways for research firms to increase customer satisfaction

By John Voda | October 1, 2001

Reading time: 5 minutes

Abstract

Marketing researchers frequently offer clients advice, but many rarely heed their own advice. Seeking client feedback can have numerous benefits. This article details 10 guidelines for increasing customer satisfaction the author obtained from clients.

Research Topics:: Customer Satisfaction Studies | Qualitative Research | Quantitative Research | The Business of Research
Content Type: Research Methodology

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Taking our own advice

Editor’s note: John Voda is director of research at Pragmatic Research, Inc., St. Louis.

As marketing research professionals and consultants, many of us have helped companies large and small to identify ways to enhance customer satisfaction. We have interviewed their employees from the CEO down to the front-line staff. We have conducted in-store intercepts, focus groups, executive interviews, telephone surveys and maybe an online survey or focus group. By now, you’d think we would know EVERYTHING there is to know about achieving and maintaining customer satisfaction.

But how many of us actually heed the advice we provide to our clients? Have you ever called your customers to ask them how satisfied they are with your performance? Are you hoping “no news is good news”? Are you afraid your call will only encourage clients to complain about problems best left under the rug? Is the counsel we’ve been giving our clients - “Ask your customers!” - too bitter a pill to take, after all?

While most of us dislike criticism and complaints, seeking feedback from your clients yields numerous benefits. First, it shows the client you really DO care about their business, which helps strengthen the relationship. Also, clients often notice problems that you may not be aware of or that you might think are trivial. But we all know it is the customers’ perception that matters - not our own.

By acting on your clients’ suggestions you can improve your service to them and to your other clients as well. And more often than not, the exchange will be pleasant and positive, and, like donating blood, what you initially dreaded you’ll find to be enjoyable and rewarding.

Following are a few of the suggestions I’ve picked up from clients over the years. Many of them may seem obvious to you, but those are often the very ones that get overlooked.

1. When preparing a bid or proposal, be specific regarding everything you are going to do (and not do, when appropriate) including how, with whom, where, and at what price. Leave no details open to interpretation (or dispute) later on. Then, deliver what you promised. Or go even further and exceed your clients’ expectations.

2. Read and understand all project information from the client before the project begins. Allow time to ask the client questions and receive clarifications before respondents walk in the door. If you are executing research for other firms, remember that frequently your clients have to ask their clients for the information. And their client may be across the world in another time zone.

3. Follow all project instructions to the letter (there is a reason the client spent the time to write that 10-page briefing document!). Follow good research protocol (don’t aid respondents when screening them, don’t read the list of answer options if it says not to, do write legibly, etc.). Yes, it takes time to thoroughly brief all the interviewers, but research is only as good as the weakest link, so a flaw in any step can jeopardize the integrity of the entire project.

4. Maintain organized documentation of all project details, and ensure your teammates can find them quickly when you are unavailable. Distribute any client changes or updates - don’t assume that word will trickle down to the troops.

5. Provide the client with one contact person who is aware of project details, and have a designated backup as well. Ensure clients have the direct phone number. Providing an evening/weekend number will win you brownie points, while making clients navigate a complex phone system is a sure way to tick them off (especially if they don’t reach anyone and have to leave a message!). Provide your contact information (phone, fax, and e-mail) on all communications. There is nothing more annoying than an urgent e-mail or phone message requesting a call back, with no phone number provided. Don’t make clients look for it.

6. Ensure project tallies/updates are sent on time and are accurate, especially quota information. Keep clients in the loop and alert them to problems early - while there is still time to regroup and react. Notify the client if you anticipate difficulty achieving deadlines or making quota (no one likes surprises). Treat clients as a partner and look out for their welfare as much as your own. Provide honest communication to clients - don’t just give them the good news, tell them about difficulties as well. Better yet, provide suggestions for solving the problems - you’ll earn goodwill and maybe more work down the road.

7. Fill out project paperwork (surveys, tallies, forms, FedEx labels, etc.) correctly and accurately. Find out if the client has any preferred methods/formats and if so, make sure the entire team knows and follows the client’s standards.

8. When sending packages to the client, ensure everything is secure and safely wrapped (especially audio/video tapes and diskettes) and create a detailed contents list, so the client will know what is inside. Send shipments on (or before) the deadline and if shipping details were not provided by the client, obtain them before you are racing to the airport at 9:45 p.m. to make the last FedEx deadline.

9. If you conduct interviews or focus groups, make sure all equipment is idiot-proof. What seems easy for the A/V geek may confuse others. Ensure your audio and video equipment is clearly labeled so anyone can operate it - especially when they are rushed, harried, and tired! Make sure all personnel can handle basic functions, and test all audio and video equipment before respondents arrive. Make a backup tape, just in case, and clearly label tapes with the project and the respondent’s name. If you are sending computer disks, make and keep a backup copy of all files. (And you are regularly saving a backup of all your computer files off-site, aren’t you?)

10. Finally, remember that clients are human too - they occasionally screw up, they get frustrated by problems, and they usually appreciate a chance to laugh, when appropriate. Humor can help relieve stress but use it sparingly - you never know who might be with the client on your conference call. E-mail jokes can land you - and your clients - in hot water, and are best deleted. No matter how bad things are, remain pleasant and professional. Focus on finding solutions rather than making excuses or pinning blame on others.

Following these guidelines will help you develop a reservoir of client goodwill so that when the inevitable problem does occur, your firm will have a more understanding client. Always doing the little things correctly will make the occasional big problems more bearable.