Here Today and Gone Tomorrow: Preventing Business Failure – A company is thriving one day and almost overnight circumstances change and the business is gone. We would all like to prevent business failure but can it be done? Is there a way to predict that your company is in trouble and facing impending death? Many theorists in various disciplines have tackled this question.
Survey Root Cause Analysis – To turn massive amounts of information into action quickly and effectively, management needs to know the dominant, primary causal factors for the results of the study. The sole purpose of the root cause analyses is to identify the smallest number of issues that can be shown to drive, control, or predict the largest number of issues within an organization. PDF
Wise Investing: Customer Surveys and ROI – Loyal customers provide more repeat business and are less likely to shop around for the best deals compared with non-loyal customers. Loyalty increases profit by reducing marketing costs, increasing sales and reducing operational costs. PDF
(Un)Customer Service = Customer (Dis)Satisfaction – Customer service standards are on the rise. When customers deal with you, they compare you to anyone else from whom they’ve received (great) service, not just someone from the same industry. PDF
10 Factors That Affect Customer Satisfaction – There’s more to customer satisfaction than customer service. The most pleasant experience with a person can’t make up for bad food, faulty products or shipping delays. There are several factors – 10 of which are outlined here – that influence a customer’s decision to return or move on. PDF
A GPS For Business Success – Since the financial success of any business depends on people, specifically employees and customers, a GPS for business success should give us vital information about these two groups. PDF
A Scientific Approach to Increasing Repeat Business – Some businesses rely on common sense when deciding what will lead to customer satisfaction. For example, it seems obvious that customers will want friendly, efficient, service. It seems logical that customers will want quality products and services at a good price. Right? PDF
Are Your Customers Happy? Just Ask Them. – Customer satisfaction impacts every part of a businesses’ bottom line. From profits to stock prices, customer satisfaction can be linked to every big and small business’s profits. And to maintain a steady stream of cash value and customers, companies are turning to customer satisfaction surveys to pinpoint consumer trends and provide incisive information that leads to gaining a competitive edge in the marketplace. PDF
Benchmarking with the Best in Class: NBRI Norms – This White Paper discusses the strong value provided by utilizing NBRI Norms by assisting companies benchmark against “best in class” competitors. PDF
Can Brand Engagement Overcome Poor Customer Service – In the global marketplace, customers expect to get what they want when they want it, where they want it, how they want it, in the quantity they want, at the quality they want, and at a price they are willing to pay. PDF
Casinos that Focus on Guest Service Hit the Jackpot – How did a small bingo parlor become the largest gaming company in the world? They focused on guest service. PDF
Customer Service Drives Financial Performance How would you define and describe customer service? Not easy is it, although we certainly know it when we see, feel or experience it. Some describe customer service as the golden rule, treating others as you would like to be treated. PDF
Conducting an Employee or Customer Survey In-House vs. Outsourcing – This White Paper discusses the advantages of outsourcing survey deployments rather than conducting them in-house. PDF
Customer And Employee Satisfaction Impact The Bottomline Conventional wisdom points toward customer satisfaction surveys as the best way to pinpoint what specifically draws the customer back or pushes them away. PDF
Customer Engagement and Customer Loyalty. Cause or Effect? – I was first in a long line to pay for my purchase at Sally’s Beauty store. “That will be $23.71,” announced the girl behind the counter. “Oh, did I mention that I’m a member?” I stammered. “Do you have your card please, m’aam?” the girl asked pointedly. “Umm, let me see,” I muttered as I pawed through my purse and the many magnetic membership cards I had brought to use during my shopping expedition. “Uh, no, I’m sorry, I do not.” PDF
Customer Satisfaction: Tuning Your Business To What Men And Women Want Customer satisfaction drives a customer’s intent to return. Knowing the differences between what men and women want can give a business an edge to increase repeat business and profitability. PDF
Customer Satisfaction Approaches: One Size Does Not Fit All – Books on business success can lead you to believe that a successful singular approach exists for satisfying customers, but in reality it does not. Why not? Because customers are individuals and individuals have different needs and motives. PDF
Don’t Get Buried in Customer Data…Use It! – Don’t blame your CRM technology. Be smarter about collecting and using your data. It goes on to provide advice on how to use information about the individual customer and the average customer in concert, and how to probe beneath customer preferences and behaviors to uncover the attitudes that provide a more solid understanding of customer loyalty. PDF
