We set ourselves the challenge of forecasting the future for our insights engine, asking ourselves a series of questions about how we conceive insights across Unilever as a whole, how the field of insights is evolving, and about the needs and expectations of the new generation of insight experts who will power our engine in the next few years. Find out what we learnt.
We set ourselves the challenge of forecasting the future for our insights engine, asking ourselves a series of questions about how we conceive insights across Unilever as a whole, how the field of insights is evolving, and about the needs and expectations of the new generation of insight experts who will power our engine in the next few years. Find out what we learnt.
How do clients see the future of research? Will research remain the voice of the consumers central to the decision making process inside organisations? What is the future role of the client side researcher? These and many other questions on the future of client side research will be discussed.
This paper utilizes the authorsâ experience in automotive interior design development within Johnson Controls to provide insight into consumer awareness, design-related issues and vision; art and expertise, the sense of workmanship and vision of designers; and the sensitivity of a consumer driven corporation with a vision.
This paper describes how the market research function at Ford Motor Company has successfully transformed itself to help meet the corporate objectives set forth by senior management. The company became committed to âDelivering on the promise ⦠to become the worldâs leading consumer-focused companyâ. This required an effort to understand the value of the department in its traditional role and, more importantly, a vision and implementation plan for making it more integral to the pursuit of the company mission. Several initiatives have been put in place, including leveraging research suppliers to help implement this transformation. Some of the specific research areas most effective in supporting this evolution will be described. The department has moved from a traditional market research organization to one that is a proactive function that provides global consumer insights.
Within grocery retailing, there seems to have been a shift to a more customer oriented perspective. As indicated by the empirical studies presented in this paper, grocery stores customers seem to be generally satisfied, and lack clear notions of how the stores could be improved. One explanation is that since grocery shopping is a frequently occurring activity, customers adapt their expectations to their supplier stores. Working with providing solutions to consumers' routinized problems, retailers thus cannot expect a high level of involvement from their customers in demanding and suggesting improvements. This must be considered by retailers implementing a customer orientation approach.
Customer orientation is the focus of this paper. The primary purpose of the underlying study is to measure the customer focus of real estate agents. The Narver and Slater -1990 scale was made operational to fit the situation of the real estate agents in order to translate customer focus into specific activities designed to increase business performance. The ultimate purpose of the study is to determine the strength of the relationship between business performance and customer focus. This paper presents the research results and discusses the appropriateness of the customer focus element of the Narver and Slater -1990 scale in a services context.
Due to deregulation within the area of telecommunications, an increasing number of Norwegian Telecom's former monopoly areas are, or will be, opened to free or licensed competition. This calls for a market and customer-oriented organization, with the clear strategy not to lose too many customers. In this context, customer loyalty is a major concern. In this study practical problems connected to the measurement of customer loyalty and related constructs are discussed, and some possible solutions are explored. Results from a survey conducted in January 1993 in the Norwegian telecommunication market, have been used as an empirical basis for decisions regarding measurement and research-design strategies. A research design for future tracking of customer loyalty, is presented.
The Consumer Electronics Industry has worldwide arrived at a phase of reconditioning. Both manufacturers, consumers and the intermediate trade are confronted with Shakespeare's intriguing question mark: "To Be Or Not To Be?". Who will survive? There is no doubt that in the marketing era of Consumer Orientation and Consumer Satisfaction, the consumer will survive in the end. But what about manufacturers and the intermediate trade, where business is going more and more multi-national, regional or global? Will they endure, and how many manufacturers will endure? Market- and Marketing Research and Intelligence cannot solve all these questi- ons, but there is, certainly in these days, a tremendous opportunity to help solve these questions. Three major Issues will be highlighted, where alliances and partnerships are leading principles. The first Issue relates to the future of the Electronics Industry in Europe itself. It will pave the way for the second Issue, which refers to developments in Distribution in the European arena, and whether these will deliver opportunities to Consumer Electronics manufacturers. The concept of Added Value will be shown to be the cornerstone of new policy making. The last Issue covered refers to developments in Marketing Research and Intelligence, and whether Marketing Research and Consultancy can help improve Customer Orientation and the development of Partnerships, both at Trade, and Consumer level.
The financial service industry is moving towards a more consumer, rather than product-led, orientation, with the philosophy of good service now becoming increasingly important. However, in this expanding area of market research the facilitator and representative of good service is often not considered. The authors contend that involvement with and evaluation of staff should be a prerequisite of any consumer research in the financial services marketplace. In an attempt to demonstrate the importance of staff research, this paper examines the issue from a number of viewpoints. It deals with the consumer perspective on the importance of staff in the financial service industry. It also describes the benefits of staff research in achieving a deeper understanding of the complex interrelationships in the financial service industry and in more fully meeting research objectives. Finally, the paper deals with the political arena in which research is required to operate and its implications.
The banks that do well in the 1990's will be those which re-discover the customer and start to manage customer service. Customers tend to define service quality by what is spoken, heard or seen in their encounters with the bank. The 'service encounter', that is the interaction between bank and customer, is the obvious focus of service quality management. Yet the service encounter and the qualities of service cannot be isolated so easily in banking, especially retail banking. This paper focusses on the conceptual and managerial aspects of service quality rather more than methodological considerations.