CUSTOMER SATISFACTION MEASUREMENT, SAMPLING, AND DATA ANALYSIS AND REPORTING

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Consumer Psychology (PSY - 514)

Lesson 11

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION MEASUREMENT, SAMPLING,

AND DATA ANALYSIS AND REPORTING

OBJECTIVES:

Understanding:

Customer Satisfaction Measurement

Sampling

Data Analysis & Reporting Research

Findings

Ethics in Research

Grouping levels of customer satisfaction and its measurement is critical for every company. Marketers use such

data to retain customers, sell more products, and improve the value and quality of their offerings to operate more

efficiently and effectively. Customer Satisfaction measurement includes qualitative and quantitative measures as

well as a variety of contact methods

A. Customer Satisfaction Measures

Measure how satisfied customers are with relevant attributes of the product or service and the relative importance

of these attributes. Generally these surveys include 5-point semantic differential scale, ranging from very satisfied

to very dissatisfied. Research suggests that customers who indicate they are very satisfied (typically a score of 5 on

the satisfaction scale are much more profitable and loyal than the customers who indicate they are satisfied).

Companies striving to get merely satisfied customers are making a crucial mistake

Service Expected VS. The Service Received

Some marketers maintain that Customer Satisfaction is a function of the difference between what they had

expected to get from the product or service purchased and their perceptions of what they received.

Adequate Service VS. Desired Service

Measures the performance of the service received against two expectation levels:

Adequate Service

Desired Service

It also measures the customers' future intentions regarding purchasing the service

Mystery Shoppers

Professional observers who pose as customers in order to interact with and provide un-biased evaluations of the

company's service personnel to identify opportunity for improving productivity and efficiency

Complaint Analysis System

Complaint Analysis System encourages customers to complain about an unsatisfactory product or service. Such

systems provide suggestions for improvement by having the respondents complete the forms asking specific

questions beyond the routine "how was everything" stuff. Sometimes Listening Posts, hotlines are established where

specifically designated employees either listen to customers' comments or actively solicit input from them

Analyzing Customer Defection

This means finding out why customers leave the company intervening when customer behavior shows that they

are going to defect

B. Population

The group of people that a research question pertains to is typically called the population. In some cases, the

population can be easily studied. Example: biographical studies of Pakistani presidents. In most real-world

research scenarios, we cannot study the population per se. Instead, we typically study a subset of the population.

Consumer Psychology (PSY - 514)

Sample

The subset of population that is studied is typically called a sample.

Sampling Plan

Sampling plan addresses three questions:

Whom to survey (sampling unit)?

How many to survey (the sample size)?

How to select them (sampling procedures)?

1. Whom to Survey?

Deciding whom to survey requires explicit definition of the universe or boundaries of the market from which the

data are sought so that an appropriate sample can be selected

Example

Youth

18-24 years old

College Going

SEC, A, B and C

2. How Many To Survey?

Size of the sample depends upon two main factors:

Size of the budget

Degree of confidence that the marketer wants to place in findings

Large Sample/Small Sample

The larger the sample, the more likely the responses will reflect the total universe under study. A small sample can

often provide highly reliable findings, depending upon n the sampling procedure adopted. The exact number

needed to achieve a specific level of confidence in the accuracy of findings can be computed with a mathematical

formula.

Consumer Psychology (PSY - 514)

Types of Sampling (How to select?)

