Scholarly Pursuits

Managing the Customer Experience, A Measurement-Based Approach, by Market Probe Associate Research Director Morris Wilburn, was published recently by ASQ Press.

Many companies have customer loyalty research programs. Many of those programs fall short of their intended purpose, either because they fail to include important drivers of loyalty or because of the form in which the research results are reported.

Managing the Customer Experience avoids these missteps. It begins by addressing customer emotions evoked by contact with service employees, the purchase/shopping environment, brand image, and how these factors are interrelated. The book then identifies the information that is necessary for managing the customer experience, and describes how it can be obtained. The discussion then moves to analysis and reporting of information: the management decision tools and information needed by each level of management, and how the data from the studies described previously can produce it. The book concludes with a discussion of issues that arise in the construction of management decision tools.
As Associate Research Director, Morris consults in research design and analysis and performs advanced analysis for Market Probe research projects. He is co-author of Linking Customer and Employee Satisfaction to the Bottom Line. Both of these books can be purchased from ASQ's Quality Press Web site at

http://qualitypress.asq.org/.

Analysis of Customer Satisfaction Data, published by Quality Press in 2000, is destined to become the standard reference for anyone deeply involved in customer satisfaction measurement and analysis. Current Market Probe President & CEO T.R. Rao and former Vice President & Director of Research Derek Allen explore the concepts of CSM and loyalty studies currently in use by market researchers around the world. For the novice researcher, the authors present fundamental issues in an understandable fashion and then graduate to more complex material. For the experienced researcher, numerous formulas and diagrams present more challenging concepts that will enhance his or her experience with customer satisfaction measurement and analytical methods.

This book provides an in-depth look at customer satisfaction research, including a comprehensive overview of sophisticated techniques, interpretation, and results presentation. Written by industry leaders with years of experience consulting top companies such as General Motors, Bank of America, Xerox, and Motorola, this book offers a step-by-step approach to customer loyalty research in an advanced yet understandable format. Analysis of Customer Satisfaction Data includes actual industry examples which illustrate how techniques were applied, the results interpreted and how marketing decisions were affected.

The list price for Analysis of Customer Satisfaction Data is $44.00 for non-ASQ members and $55.00 for ASQ members. To order a copy, call ASQ at 1-800-248-1947. Refer to Item H1022 or visit ASQ's Online Bookstore at

http://qualitypress.asq.org/perl/catalog.cgi?item=H1022

Former Market Probe Director of Research Derek Allen and Associate Research Director Morris Wilburn have co-written a book, published by ASQ Press, that focuses on the methods used to determine the effect of satisfaction and loyalty on a company's bottom line.

The title of the book is Linking Customer and Employee Satisfaction to the Bottom Line. In the preface, the authors explain that their objective "is to provide readers with a fundamental understanding of how customer satisfaction may be empirically linked to substantive business outcomes like profitability. Above all, this book is intended for the practitioner and, as such, relies upon numerous industry examples to illustrate key points. Whenever possible, we provide actual results and discuss the appropriate interpretation and presentation."

Intended for advanced service quality managers and marketing researchers with more than a modest exposure to statistical data analysis, this book provides a comprehensive overview of how these data may be related to critical business outcomes. Perhaps more important, researchers with mature customer satisfaction systems may use the techniques described in this book to maximize the value of their existing programs. While no technique or methodology can guarantee a strong link between customer satisfaction and key business outcomes, this book can ensure that appropriate scales, variables and assumptions are used.

The list price for Linking Employees, Customers, and Business Outcomes is $50.00 for non-ASQ members and $40.00 for ASQ members. To order a copy, call ASQ at 1-800-248-1947. Refer to Item H1085 or visit ASQ's Online Bookstore at

http://qualitypress.asq.org/perl/catalog.cgi?item=H1085