Customer Satisfaction, Customer Engagement, and Voice of the Customer Research

     The Customer Experience is not something abstract; it’s something measurable! Measuring customer satisfaction and engagement, and capturing the voice of the customer, will yield trackable information on what your customers love about you, provide testimonials, and even referrals.  It will also allow you to stop using an expensive “shotgun” approach to addressing challenges, and instead focus your resources only on specific areas that need improvement.  This research can generate a profile of your customer segments, their attitudes, behaviors, and traits, as well as solicit ideas on how you can serve them better.          

    Too often, however, poor research design and execution yield data that are inadequate or outright misleading—so doing it right makes a world of difference.  Whether you’re interested in surveys, focus groups, in-depth interviews, customer panels or other research methods, we offer exceptional survey design and data analysis expertise—and always provide not just research results, but also managerially relevant strategic recommendations for action.

Change Management

If your company is facing big changes ahead that may cause a lot of uncertainty (a merger or acquisition, rebranding, ERP implementation, or other disruptive change) or just looking for more effective ways of managing more gradual but equally important changes (integrating millennials in the workforce, going paperless, introducing new performance assessment metrics), designing and executing a Change Management process can make the difference between success and failure.  We can help you build buy-in, create timetables, measure progress at milestones and ensure that important changes are implemented successfully.

Employee Engagement Research

            The quality of the Customer Experience is in the hands of the people who make it possible: Your employees!  Measuring employee engagement will allow you to gauge the morale of your staff, identify areas of dissatisfaction that are often easy and inexpensive to correct, find out what you could do to make your staff more productive and effective, and improve communication within your organization.  Just as importantly, it may provide practical, feasible ideas for improving not just the work environment, but also the customer experience itself!  We will develop confidential, credible, expertly designed and analyzed employee engagement surveys that will allow you to better understand and connect with your staff, and will ultimately bring your organization a step closer to being a best place to work!

Strategic Planning

          The Strategic Planning process doesn’t have to be reminiscent of root canal: Our process is efficient, without day-long retreats and endless wordsmithing meetings that keep your staff away from work that can’t wait.  Best of all, it will engage your staff and yield honest, detailed, thought-out feedback that will not only help make your strategic plan stronger, but also improve organizational buy-in and implementation of the plan.  Armed with specific, measurable, time-bound objectives and strategies—and guidance on how to implement them—your organization will be more effective in achieving its vision!

Marketing Plans

           They say that half of every marketing dollar spent is wasted, but nobody knows which half—but that’s only true if you don’t have a Marketing Plan.  We can help you develop the right plan; one that will ensure your marketing expenditures are more targeted, more effective, and stay on budget.  Whether we create your plan or guide your staff through the process, you’ll have a plan that allows you to better articulate your competitive advantage, reach the right prospects, and identify opportunities you can’t afford to miss! 

Brand Assessment 

              What are the chances that five of your key employees would give the same answer if asked separately about what your brand stands for and what makes your company different from others?  If everyone is not on the same page internally, what are the chances that a consistent brand message is communicated to your clients and prospects?  A brand is not just something you build, but also something you manage, live, and measure!  Our brand assessment process includes research that will identify inconsistencies in how you brand is perceived internally and externally, as well as a framework for achieving a brand image that is both consistent and aligned with your mission, vision and values!

Competitive Analysis

            When it comes to the competition, knowledge is power!  Our competitive research and analysis process will help you assess the competitive landscape, identify your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, avoid pitfalls and adopt best practices utilized by industry leaders, and learn about the experience that your competitors’ customers have. This analysis will make you more effective in creating and maintaining a competitive advantage! 

Employee Recruitment and Retention 

          Investing in an employee recruitment and retention program is invaluable if you’re trying to avoid the high cost of attrition.  Starting with the right recruitment, interviewing and hiring process, adding world-class training, ensuring the right onboarding process, recognition programs, and metrics are in place, will all ultimately improve productivity, employee engagement and customer satisfaction.  Whether you have a small business or run a large organization, this is one area you just can’t afford to neglect—and we can help you create the right program in place to improve both recruitment and retention!

Mentoring Programs 

            Although finding the right match between a mentor and mentee sometimes happens organically, sometimes it happens with dire consequences and sometimes it doesn’t happen at all!  We can help you create the kind of mentoring program that will benefit both mentors and mentees, that will help match people based on the right criteria, establish well-defined parameters for their interaction—and do so without being overly formal and stuffy.  Mentoring is a key factor in job satisfaction, increased creativity and productivity, effective teamwork, and more; by building the right mentoring program we will help you improve bench-strength and transform both individuals and teams within your organization!

Executive Coaching and Group Facilitation

             Whether you’re looking to take your communication skills to the next level, discuss strategic or tactical ideas with someone who brings both a fresh perspective and long-standing experience, we’re here to help!  If you aim to improve confidence, enhance teamwork, run more effective meetings, or reduce conflict, we offer both one-on-one and small group coaching and facilitation services that will make a meaningful difference to individual and organizational effectiveness alike!

New Ideas, New Opportunities

              Our services can benefit your organization in a variety of ways: Perhaps you’re a non-profit looking to create a Volunteer Ambassador Program, or become more effective in fundraising?  We’ve got you covered.  If you’re a company interested in using Secret Shopper services, generate new product and service ideas, or test new product concepts, we want to be your partner!  Is Viral Marketing, an expanded social media presence or a fresh brand identity something you’d like to explore?  Count on us!  Are you eager to improve the effectiveness of your salesforce, generate new leads, revisit your compensation plan, assess the effectiveness of your research activities or expand your networking and PR activities?  We’re ready to do it for you.   We have a team of experts and trusted partners with long-standing experience and the kind of friendly, responsive customer service you won’t find anywhere else.  Contact us today, and tell us what’s on your mind; we would be delighted to serve you!