Life is one big story and as market researchers we make it our stock in trade to turn certain lives, the attitudes, behaviours and preferences that cascade in these lives into stories. As well as factual and relevant, we try to make them lively, colourful, interesting and illuminating. This conference focuses on generating great stories, telling them and then living them. We also have a story to tell. But ours is not about consumers the so-often quoted subject of stories and the central character in so many cases. Our story is about employees. They are perceived by some to be the minor character in a sexy story about consumers, marketing plans, brand strategy and new product development. We argue differently. We feel they are central characters and their story is an important theme in the consumer story.But our story is not just unique because it is about employees. It is unique on other levels. It uses several theoretical frameworks in its narrative. Blending anthropology of the body, transactional analysis and subtle aspects of feminist sociology, it tells a tale of female train operators (FTOs who drive Underground trains) and their personal needs relief (PNRs). It tells of how they have to ask to use the toilet facilities. It tells of how this makes them feel guilty and embarrassed. It delves into the feelings of the storyteller when confronted with a highly sensitive and personal account of bodily functions.
Can an inward focus on building employee loyalty increase customer loyalty? Based on key research findings, this paper attempts to track the specific initiatives taken by India's largest lifestyle retail chain, Shoppers' Stop, and traces the impact of these initiatives on the store's business performance and customer loyalty.The results have been derived from employee and customer loyalty research conducted across nine stores (six cities) in May 2002 (customer loyalty survey), August 2002 (baseline employee loyalty survey), December 2002 (customer loyalty and employee loyalty surveys) and May-June 2003 (customer loyalty survey).
This paper is based on the premise that the intangible asset of a company, in form of its employees and customers, and the relationship the company forms with these constituencies, are what create value and generate profit. The authors build upon more than a decade of extensive research and consulting to demonstrate that companies can indeed base their entire business model around linking intangible assets to organisational value and building a metric-based management system.
Considerable discussion on the rising healthcare and pharmaceutical costs and the future direction of the U.S. healthcare system is routinely heard in political debates and with employers. Employers are shifting some of the cost burden to their employees through plans requiring higher deductibles and co-pays and increasing employee contributions. As many employers begin to provide health insurance under 'Defined Contribution', consumer demand for changes in benefit structure will begin and diversity in health benefit design will grow. This paper discusses the method taken to obtain and analyze consumer preference toward desired prescription drug plan designs.
This paper describes the internal process undertaken by Reckitt Benckiser Brazil in order to achieve their goal, as a socially responsible organization, to attracts, maintain and motivate superior talent, adapt rapidly to changing environment, fully satisfy customers while contributing to the community and society in general. The results of the employee segmentation study are described. The paper provides a case study in how to use marketing research to foster and link corporate competitive advantage and social actions.
This study uses statistical analysis to link a series of disparate studies involving measurements of customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, customer retention, and strategic business unit profitability. The data are collapsed at the business unit level and related using a multivariate statistical technique to depict high-level linkages. Demonstration of statistically significant levels of association will be of interest to those organizations that have customer and employee satisfaction programs.
In coming years, the global asset management market will be affected by changes in the business, investment and legislative environment. In particular, changes to the way in which companies organise the provision of retirement benefits to their staff, and the need for governments to review and restructure pensions provision are likely to result in the growth of global asset managers, and the increasing importance of branding and distribution. Research among employers, their advisers and staff will be an important element in the success of financial institutions in meeting the future challenge.