1. Probability Sampling

Respondents are selected in such a way that every member of population studied has known non-zero chance of

being selected

Consumer Psychology (PSY - 514)

1. Simple Random Sample

Every member of population has a known and equal chance of being selected

2. Systematic Random Sample

A member of population is selected at random and then every nth person is selected

atified Random Sample

The population is divided into mutually exclusive groups (such as age groups) and then random sample is drawn

from each group

Consumer Psychology (PSY - 514)

3. Cluster Area Sample

The population is divided into mutually exclusive groups (such as blocks in a geographical area) and the researcher

draws a sample of the groups to interview

Consumer Psychology (PSY - 514)

Non-Probability Sampling

Specific elements from the population under study have been predetermined in a nonrandom fashion on the basis

of the researcher's judgment or decision to select a given number of respondents from a particular group

Types of Non-Probability Sampling

Convenience Sample

The researcher selects the most accessible population members from whom to obtain information (e.g. students in

class room)

1. Judgment Sample

The researcher uses his/her judgment to select population members who are good sources for accurate

information (e.g. experts in the relevant fields of study)

2. Quota Sample

The researcher interviews a prescribed number of people in each of several categories (e.g. 50 men, 50 women)

3. Data Analysis and Reporting Research Findings

Field Staff in Quantitative Research

Qualitative & Quantitative Research

Research Report

Ethics in Research

Field Staff in Quantitative Research

A quantitative study generally uses filed staff that is either recruited and trained directly by the researcher or

contracted from a company that specializes in in conducting field interviews

Qualitative & Quantitative Research

Qualitative Research: The moderator or test administrator usually analyzes the responses received

Quantitative Research: The researcher supervises the analysis:

· Open ended responses are first coded and quantified (i.e. converted into quantified scores)

· Then all of the responses are tabulated and analyzed using sophisticated analysis programs that correlate the

data by selected variables and cluster the data by selected demographic characteristics

Research Report

In both qualitative and quantitative research, the research report includes:

· Brief executive summary if the findings

· May or may not include recommendations for marketing action

· The body of the report includes a full description of the methodology used

· Quantitative research report also includes tables and graphics to support findings

· A sample of questionnaire is usually included in the appendix to enable the management to evaluate the

objectivity of findings

Ethics in Consumer Research

1. Consumer researchers must ensure that studies are objective and free of bias.

An organization opposed to the president of a country may retain a research firm that will generate a

national sample by asking the respondents:

Do you believe that president should be doing a better job at running the country?

Such a study may discover that 65% of the respondents think that president should be doing a better

job.

Another study using the national sample may ask respondents:

Consumer Psychology (PSY - 514)

Do you approve or disapprove of the way the president is doing her job?

Such a study may also discover that 65% of the respondents think that president should

be doing a better job. The second study may be more objective because the questions was not stated in a

biased fashion

2. Consumer Researchers must not mistreat respondents

· Avoid unnecessary long interviews stemming from the logic that "as long as we are interviewing this

person we may also try to find out ....

· Lengthy interviews where consumers are held on the phone for more than 30 minutes (often lied to when

they ask how much longer the call is going to take)

· On mall intercepts when the subjects are told that it will only take a few minutes of their time and the

interview goes on for more than 40 minutes

· Sales pitches from telemarketers disguised as research studies must be avoided

3. General Guidelines

· At the start of all surveys, interviewers must clearly identify themselves and the company for which they

are working , explain what the survey entails and state the true expected duration of the interview

· They should reassure the respondents that there are no right or wrong answers

· If the respondents are being paid they should be notified so at the start of the interview

· Privacy of the respondents must be protected and guarded

· Some unethical consumer researchers have sold data about consumers to marketers seeking persons with

specific characteristics that will be targeted as prospective buyers

Key Terms of the Chapter

Attitude Scales

Complaint Analysis

Consumer Panel

Customer Lifetime Value Profiles

Customer Satisfaction Measurement

Depth Interview

Experimentation

Exploratory Study

Focus Groups

Interpretivism

Mail Surveys

Mechanical Observation

Motivational Research

Mystery Shoppers

Non-Probability Samples

Observational Research

Online Surveys

Personal Interview Survey

Physiological Observation

Positivism

Primary Data

Probability Sample

Projective Techniques

Qualitative Research

Reliability

Consumer Psychology (PSY - 514)

Research Objectives

Secondary Data (Internal & External)

Test Marketing

Validity

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