The customer may not always be right, sometimes providing opinions in focus groups and surveys that he or she believes the company wants, according to a new article in Across the Board, a publication by New York-based The Conference Board.
Penned by Barry Sheehy, president and CEO of Savannah, Ga.-based CPC Econometrics Inc., Sheehy's take is sure to rock the boat since focus groups are all the rage in communications today.
Part of his perspective includes a case study of Chrysler's launch of its four-door minivan, which was the choice of more than 80 percent of buyers when it was first introduced. Ironically, research done by Ford and GM via focus groups indicated that only 30 percent of minivan buyers wanted or were willing to pay for a fourth door on vans.
To balance how focus groups are used, Sheehy recommends two tacks:
- Value mythology - a mix of anthropology, psychology and customer-satisfaction disciplines to understand the relationships people have with products and services; and
- Value profiling - coupling market-research techniques and quality-perception methodologies.
(Sheehy, 912/355-9477)
Part of Sheehy's perspective includes a case study of Chrysler's launch of its four-door minivan, which was the choice of more than 80 percent of buyers when it was first introduced. Ironically, research done by Ford and GM via focus groups indicated that only 30 percent of minivan buyers wanted or were willing to pay for a fourth door on vans.