Gaming Establishments Use Research To Competitive Advantage As gaming establishments have increased in number, so has the competition between them. As competition increases it becomes vital to a gaming establishment’s survival to gain an advantage over the competition in attracting customers. PDF
Getting The Most Out Of Your Customer ResearchRegularly surveying customers is a common practice among successful companies. Customer research is a complicated process that requires an investment of time and money. PDF
Going For The Gold Every two years athletes from all over the world gather to compete in either the summer or winter Olympic Games. PDF
Holiday Shoppers Don’t Want a Web of Confusion – The Customer Loyalty Clause; Keep Online Holiday Shoppers Smiling PDF
How are you today? – In order to know how your company is doing right now, and to understand the changes that need to be made in order to ensure future success, you must be aware of where your company was last quarter, last year, five years ago. PDF
How To Avoid Destruction In Irving, Texas on April 7, 2010, Texas Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys for 38 seasons, was destroyed. Over 20,000 people came to watch the implosion that demolished the stadium. PDF
How To Conduct A Survey – Analyzing The Data By now you are well into the survey process. First you determined and documented your objectives for the research. PDF
How To Conduct A Survey – Creating The Survey Should you do this by yourself or hire a professional firm to help? Most should seriously consider working with a survey research firm for something so critical. PDF
How To Conduct A Survey – Deploying The Survey By now you should understand the basics of creating a survey. You should have objectives for your research and a list of questions that you want to ask. PDF
How To Conduct A Survey – Intro Since first joining the National Business Research Institute as a Marketing Analyst in May of 2007, I have been hard at work trying to learn and understand the entire survey process in order to better know how to present and promote the industry (and of course NBRI, itself). PDF
How To Conduct A Survey – Survey Basics Survey Research can be broken down into 5 simple steps. That is to say, breaking the process down is simple. How difficult the individual steps are depends on the size and scope of your project. PDF
How To Conduct A Survey – Take Action You’ve come this far. If you’ve conducted your survey yourself, and conducted it correctly, it has been a long process, hopefully made easier by this series of articles. PDF
How To Experience Business Growth In Tough Economic Times I live in an area of the country that compared to some regions, experiences fairly mild winters. Our winters are mild, not nonexistent. PDF
How Customer Service Drives Customer Loyalty – Think back to your most positive customer service experience. What made it such a good one? Now, think about your worst experience related to customer service or lack thereof. What made it such a nightmare? The chances are you described your most positive customer service experience as one in which you interacted with representatives who listened and seemed to care about helping resolve the issues you brought before them. PDF
How To Build Customer Loyalty in an Internet World – Customer loyalty is too central to companies’ fortunes to be ignored. And with technology so important in determining retention – or customer disaffection, technology must be used properly. Via targeted, customer surveys, companies can start to measure and then influence customer data. PDF
Implementing a Profitable Customer Loyalty Program – Customer loyalty means everything in the business world, and the formula for success doesn’t seem that difficult. While some companies have mastered the art, others lag behind. Predictability and performance may sound dull, but it keeps the customer coming back. PDF
Inquiring Minds Want To Know A questionnaire is the mainstay of survey research, used most often to gather information from large numbers of individuals. PDF
Integration of Employee, Customer, and Financial Data – A case study is presented that discusses how employee satisfaction can drive customer satisfaction to improve financial results. PDF
Is It Possible to Overcome the Effects of a Poorly Designed Questionnaire? - Many of you have done it, me included. You’ve put together a questionnaire that is too cluttered and too long. PDF
Keeping Your Customers – What is it that makes your customer decide to purchase from you? Just as important though is another question: What is it that makes one of your customers STOP buying from you? PDF
Knowledge of Generational Differences Increases Gaming Profits – Learn how generational differences affect gaming profitability and intent to return among various age groups. PDF
Measuring Customer Service – It should have been a short telephone conversation. I dialed the 800 number for a cable carrier to find out why we had no access to a television channel guide. Forty-five minutes later, I had been transferred four times, but still had no answer. PDF
