Every Wednesday, Qualtrics Training and Support Team puts on a webinar. This is a free online demonstrating covering some common questions, new features, or other aspect of the tool. The webinars are open to all users and can accommodate all who wish to participate. They begin at 1:00 p.m. EDT and last for 30 minutes.

Today, December 16th, is the last webinar until the new year. It is a "New Features" webinar, so take advantage of the chance to take an inside look at some of the latest and greatest Qualtrics updates.

Click here to sign up for today's webinar

Click here to sign up for January webinars on our Facebook event page

You can also view past webinars on your own time

These links allow you to view past webinars:
Market Segmentation Surveys
Reporting
Embedded Data and Panels
New Features
Survey Links
HTML Tips and Tricks
Statistical Analysis
Question Types
Top 10 Survey Pitfalls
New Features/Q&A
Cross Tabulation
Increasing Response Rates
Conjoint and Special Services
Survey Flow
Multimedia/Pipe Smart Text

Click here to access all past webinars

The best approach to customer retention is to monitor customer satisfaction and building customer relationships.

Customer retention by it's very nature is individualized and will vary by the kind of product or service provided, the kinds of customers served, the number of customers served, the longevity and frequency of customer/supplier interactions, and how you intend to grow your business.

Three very different approaches to customer retention produce meaningful and useful findings:



POST PURCHASE EVALUTION

Satisfaction feedback is obtained from the individual customer at the time of product or service delivery (or shortly afterwards). This type of satisfaction survey is typically used as part of a CRM (Customer Relationship Management System) Retention System and focuses on maintaining a long term relationship with the individual customer



PERIODIC SATISFACTION SURVEYS

Satisfaction feedback from groups of customers at periodic intervals to provide an occasional snapshot of customer experiences and expectations. This type of survey monitors the general "health" of the company and products and can be used to provide tracking benchmarks.



CONTINUOUS SATISFACTION TRACKING

Satisfaction feedback is obtained from the individual customer at the time of product or service delivery (or shortly afterward)… and then periodically thereafter. Customer retention scores based on the satisfaction tracking surveys will provide flags and a management tracking tool to assure quality is at high levels over time.

Customer Retention provides an understanding of customers' expectations and satisfaction. Satisfaction surveys typically require multiple questions that address different dimensions of the satisfaction concept. Satisfaction measurement includes measures of overall satisfaction, satisfaction with individual product and service attributes, and satisfaction with the benefits of purchase. Retention measurement is like peeling away layers of an onion-each layer reveals yet another deeper layer, closer to the core. At a minimum, customer retention surveys should address:

• service concerns that seem to cause customers to leave
• an evaluation of the competitiveness of current pricing
• an evaluation of advertising campaigns, features and benefits promised and delivered
• an evaluation of competitor advertising campaign
• implement an "exit interview" to determine why the customer is leaving or has left
• develop a customer retention problem escalation program that has the power to present incentives, counter-offers, or resolve all problems.

Each of these methods will increase retention through customer intercept, development of measures to key in on customer problems, and measures of the degree of success.

An example question from a customer satisfaction survey.

At Qualtrics we make updates to our research tool about every six weeks. The most recent update was at the beginning of the month, December 1. These updates included making the system even faster, more user-friendly, and superior in online survey software.

One of the most exciting updates is the updated "look and feel" feature. Qualtrics surveys have always had a professional appearance, but now it makes it even easier to customize the display, font, colors, etc. of your survey.

As you make a change, you will see it appear in your survey directly below the control tabs. This helps you decide how you like your new look, and make more changes if necessary.

Here are some screen shots of the new "look and feel" control panel.

Main control panel for look and feel.

What is great about this new panel is how easy it is to change every part of your survey. Whether it is the font, color, size, layout, back button, progress bar, or other feature, we make it easy to fit your look.

The font tab in the look and feel menu bar.

Enjoy the new features of Qualtrics, as it gives you more and more options. Happy surveying!

The Van Westendorp method uses a series of questions to identify key psychological price points given the respondents introduction to a product description.



