Customer Research
Whatever you sell, knowing what customers think makes it easier to tailor services and products to likely buyers
In any business, you likely want to know how customers reach decisions on where to buy.
You probably feel you would benefit by learning what keeps customers loyal.
What really matters to your customers and potential customers — price, service, and convenience? And what will customers trade-off if they can't have it all — lower prices versus less frequent service?
Vector Research helps you find the profitable customers — and keep them
The consulting firm McKinsey and Company recommends that managers and executive organize their operations around the customer. Customers don't buy hammers from a hardware store. They buy solutions. You can only know what solutions customers really want by asking them. That's the matchless value of customer research.
Is it true that as long as your profits are good, your customers are satisfied? Unfortunately, not. Satisfied customers abandon businesses with alarming frequency. They are easily lured by new offers and promises of even better service. Market and opinion research is the only way you'll know what customers really think and really value.
One simple question can predict business success
Market research such as Vector customer studies have shown that one simple question can predict business success: will the customer recommend you or your product? Bain and Company consultant Fred Reichheld called it "the only question that matters." Subtract positive responses from neutral and negative ones, and you get your "net promoter" score, a yardstick of customer satisfaction.
With customer research like this, employees know what they need to do to keep customers coming back. These enthusiastic "promoters" are human advertisements for your company or organization. Through customer research, you can learn what keeps loyal customers coming back — and how to attract more of these same highly profitable promoters.
What else can customer research do?
Understanding consumers' feelings can help you improve services or launch innovative new products. Knowing what's really important to customers lets you craft a brand that sets you apart from competitors. The concept of branding is often misunderstood. Branding is really a matter of your organization's or product's place in the mind of customer.
Read your customer's mind
The brand is a personality, not the tangible parts of your products but the intangible, emotional perceptions of a company or product that promise performance, assurance of quality and value, and arguably a firm's most important asset. Only market research can read the customer's mind and reveal the ingredients of a unique, profitable brand.
Find out more about how customer research can help your business.
Call Marc Zwelling at 416.733.2320 or just email us. We will contact you soon to discuss your project.
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