Measuring and Managing Customer Satisfaction – It takes continuous effort to maintain high customer satisfaction levels. It goes on to define customer satisfaction, identifies important objectives of all customer satisfaction surveys, and why the customer survey results are so important. PDF
Methods Of Survey Data Collection Survey means ‘to look at in a comprehensive way’. There are numerous ways to look at issues in the world of survey research, including in-person and telephone interviews, mailed and online questionnaires. PDF
Minimizing Errors In Survey Research Colleagues in the exhibition department at a local museum met to review the list of traveling exhibitions available for rent in the next three years. PDF
Net Promoter: Revolutionary Tool or Fad? – 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.” So, should you use Net Promoter? PDF
New Study Identifies Opinions of the Automotive and Banking Industry Bailouts - A recent political research study by the National Business Research Institute, Inc. (“NBRI”) shows that post-debate opinions of the 2008 Presidential Candidates changed when compared to pre-debate opinions. PDF
New Study Identifies Post-Debate Opinions of Presidential Candidates - A recent political research study by the National Business Research Institute, Inc. (“NBRI”) shows that post-debate opinions of the 2008 Presidential Candidates changed when compared to pre-debate opinions. PDF
New Study Identifies Pre-Debate Opinions of Presidential Candidates - A recent political research study by the National Business Research Institute, Inc. (“NBRI”) shows that pre-debate opinions of the 2008 Presidential Candidates vary significantly by Age, Gender, Annual Income, Level of Education, and Marital Status. PDF
New Study Reveals Varying Opinions of Gasoline Prices by Demographic Group - As of September 3, 2008, the average gasoline price in the United States was $3.69 (www.zfacts.com). Although the average gasoline price has dropped more than ten cents compared to the previous month, Americans are still feeling the strain at the pump. PDF
No Fail Recipe For Survey Research My spouse and I enjoy cooking and entertaining and we make a great team in the kitchen. When we have family or friends over for dinner it is not just a meal, it is an event. PDF
Obtaining an Accurate Forecast for Your Business – To obtain accurate forecasts we need survey instruments that are of high quality. That is to say, they must be scientifically constructed. Without a high quality instrument, we will not get high quality information. PDF
Patient Satisfaction Surveys Should Focus on Meaningful Information – While a patient satisfaction survey must be comprehensive, it should be short enough so that participation is encouraged. PDF
Perceptions Equal Reality in Consumer Debt Counseling – Learn how perceptions effect reality in a consumer debt counseling company and how these lessons can be applied to other organizations. PDF
Please You, Please Me Most of us like to be liked. We tend to present ourselves in a favorable light; we do not like to appear ill-informed or ill-prepared. PDF
Political Polling Hits the Mark During Landmark Election - This political season will no doubt be recorded as one of the most historic in American history. The United States elected its first African-American president, Barack Obama, who defeated Republican nominee John McCain. PDF
Preparing Your Business For Takeoff Do you like to travel? Some people love it and others hate it. I happen to be in the former category—if I get to fly to my destination. Although traveling in general, and flying in particular, can be a hassle, I enjoy it. PDF
Proactive Use of Customer Surveys Increases Profits – Customer surveys are a must for any organization that wishes to improve its profitability. Find out how the best companies leverage well-designed surveys to increase their profits. PDF
Questionnaire Context, Order, And Meaning When designing questionnaires, the order of items on the questionnaire creates a context, or meaning, for the entire questionnaire. Items placed early on in the questionnaire effect the way in which people respond to later questions. PDF
Revealing Hidden Threats to Your Business – We can use anxiety in positive ways and it can become a powerful force that enables us to uncover the hidden drivers of business success. PDF
Seven Habits of Successful Customer-Based Firms – What makes a successful customer-based initiative tick? Over the last two decades, our consultants have spent countless hours helping companies in a wide range of industries in their efforts to implement customer-based strategies. One of the most frequent questions we hear is: “What do successful customer-driven companies have in common?” PDF
Something Special in the Air? – The airline industry has flown straight into a storm of problems. Cost-cutting, security concerns and economic uncertainty have clipped the wings of a once proud and respected industry that struggles every day to deliver customer satisfaction to millions of consumers. PDF
Strengthen Working Relationships To Impact Your Business Outcomes – A case study is presented where a bank utilized a customer survey to improve customer satisfaction which improved profits. PDF
Survey Incentives: Response Rates and Data Quality – Offering incentives for a survey respondent’s time is one way to increase survey response rates. What kind of effect does the incentive have on data quality? How much incentive do I need to include with my survey for it to be effective? PDF