Respondents are asked to report:

1. The price at which the product is so cheap that the respondent would question its quality

2. The price at which the product is inexpensive, but not so inexpensive that the respondent would question its quality

3. The price at which the product is expensive, but not so expensive that the respondent would consider it; and the price at which the product is so expensive that the respondent would not consider it



The price measurements in each of the respective categories provide a distribution of perceptions about the acceptable price of the product. The analysis of these distributions will help answer such questions as what is the average expected price; at what price would we expect purchase intention to drop sharply; and at what point is the price too inexpensive to imbue a quality image? Economists express these concepts in terms of price elasticity of demand.

The key to an effective Van Westendorp study is to create a price scale so that lower is not always better and so that users of a product are differentiated form non-users of the product. Furthermore, the price – value of the product must be measured so that an accurate view of price perceptions and propensity to buy are included.

Respondents often report preference for an expensive product over a cheaper alternative, but this may not hold true in an actual purchase situation. Validation measures for pricing questionnaires are always essential.

Understanding this method can help your pricing analysis be even more effective. To learn more about price points, click here.

Van Westendorp Price Volume Curve From Market Research

What is a survey worth, if you aren't getting the response rate that you need? Qualtrics gives you an increased response rate to keep you happy. With interesting question types, easy distribution, panel management and more we give you plenty of tools to help boost your responses. However, there may be more things you can do to increase response rates even more.

Survey response rates are a function of the:

1. Clarity of instructions, purpose and questions
2. Motivation of the respondent to respond
3. Interest of the respondent in the survey
4. Survey length and ease of completing the survey
5. Incentives and rewards for completion



In addition to these five points, there is a major thing you can do to increase your responses.

This is the need for pre-testing the survey. By conducting a pretest, you can:

1. Identify problematic questions and rewrite them
2. Identify problem points within the survey through discontinuation rates
3. Identify points of confusion
4. Estimate the real cost of data collection
5. Estimate the response rate and thus obtain a better estimate of list size and the associated resulting sample size
6. Estimate the distribution of responses to key research questions



Pre-testing allows for optimization and testing of preliminary notification letters, incentives, follow-up letters and invitations, and types of appeals to be used. To test your survey, in the edit tab under advanced options select "Test Survey." Then enter the number of mock responses you want under "Test Iterations"and click"Start Test."

Innovative Question Types Help Increase Survey Response Rates

Sometimes we get calls from clients that currently use very basic survey software. They say they like that the software is low-cost, user-friendly and straightforward.

Others call us with very complex survey needs. They have major research projects and are looking for a tool that can get them the results they need.

With both cases, Qualtrics is the answer. We know that designing a survey can be stressful. But it doesn't have to be. We know that designing a survey can be simple. It really can be.

Here at Qualtrics, we don't want you to compromise a good product for simple-use. There are plenty of things in life that are simple to use but have a complex structure.

Consider these:

-The car you drive: Imagine all of the intrinsic features that make it easy for you to turn the key.

-Your cell phone: Yep. We know it is sitting right by your computer. Take a look at it. There are chips, codes, or programming that is almost too hard to comprehend.

- A light switch: You just turn it on, but do you really know how it works?

Qualtrics has joined the club. It makes sophisticated research simple. Stop worrying. No need to decide between a simple survey tool or a complex one. You can have the best of both worlds.

This week Qualtrics signed agreements with two remaining schools on BusinessWeek's Top 30 list. This means all 30 of BusinessWeek's Top 30 Business Programs use Qualtrics.

We'd like to thank our dedicated users and all those who support Qualtrics. This is a great accomplishment for our Academic Department. This credibility is evidence of our background in business and market research, thanks to our founder Scott Smith, Ph.D. But most importantly, this benchmark shows the great relationship we maintain with all of our clients.

Thanks for making Qualtrics the best choice for business schools. Better yet, thanks for making Qualtrics the best choice for graduate business programs, colleges, universities, human resources, marketing, product testing, enterprise feedback management, product registration… or should we just say online survey software?

The Brand Connection: Brands connect products or services to people. This connection is through the meaning that the brand brings into the lives the people that use it. Brands tap into six modes of communication to convey meaning. These modes are instrumental in determining advertising effect:

• Naming
• Wording
• Describing
• Picturing
• Symbolizing
• Animating

The personal benefits and values of the core product are reinforced and strengthened as the brand meaning grows and it becomes more connected to the person. In the language of a brand manager, the result is a high equity brand that is surrounded by loyal customers.

