Actionable Information: Translating Feedback into Change
Posted by Vovici Blog on Wed, Feb 23, 2011
An earlier version of this article was originally published in the Vovici monthly newsletter.
One of the catchphrases of the marketing research profession is “actionable information” – reflecting the need for feedback that we can use to inspire change. It’s a tired phrase, but since it requires a tireless effort to achieve, I think it is a valuable concept.
How do we produce actionable information? At last summer’s CASRO Technology Conference, Derek Bildfell, the CEO of Consumer Contact, shared this diagram:
Research needs to be conducted globally, but reported locally. To create change, feedback should be reported and targeted appropriately within an organization.
- Front-Line Staff – For customer-facing employees, customer satisfaction is not an abstraction but something that is real for each customer they serve. Surveys need to trigger email alerts to let staff know about dissatisfied customers, so that they can immediately take action to correct issues, attempt service recovery and build long-term satisfaction.
- Management – Managers need to evaluate satisfaction with products, services, regions and groups of individuals. Their reports need to provide filtered views of the results that reflect their responsibility: a product manager sees comments about the product they are responsible for, while a supervisor sees feedback about the employees that report to them.
- Executives – Senior management need to decide between different competing areas of strategic investment. They want not just reports but models linking satisfaction to top- and bottom-line results.
Whatever research you are collecting, by sharing that research and tailoring the reporting of it, you can inspire your coworkers to action.