A recent research study by the National Business Research Institute, Inc. (“NBRI”) shows that opinions of the Automotive and Banking Industry Bailouts vary significantly by Gender, Age, Level of Education, State of Residence, and Political Affiliation. The survey was distributed to a random sample of 55,236 individuals in December, 2008. A total of 1,400 surveys were received for analysis. A confidence level of 99% and a 4% sampling error was achieved.

I live in an area of the country that compared to some regions, experiences fairly mild winters. Our winters are mild, not nonexistent. We experience below freezing temperatures and lawns, trees, and other outdoor plants go dormant. I happen to love roses and enjoy the long blooming season here. My roses usually begin blooming in March and continue to bloom until early December. As I am writing this paper it is winter. The thermometer has already dipped below the freezing mark and all plant life is dormant...almost. Recently I was in my yard and I happened to glance at one of my rose bushes expecting to see nothing but dead leaves and spent blooms. Instead, much to my surprise, I saw life...several clusters of tiny new leaves were growing on that rose bush...in the winter! That rose bush has overcome the odds. In spite of cold temperatures and a lack of any attention from me, it is growing.

How are you today? This seems like such a simple question; one that we have all answered thousands of times. But have you ever thought about how you are able to answer this question? When we answer the question "How are you today?" we rely on information stored in our memory about how we were yesterday, last week, and perhaps, even last month or last year. We compare how we were in the past with how we perceive ourselves in the present and we answer the question to a large degree by making this comparison. Thus, if someone were to ask me how I am today and last week I had the flu, I might say "I'm still a little weak but I am doing better."

By now you are well into the survey process.  First you determined and documented your objectives for the research.  Next, your survey questions were designed to gather the data to meet your objectives.  And your survey instrument was created with an appropriate response scale.  Then, you deployed your survey, and collected your data.

The type of research you are conducting often drives mission critical decisions, so I hope you have taken care to get the previous steps correct before moving onto data analysis.  If you came across this article in the series without reading the others, I highly suggest you go back and do so.  If your survey questions are poorly worded or your data collection process is flawed, your analysis will be incorrect.  Once you reach a representative sample of collected data, the fun begins.

Recently there has been a lot of talk in the business community about Net Promoter which, according to the official website for the product is "a discipline by which companies profitably grow by focusing on their customers." The Net Promoter is the subject of a book titled The Ultimate Question by Frederick F. Reichheld. In this book, Reichheld claims that the ultimate question for businesses to ask their customers is "would you recommend us to a friend/relative?" He also purports that if you ask this "ultimate question" in a regular, systematic, and timely fashion, and then track and publicize the answers and put the information to work right away, you will be on "the only path to prosperity and true growth."

So, should you use Net Promoter? Is it the answer to business success? Is it a revolutionary tool or just a fad? To answer these questions, let's start with the "ultimate question." Reichheld states that all we need to ask our customers is whether or not they would recommend us to a friend or relative. I will agree that this is a good and important question. Getting customers to recommend us to others is a great, inexpensive way to build our businesses. People tend to trust recommendations from friends and family more than information they obtain from advertisements. However, the issue is not whether "Would you recommend us?" is a good question, the issue is "Is it the only question we need to ask?"