By Danica Kwon, Data Analyst, Polaris Marketing Research

In times when business has become harder to come by, it’s more important than ever to retain your customers and keep them happy. Some of you have considered doing some type of research, but are either skeptical of the results or unsure of where to start. So here is a list of Frequently Asked Questions on Customer Satisfaction in Marketing Research.

What is Customer Satisfaction Research? Customer satisfaction research is part of the marketing research process that focuses on your business performance with your customers, employees and/or relationship-based issues such as service, competition, or brand.

When Should I Conduct a Customer Satisfaction Survey? Anytime. The best time to conduct a customer satisfaction is when the experience is fresh in their minds. But that doesn’t mean every day or even every year.

How Often Should I Conduct a Customer Satisfaction Survey? Surveys are popping up everywhere nowadays, and they can get annoying. You don’t want to annoy your customers for feedback because more than likely you’ll get negative results. Pay attention to your customers’ life-cycle; let the frequency of your interaction determine the frequency of surveys.

What Do I Do With the Results? Once the “research” part is done you’ll be left with rich data about your customers. It’s critical that you improve customer satisfaction in areas most important to your customers. Once you receive their feedback, it’s important that they receive yours by your actions!

Customer satisfaction research can be effective only if it measures what customers themselves say is important to them -- not what managers, no matter how experienced or well informed, think is important to their customers.

If you have any other questions on starting a customer satisfaction program contact us here (http://www.polarismr.com/contact-us-customer-satisfaction/).

For more information on Polaris’ marketing research capabilities visit our webpage dedicated to customer satisfaction research (http://www.polarismr.com/customer-satisfaction/overview/).

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Danica Kwon is a Data Analyst in the analytics department at Polaris Marketing Research Inc., where she handles a variety of data manipulation tasks involved in survey research. She graduated from Georgia State University with a BA in Sociology.