Critics of online surveys say the respondents don’t represent the larger population, are not chosen randomly and because of that, results can vary widely from poll to poll. The Director of Polling at ABC (DIS) News calls them “poll-taking clubs.” Ouch.

However, despite the criticism, more companies are relying on the web to poll “multitudes” of people in part because it can be done “quickly and cheaply.”
Source: BusinessWeek

Collective Intellect is a research company that provides tracking, filtering and ranking media research for the Fortune 500. The company uses a combination of algorithms and humans to identify emerging New Media and traditional media content across blogs, discussion boards and social networking websites. The company says their approach produces more comprehensive, timely and relevant results than traditional web search tools. Customers use Collective Intellect technology to:

• track information related to stocks and investing
• support public relations and investor relations activities
• facilitate customer support outreach programs
• create product management market research feedback programs
• develop interactive forums where customer relationships can be nurtured

Source: Collective Intellect, via Techcrunch

Survey Monkey enables you to create a survey using just a web browser. You can elect from over a dozen types of questions (multiple choice, rating scales, drop-down menus, etc.) with features such as forcing answers, skip logic and randomized answer choices. You can change the color, size, and style of any element in your survey, and upload your logo. Your surveys always look professional because Survey Monkey doesn’t add their branding or advertisements.

You can launch your survey via email or a link, and view the results in real-time. 100 survey responses are free---choose a monthly or yearly plan fee if you require more.

Zoomerang offers survey software that enables you to create custom web-based surveys and get rapid results. You can also survey hard-to-reach mobile users via SMS surveys and polls via text messages sent to mobile phones, or select zTelligence, a multi-user web survey software solution designed for enterprise-wide feedback.

Zoomerang also offers online panels of several million people, and get professional assistance from experts. Zoomerang offers limited services and responses for free, as well as plans for professional market researchers and companies.

Vizu provides users with online opinion polling and market research services.

Is the Net Promoter Score (NPS) “the single most reliable indicator of a company’s ability to grow?”

In The Ultimate Question: Driving Good Profits and True Growth, loyalty expert and Director Emeritus at Bain & Company, Fred Reichheld argues that corporations can improve growth by asking their customers one simple question: How likely would you be to recommend our company to a friend? The company’s NPS is then used to develop a Net Promoter strategy to increase company advocates.

But two recent papers assert that use of a multiple indicator instead of a single predictor is a more accurate measure of customer recommendations and retention.

Net Promoter proponents agree that multiple questions would generate more accurate results than the one Net Promoter question, but they argue that since the results would be only marginally better, what’s the point?  Indeed.

NPS is simply a tool to identify Promoters, Passives and Detractors among a company’s customers. The real work begins when the marketer develops the strategy to increase Promoters and reduce Passives and Detractors.

Do you utilize Net Promoter? Have you considered using it? Would love to hear your comments.

For more info see:
NetPromoter.com – Official site of Net Promoter

"Just as net worth represents the difference between financial assets and liabilities, Net Promoter quantifies the difference between customer assets and liabilities. With one question, we can sort customers into three categories:

Source: NetPromoter.com

"A discipline by which companies profitably grow by focusing on their customers. A successful Net Promoter program includes 5 elements: 1) metrics proven to link to growth; 2) leadership practices that instill customer focus, passion, and values; 3) organizational strategies to ensure adoption; 4) integration with core business processes, and 5) operational systems to support the initiative.”

Source: NetPromoter.com

See American Consumer Satisfaction Index

The American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) was developed to provide information on satisfaction with the quality of products and services available to consumers. It was designed to measure the quality of economic output as a complement to traditional measures of the quantity of economic output.

The index reports scores on a 0-100 scale at the national level. It also produces indexes for 10 economic sectors, 43 industries (including e-commerce and e-business), and more than 200 companies and federal or local government agencies.