There’s no escaping the fact that Tiger Woods’ personal life has become very public in the last couple of days. But what, you may well ask, could his “transgressions” possibly have to do with consumer behaviour or market research? The answer is in Tiger’s statement after his private life became monumentally public. Here’s what he said on his website: “I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves.” Now none of us can say whether this is what Tiger Woods really feels, or whether this is just the best thing he can think to say in the position he has found himself. But for the purposes of this post, let’s take Tiger at his word. He has not been true to his values. Market research is frequently preoccupied with […]
Customer Satisfaction: Out of the Mouths of Babes
Continuing from yesterday’s post it seems my customer satisfaction is developing into a series. I really appreciate the questions and comments, I sense an eBook coming on! Today’s gratitude is due to babysitting maestro Lisa McLellan. You may wonder what link there could possibly be between someone who is so focused on children and babysitting, and a consumer behaviour expert. Well, as Lisa’s comment demonstrates, there is a link if you open your mind to it. Here’s what Lisa said: “I have found myself giving different answers to basically the same question depending on the wording of the question. I have also found through babysitting children of all ages, that at a particular age, (usually younger children age 2-4)children will choose the last choice they are given when you ask a question giving them a few answers to choose from. For example, you ask, “How did you get that scratch, did […]
Customer Satisfaction Measurement: The Myth
Following on from yesterday’s post, fitness expert Daryl Pace asked: That a customer’s answer to a satisfaction survey depends upon the context in which the questions were framed, as well as other possible factors, does seem to make sense. However, if a business did a survey that just asked the question, “are you satisfied overall with the service this business provides you”, it seems that they would get a decent gauge on the general customer sentiment about the business. What do you think? It’s a great question, and I’m happy to tell you what I think as it gets right to the heart of one of my favourite subjects, consumer research. The first thing to say is that, if you were going to ask this question, Daryl’s implicit suggestion that you JUST ask this one question (so as to remove the risk of inadvertent framing) would definitely be the best […]
Customer Satisfaction: Why It’s not Worth Asking
In my recent (very short) consumer behaviour video I made a reference to how unhelpful it can be to ask someone how satisfied they are with their consumer experience. My point was that, given you don’t know what frame of reference someone has in mind when they respond, it’s really not that useful to know. Are they satisfied because their expectations are so low that, when nothing terrible happens, they’re grateful? Are they satisfied because what’s on offer is so formulaic that all they could do is be very dissatisfied if the delivery was below the standard? Are they satisfied because they have such little interest in whatever it is that “yes” is all they can think to say; they’ve forgotten what happened and assume, because it wasn’t memorably bad, that it must have been OK at the time? It turns out a recent study has found that people’s ratings […]
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