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How Surveys Influence Customers by Paul M. Dholakia and Vicki G. Morwitz

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This document is authorized for educator review use only by Dr. Sadia Riaz, S P Jain School of Global Management - Dubai until Dec 2020. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyrig [email protected] or 617.783.7860

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idea dustry and involved mostly long-term, satisfied customers. We do not know if the effects we saw can be generalized to other businesses, industries, or customer groups, although research now under way may clarify this. And, if surN e w r e s e a r c h s how s t ha t s i m p l y a s k i n g c u s t om e r s veys do exert influence by crystallizing t he i r op i n i on ca n i n c r e a s e t he i r p r of i ta b i l i t y existing opinions and focusing attention ov e r t he l on g t e r m . on them – causing satisfied customers to realize that they like some specific by Paul M. Dholakia and Vicki G. Morwitz products, for example – the opposite could occur as well. Surveying dissatisMarketers have long appreciated that half as likely to have defected, and were fied customers might conjure up and surveys engage people; a single yes-or- more profitable than the customers who strengthen negative opinions, reducing no question on a direct-mail envelope hadn’t been surveyed. These differences purchases and decreasing profitability. Finally, selling under the guise of concan induce them to look inside. But can reached their maximum levels several a company survey influence customers’ months after the survey was done and ducting marketing research (called “sugloyalty or buying habits? Research over persisted throughout the year. Even at ging”) is not only ethically dubious, it’s uncertain the past two decades has shown that it the end of the year, surveyed customers illegal. Federal law requires marketers can, but the studies have been narrow– continued to open new accounts at a to disclose if their purpose is to sell looking at how surveys affect attitudes faster rate and defect at a slower rate goods or services in addition to collectin the short term or influence one-time than the people in the control group. ing information when they first contact How could ten minutes on the phone a customer. For example, a survey conbehavior, like a single purchase. We set out to study the scope of this survey lead to these broad, sustained effects? ducted with this dual purpose in mind effect, and we were astonished by what Several theories of consumer psychol- might be introduced with the comment, ogy might apply. The simplest is that “We’d like to ask you a few questions we found. We conducted a field experiment with satisfaction surveys appeal to custom- about your satisfaction with our prodover 2,000 customers enrolled in the ers’ desire to be coddled, reinforcing pos- ucts and tell you about products you customer relationship program of a itive feelings they may already have may be interested in.” Our findings may dismay marketing large U.S. financial services company. about the surveying organization and One randomly selected group of 945 making them more likely to buy its researchers, who strive to gather inforpeople participated in a single, ten- to products. Surveys may also increase mation untainted by their survey in12-minute telephone survey investigat- people’s awareness of a company’s prod- struments.But they raise the compelling ing customer satisfaction. During the ucts and thereby encourage future pur- possibility for marketers that conductcall, they were asked to rate various fea- chases. More subtle is the idea that the ing surveys, especially when customers tures of the program, like estate plan- very process of asking people their opin- are satisfied with the organization, can ning, account monitoring, and retire- ions can induce them to form judg- also enhance loyalty and profitability. ment planning. At the call’s end, they ments that otherwise wouldn’t occur The challenge is to balance the comwere asked to rate their overall satisfac- to them – that they really do like a com- peting interests of marketers and retion with the company; most said they pany’s estate-planning services, for ex- searchers when a company surveys its were highly satisfied. A second group ample. These so-called measurement- customers. of 1,064 randomly selected customers induced judgments, the theory holds, wasn’t surveyed and served as the con- can influence later behavior. Paul M. Dholakia is an assistant profesAt first blush, the results of our study sor of management at Rice University’s trol. We tracked these two groups for a full year, measuring their purchasing may excite marketers seeking new ways Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Manbehavior, defection rates, and profit- to influence customers.And, indeed, one agement in Houston. Vicki G. Morwitz ability. Neither group received any di- could imagine legitimately surveying is an associate professor of marketing rect marketing from the company for customers with the hope of enhancing at New York University’s Stern School of their loyalty. But we would sound some Business in New York. Their full research the duration of the study. A year after the survey was con- notes of caution to anyone considering report is scheduled to appear in the Sepducted, the customers we surveyed were using a survey as a marketing tool. tember issue of the Journal of Consumer Our study looked at customer behav- Research. more than three times as likely to have Reprint f0205a opened new accounts, were less than ior in a single organization in a single in-

How Surveys Influence Customers

Copyright © 2002 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. This document is authorized for educator review use only by Dr. Sadia Riaz, S P Jain School of Global Management - Dubai until Dec 2020. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyrig [email protected] or 617.783.7860...