Synergistic Research The situation: Your CEO has identified the need to gather information from multiple stakeholders while recognizing that your organization does not have the capability in-house to conduct such survey research. PDF
Taking Your Business to ‘Best in Class’ Success – The path to business success is not a secret. In fact, I can answer the question with just one word… Benchmarking. PDF
The 5 Definitive Rules To Increasing Customer Loyalty A “failure to communicate” was a bad idea in the famous prison film “Cool Hand Luke,” and it can be a disaster when trying to keep customers loyal. PDF
The Importance of Customer Surveys – When it comes to learning about a company’s client base, there is rarely anything more effective than a customer satisfaction survey. PDF
The Value of Longitudinal Research - Decision makers in organizations often use questionnaires, interviews, or focus groups to gather information at one point in time. PDF
The Value of Surveying Employees and Customers - When you go into the office tomorrow, look around. How many employees appear to be really engaged in their work? And, how many employees appear to be there just to get a paycheck? How do you know? PDF
The Winning Employee-Customer Link – In recent years, many in the academic and popular business press have grabbed hold of a very intuitive realization: positive work attitudes and greater commitment and loyalty among employees all feed directly into greater customer satisfaction and loyalty. Why? PDF
Understanding Gaming Industry Market Segments Over the past decade there has been phenomenal growth in total gaming and specifically in commercial casino gaming. PDF
Understanding Gaming Player Development in Winners and Losers – Learn how winners and losers evaluate gaming properties and determine how to keep them coming back by enhancing the environment in ways that are most important to them. PDF
Using Applied Science to Prevent Loss of Customers and Profits – Each customer is an investment and represents hours of marketing efforts and expenditures. Each customer lost represents an investment that is no longer reaping dividends. Having customers, not merely acquiring customers, is crucial for business success. PDF
Using Root Cause Analyses To Customize Marketing Efforts By Location It’s all about “Location, location, location!” We’re all familiar with this emphasis on location. We’ve heard it in relation to real estate and business location. PDF
Using Science to Increase Intent to Return for Male and Female Gaming Customers – Learn the differences between male and female gaming customers and how to retain these guests by focusing on the factors that are most important to them. PDF
Value In Surveys: Study Reveals That We Can Survey Anything The value of survey research cuts across all industries and disciplines. It’s a tool for collecting information that can improve customer satisfaction, offer insight into a company product, pinpoint the mood of the voter and gauge public opinion on social issues. PDF
What Keeps Us Going Back? – Have you stayed at a hotel recently? Was the staff attentive? Was the room clean? Were the halls quiet? How was the food? Would you stay there again? We decide whether we will continue to patronize our usual haunts based on how we ‘feel’ as a result of doing business with people there. PDF
What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You I know some people who often repeat phrases such as “What you don’t know can’t hurt you” and “Ignorance is bliss.” I understand why some people believe these statements. PDF
When It Comes to Surveys, Hold the Phone – Surveys come in all shapes, styles and sizes, and one of the most important factors in implementing a survey is selecting the deployment methodology. The telephone survey has been used for some time, but some of its shortcomings have opened the door for other forms of collecting information. PDF
Why and How to Measure Customer Satisfaction – Most companies say they believe in great customer service, but few set up a system to insure that they provide it. Delivering great service takes both understanding what your customers want and a way to see that they receive it. PDF
Why Customers Care – Research Firm NBRI Gets to the Bottom of Why Customers Care. When Companies Roll Out the Customer Loyalty Survey, Profits Roll In PDF
Would Your Customers Tip You? – In our society, this all seems fair. Customers tip based on the service they receive taking into account timeliness, quality, and even the appearance of the person delivering the service. And if the quality of service is bad and the customer doesn’t tip at all, this is a good indication that they will not be returning customers. PDF
Words, Words, Words Developing a questionnaire seems easy, right? Decide what you need to know, write a bunch of questions and get people to answer them. PDF
You Get What You Pay For: Do It Yourself Vs. Full Service Firm Whether your business is academic, membership, general business, marketing, not-for-profit, for-profit, social, political, product or service related, you will most likely identify the need to conduct a survey at some point. PDF
See the Customer Surveys described by these White Papers.
