BMW wanted to assess the opportunity to develop a new vehicle, designed to fill a gap within a segment of the car market. The hypothesis was that there was a need for a car which combined the more 'practical' aspects of some of the current cars in the market place with 'emotional' elements relating to style and performance which were normally associated with other cars. BMW wanted, therefore, to undertake market research across the main European countries in order to assess the extent to which there was a potential for a car which combined: 'rational'/practical aspects; emotional/styling needs; and the ability to satisfy the requirements of the premium end of the targeted segment.
Understanding the customer and the type of relationship customers wish to have is key to CRM. This means not only customer profiling and knowledge of customer behaviour but also insight into customer motivations and attitudes. Through effective market segmentation, companies can identify differences between customers and manage them flexibly. Market research has a critical role to play that, in combination with company held or other external intelligence about the customer, can provide a fully rounded view of the customer. Undertaken on an on-going basis, this process enables companies to adapt to market changes and to anticipate and cater for the specific needs and wants of individual customers, thereby consolidating customer loyalty.
Collaborative and ongoing work between The Dow Chemical Company and Total Research Corporation over a number of years has explored how organisations who measure customer perceptions can convert this information into influencing how customers ultimately behave. The aim of this paper is to show how understanding what drives customer loyalty (rather than simply what satisfies customers), allied to effective market planning and deployment tools, can lead to successful business performance. The main themes covered include the definition and importance of customer loyalty; the establishment of a Loyalty Chain linking business activities to customer loyalty and financial performance; the measurement of customer loyalty and its drivers at Dow; customer information as the basis for action at macro and micro levels; the linkage between loyalty and purchase behaviour and its impact on selecting action priorities; and the importance of needs-based segmentation and Six Sigma tools for successful deployment.
I referred to the "agency or consultancy" side of the business, because there is no generally accepted definition of our business: are we market research agencies, are we marketing research consultants, are we research suppliers? Here, we are approaching the heart of one of the problems which hinders the development of our business, which robs us of the confidence and clarity of vision enjoyed by the average lawyer, accountant, engineer or, dare I say, management consultant. I also believe that my point is more applicable to those of us who call ourselves "business researchers" than to consumer researchers. The poor old business researcher finds himself in a squeeze: brought up in a cottage industry where, traditionally, it was all right to cobble together a report, and offer appropriate bedside consultancy to his client, on the basis of a relatively small number of "selective" interviews, he has over the years come under increasing pressure to acquire the research professionalism of his consumer counterparts whilst at the same time sneering at their "mindless number crunching".
The paper we are giving this afternoon describes, in outline form, a case study which illustrates how research can be used as an integral part of a TQM programme designed to achieve improved customer satisfaction and, ultimately, an enhanced sales performance. The paper will also illustrate, we hope, the special importance of customer service research in business to business markets by showing how the information obtained can enable a company marketing industrial, as opposed to consumer, products to differentiate itself from its competitors. This last point is particularly pertinent in business to business markets where products are often non-differemiated and where product-related aspects (such as quality and performance to specification) can be taken for granted; here, it is the service and marketing performance of competitors which is liable to determine the final selection made by the customer. The study was conducted for Castrol, a company which has committed itself to maximising customer satisfaction through a wide ranging TQM programme which has been implemented throughout the organisation. Castrol has recognised that excellence in customer service should represent the core of its TQM programme. Although the company has undertaken customer service research previously, the study which forms the subject of today's discussion represents the most wide ranging and detailed review of Castrol's customer service performance and is also the first research undertaking initiated as part of a formal TQM programme. The overall objective of the research was to help Castrol assess its customer service performance and identify those aspects of its service which needed to be improved or communicated more effectively to the market place.