Customer research is important to understand customers and make good decisions. There are two types of questions in research - what questions that ask about facts and behaviors, and why questions that provide context and insights into feelings. Surveys are best for what questions, while focus groups, interviews, and observation help answer why questions. The key steps in research are to define the goal, identify the target audience, select the appropriate methodology like surveys for what questions or interviews for why questions, and detail the questions to be answered.

1. What You Need
to Know about Surveys
by Amanda Kaiser

2. We have some BIG, important
questions

3. We wonder, how do we:
Attract?
Engage?
Retain?

4. Research is creating new knowledge.
- Neil Armstrong

5. Customer research can save us!
1. Protect us from making bad decisions.
2. Tell us about things we are unaware of.

6. Research can grow us!

7. Research can be misleading so
we have to be careful!

8. Most of us do not conduct research
because of the…
expense, time and mystique but it
doesn’t have to be this way.

9. Research insights need to be…
Accurate
Actionable
Complete

10. Start with a GOAL first
• What problem are we solving?
• For who?
• What will we do with the results?
• What kind of resources do we have for this
project?

11. What method should we choose?
Depends on the questions we have

12. What
(Quantitative)
Surveys
Data
Feedback
Why
/How
(Qualitative)
Focus groups
Interviews
Observation
There are 2 categories of questions

13. What-type insights
•What did they choose?
•What satisfaction rating will they give us?
•What media do they consume?
•What raking will they give our benefits?
•What content is most popular on our site?
•What subject matter is most interesting?

14. Surveys
Satisfaction over time
What is going on
Surveys
Good for mapping trends over time

15. Surveys
Terrible for answering the questions we really need
answered. http://goo.gl/YIdbPE

16. Your data
• Spot problems
• Understand preference for existing offerings
• Define segments

17. Feedback
Solve problems in the moment

18. Why-type insights
Discovery
Context
Detail

19. Why-type insights
•Why did they join/purchase/donate?
•Why are they loyal?
•What are they challenged with and WHY?
•How does the problem feel to them?
•What are their goals and WHY?
These are the questions we really
need answered

20. Focus groups
• Get an overview of key issues
• Signal staff is listening
BUT focus groups can be misleading if not done correctly

21. Observation
Discover what is not talked about

22. Phone interviews
Understand their problemsAND the context behind
their problems

23. Phone interviews
Preferred method to answer our big questions plus
this method is accurate, complete and actionable.

24. Limitation of research
Yes, ask respondents about their problems.
No, don’t ask them to predict.

25. Research process
1. Define the goal
2. Identify who we are studying
3. Select the methodology
4. Detail the questions to be answered

26. “We figure out
what we want.”
- Steve Jobs
Not conducting customer
research might work for
Apple but it does not
work for us.

27. Amanda Kaiser
Kaiser Insights LLC
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