Why we ask questions

Bonus Post: I already know you're an American.

In my occupation as a researcher, one of the more frustrating things to see are people who answer a demographic question asking their ethnicity indicating that they are "Other: American." I think these people feel they are being clever or making some kind of social statement about racism or nationalism. However, the analyst in me wants to give these individuals a good Homer-to-Bart style throttling.

From a general social position I agree that the capabilities of individuals, despite their ethnicity or nationality, are largely the same. There are stupid and smart people regardless of color or creed. I think some overlook, perhaps in fear of racism, that there remain for many ethnic groups cultural differences which affect how these people view the world. As a researcher, these differences often provide significant and valuable insights for our clients.

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Why we ask questions.

I think every company, however small, ought to be conducting research. I am shocked by how few small companies leverage the information they could gain by asking their customers ANYTHING.

I think many people who have a small company feel that research is too expensive or time consuming. This is an understandable criticism because professionally conducted research campaigns can be extremely expensive. That said, there are some very simple ways to collect information which don't cost much.

Probably the easiest way to get some information is simply to call or email a handful of customers and ask some very open ended questions about their experiences. When people respond combine responses and look for patterns. The more information you can collect the better, but a couple dozen responses will start to point you in the right direction.

If there are significant changes you need to make to your company, and these changes are likely to affect your customers invite some customers to meet with you. Bring 5-6 people to your office, serve a simple lunch or dinner and present the ideas for the company. When selecting people, try to find people who are strong communicators, but who are willing to stick to a directed discussion.


A few additional pieces of advice:

Don't just collect information once and stop: Keep asking over time. I personally work on two surveys which have been running for over two years and it is surprising the insightful information we collect each month.

Don't be defensive: Being willing to accept critical feedback about your organization is critical. If your customers feel you are doing something wrong, you may be able to increase the business you take in if you fix that problem.

Think about the information you already have: Do you keep records of customer complaints and how they were resolved? Do you track your customer's purchases with your company? Many companies are sitting on gold mines of information about their customers and never look.

If you or someone you know would be interested in some ideas for how they could start collecting information for their company, let me know. I would be happy to help.