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CAPABILITIES |
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Research Approach |
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National
Shopping Service realizes that your time is valuable, so we’ve
made working with us as easy as possible.
We employ a number of research tactics to gather data and
materials from customers, current and potential, as well as
partners and employees. While online communication is the
most efficient feedback methodology of our current research
approaches, we are equally capable of performing market research
utilizing mailouts or e-mailouts, and/or phone surveys. Please
read on for our generalized approach...
Structuring the customer research project
Customer research requires you to collect and analyze data,
then act on the resulting information - otherwise you have
invested time (and money) without any return. How do you structure
the research project for maximum return on investment? By
approaching the project scientifically.
- Choose A Topic...
First, we will describe what topic you willl study. A good
example of this is a typical restaurant customer survey.
With this approach, we are interested in the topics of food/service
quality and advertising effectiveness. On the other hand,
an employee feedback program might be used to gauge reactions
to different incentive programs which themselves have specific
performance areas as their topics.
- Select a Technique...
Next, we choose a research technique and a tactical approach
for carrying it out. If you're doing a customer survey,
for example, choose a method (of communication, as opposed
to the type of customer contact being experienced - personal,
phone, online) such as telephone surveys, in-store surveys,
or assessments administered through a web site.
- Sample selection...
Once we have strategized a topic (or group of topics) and
a method of research, we can effectively select an appropriate
sample size to address the topics required. A sample is
a subset of the larger universe you are studying (you have
access to our 185,000+ shoppers nationwide, international
contractors, in-house staff, and many other demographically
diverse human resources).
The size of your sample affects the accuracy of your results,
of course. If the sample being studied is too small, errors
will creep in as you generalize your conclusions to the
larger population. Thanks to years of experience, we strive
to make your sample group a true representation of the total
universe you are studying.
- The survey tool...
Whether it is a questionnaire or a list of discussion topics
for a focus group moderator, the survey tool must be developed
with care. Whole books are devoted to this subject, and
many professional consulting firms work in this area. However,
even a beginner's efforts can produce results.
 "CARE"
- Customer/Contractor Assessment Reporting Engine is a versatile
content management, statistical analysis, and control panel
for ALL of your customer research needs.
Employee
Refresher Training - Results coming back from individual
mystery shops are promptly fed to front-line / store managers
to be presented to the evaluated employee(s). The employee
then completes specific interactive online training (specifically
the opportunities for improvement noted during the mystery
shop) and then takes a “Test.”
Employee
"Monitors" - Whether collecting employee satisfaction
surveys using online systems, or interviewing employees
upon exit, quantitative facts as well as anecdotal and narrative
information is collected and managed using web-based content
management and project management applications.
Online
Surveys - With a worldwide mystery shopper workforce
of 300,000+ individuals, we have immediate access to a full
spectrum of demographic metrics. Online surveys are a fast
and efficient way to gather information used to corroborate
and fine tune mystery guest questionnaire content as well
as ferreting out precise guest wants, needs, and desires
as they correlate to specific operational models or improvement
goals.
- Analyzing the results...
The final step in a customer research project is collecting
and analyzing the data. The data must be gathered and results
must be tabulated, grouped into meaningful categories, and
studied until insights emerge. It takes analytical skill
to turn a pile of survey answer sheets into actionable customer
and employee wisdom. That is where NSS's experience and
sophisticated analytical tools converge to find the "nuggets
of gold" in your customer or employee research.
- Drawing Conclusions...
A customer or other research project is tough to do well,
but not if you have the right mentor. Delegating the project
to our specialists here at NSS will get the job done better,
faster, and without drawing your focus away from the other
aspects of your business. You should invest in your research
projects in proportion to the importance of the decisions
riding on the results.
For the local chef with one or two stores, the low-budget
"OpinionWeb" (online automated comment card tool)
would most likely provide just what he needed - an early
warning system to alert him to problems with the customer
experience. On the other hand, for a retailer considering
signing a long-term lease on an expensive storefront, spending
several thousand dollars on research to assess the new trade
area would be money well spent.
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Privacy
Matters!
When you ask customers for information, you raise concerns regarding
how that information will be stored and used. It is very important
to assure customers and employees that the data you collect
will not be sold or used in any way that might violate their
privacy or be harmful to them. Let customers know that your
purpose in obtaining this knowledge is to offer products and
services they are more likely to want, and to improve other
aspects of your relationship with them. The customer information
you collect is a valuable company asset and you must protect
it as such.
Your investment in customer or employee research, however modest
or grand, is an important component in your overall success.
Understanding your employees will guide you toward training,
marketing, and compensation strategies that are cost-efficient
and highly effective. The best way to understand your "people"
is simply to ask them what you want to know - through the most
appropriate survey techniques for your situation.
Get started soon and continually perform customer service and
employee research. Survey your audience at intervals over time.
You will keep your research knowledge current, spot trends as
they emerge, and deepen your insight into the ongoing conditions
of your business. Research takes a little time and sometimes
a lot of courage, but the effort invested will go straight to
your bottom line.
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Each
solution has its own tactical advantages:
More specific information on the steps
involved in other services can be found here:
- Mystery Shopping (CARE)
- Online Surveys / Electronic Comment Cards
- Audits and other Non-customer Inspections (CARE)
- Employee Feedback System
- Employee Recognition and Incentive Programs
- Exit Interview Service
- Customer Intercepts
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