To flesh out a brand design schematic, researchers often integrate means-end research with other forms of marketing or consumer research.



Hierarchical Value Maps: Hierarchical Value Maps based on the means-end analysis identify the connection between the brand attributes and the market needs. These are expressed as personal benefits of brand use and values that are reinforced and give creative directors a rich set of concepts for producing advertisements.

To sell a product we must "play to strength," but often that strength is not valued by people. Our "strength" is a "so what." The goal of market driven strategies is to change the "so what" into a "WOW." One way of doing this is to use means-end analysis and hierarchical value maps.

The following example shows a portion of a hierarchical value map for a bank considering how to position its credit card.

The means-end study was used to produce a hierarchical map based on a set of attribute statements that were linked to positive and negative psycho-social consequence statements (benefits).

Higher order value statements were also used in the study and appear at the top of the map. This portion of the hierarchical value map clearly shows two psychological values as key to credit card users: "Peace of Mind" and "Self Esteem." Peace of mind is a direct result of the card being broadly accepted by merchants and the support locations available. These credit card attributes are seen to link, in turn, to independence, dependability, and security.

The branch of the hierarchical value map dealing with Self Esteem is similarly interpreted through the linked positive benefits and associated attributes.

Understanding the values behind the brand will help you better conduct your research.

A past article in BusinessWeek analyzes the ultimate goal of business school research. With Qualtrics serving 28 of America's Top 30 Business Schools, we are the forerunners of quality research.

In the article, AACSB International , an accreditation organization, asks "What is the ultimate goal of business school research?

They argue that business school researchers should produce work that can be immediately applied to the practice of business.  At Qualtrics, we know that these students often enter the corporate world and encourage their employers to use professional research software. As a result from the push for business schools to explore research, we have seen an increase in business school users.

[AACSB] is merely hoping to get business schools thinking about the types of research they are conducting, said Joseph A. Alutto interim president and provost of Ohio State University.

The article emphasizes the requirement of research in the management field. The need for research has been discussed years and years over, while Qualtrics continues to remain a practical solution.

At Qualtrics, we think that the goal of business school research should be similar to every other organization: collect information to make better decisions.

We currently serve over 200 business schools and help them do just that–perform research that can carry over into the real world to increase profits and sustainability.

Early Warning Whistle Blower System

The Early Warning Whistle Blower system is a must for today's corporate environment. Corporate clients can implement an early warning system for employee feedback on the most critical internal issues.

As an employee logs in to the corporate intranet or visits your corporate website, they are able to report on the issues critical to corporate health, including Bias, Discrimination, Sexual Harassment and Abuse, Corporate Malfeasance, Theft or Misuse of Funds, and any other topic deemed critical to top management or the employee. It pays to stop problems while they are small.

This anonymous whistle blower tool will trigger an e-mail copy of each complaint to designated individuals inside the corporation. Triggers may be sent directly to the corporate ombudsman, legal department, or executive who has the responsibility to investigate and oversee the health of the corporate employee climate.

Quick, Confidential and Easy

Qualtrics professional services team is now available to assist your company with all HR related surveys. The experts at Qualtrics offer survey packages ranging from simple employee satisfaction surveys, to management style indices,  to sophisticated theft and honesty indices, to exit interview surveys.

You can count on our professionals to develop, host and distribute surveys for your employees quickly and confidentially so that you receive valuable and useful data.

Our professionals have developed a series of rotating surveys that poll employee opinions regarding job satisfaction, benefit program reaction and internal systems.

We recommend rotating selected employee feedback surveys through our system that polls employees on a quarterly, bi-annual and annual basis. All surveys can be branded for your organization or set up under a third party brand to protect the anonymity of your employees and give them the greatest confidence in their responses.

Choose from over 40 pre-built survey that will cover all HR related topics. Our professionals have years of experience in HR research.

Sample Employee Surveys are also available for all users in our Qualtrics Survey Library