Video Verbatim Comments - Hear and See What Your Audience Thinks!

With Quantitative research, open-ended verbatim response questions have always been a part of the equation.  They can provide additional clarity and dig deeper on larger KPI questions; for example, “Why do you rate your overall satisfaction with your recent hotel stay a 4?” If you are using a 10-point scale, a 4 is probably considered “not that great.” If this was my study, I would love to know a few facts around why the respondent decided to give a rating of 4. Letting the respondent further define their reasoning is very beneficial and will help in the analysis of what drives higher and lower scores, BUT most of all… how to improve as a company/organization.

Technology has advanced in many ways to allow for faster and easier ways to capture feedback. Online survey capabilities have opened up new and exciting ways to go deeper…especially with verbatim comments.  Sure, you can still have open-end text capture in an online survey…. but what if you could allow respondents to freely verbalize their thoughts? And beyond that – what if you could put these comments together (in a video fashion) to help tell that story? It is common for us to watch videos that capture our attention.

Video verbatim feedback, within an online survey, can encourage respondent commentary because they now have the luxury of talking instead of typing. Using the illustration above and the “normal” typing method, a respondent can then type in their reason for a less than satisfactory hotel stay.  “Well, the check-in was slow and the bathroom wasn’t great.” Ok…that helps, and it provides a little clarity around the check-in process and the state of the room, but I would love to know more.  These days, when we type, we truncate and cut down our thoughts.  Hey – long text messages anyone…with my fat fingers they take forever, so I don’t go as in-depth.

Now imagine the ability for your online survey to ask the respondent to click a button and talk freely…just like a selfie video (using their mobile phone or camera on their computer). Guess what typically happens? The length and depth of the feedback is now significantly longer and more descriptive to the tune of 6x given simple word count analysis. Now with video capture ability, the example could look like this, “Well, we were so tired when we checked in and there were so many people that we had to wait and wait and wait. When we were finally greeted the associate had to answer two phone calls! Ugh…the waiting!  We just want to shower off and go to dinner and not stand around. And by the way, don’t get me started on the bathroom. Geez, the shower had no water flow, and the hot water was never hot enough. This was not the perfect way to start my vacation let me tell you!”  We all do this – when given the chance to talk we go on and on – especially if there was something significant.  Sure, there are instances where too much talk may be a bad thing, but I would rather make that decision at the backend. I would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. The example above simply showcases what we typically see.

So – what’s next? 

You have video comments now, and how will this help? Don’t worry – you still need to code all comments into themes for quantitative measures like “bathroom dissatisfaction” and “slow
check- in experience.”  But now imagine that you can harness several different respondent videos and splice them together into a Show Reel. You place the reel into your analytic report and boom – you can see and hear how people feel by watching an impactful 40 second video! Remember the check-in process example and the general feeling the respondent had? Now imagine you can hear their voice and watch their face when they speak about this negative experience.

Here is a sample:

That’s All Folks!

In conclusion, business leaders want to understand what drives customer behavior. By offering an easy-to-use method for respondents to elaborate and provide deeper meaning behind how they feel can really impact the storytelling of your data analysis. Videos are compelling. They are tangible and allow us to see and hear how someone really feels.

And oh, by the way – I still don’t understand/get the allure of TikTok’s, but I know that my daughters watch these a lot. I digress!

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) – Data Collection Methodology DOES Matter

It seems everyone is “familiar” with NPS.

Many utilize this metric to continuously measure customer loyalty. Next, analytics is incorporated to correlate those independent drivers that move the needle to better understand the ups and the downs of loyalty. Then, internal changes are implemented to further enhance the customer experience…which increases customer loyalty. 

Makes sense, right???

Well…There is a current beneath the surface of this mode of data collection. These days – most data collection is online…and there are many great reasons for this (don’t get me started).  That said, this does create some bias and doesn’t always tell the whole story.

Our founder, Dave Sparks, always said – individuals who complete mail surveys (not entirely the same as online, but these days it kind of is) are older…and madder.

As we looked at four years of actual real consumer monthly satisfaction and loyalty tracking survey data, we dove deeper to see if this held true by looking at various loyalty, satisfaction, and ease questions by survey methodology: Telephone vs. Online.

Well, guess what we uncovered…

NPS, Ease of Working with the brand and Overall Satisfaction of the brand Top Two Box (9’s and 10’s on a 10-point scale) scores are significantly higher for telephone when compared to online….to the tune of roughly 12% to 14% higher at the aggregate level.  THAT is a lot and VERY important.

We also found…

Significantly higher proportions of respondents 55 years old and older complete online surveys when compared to those under 55 years old.

So, why is that?  Before we answer– I’ll bet you have received an online survey for a car rental, or a hotel stay and I’m sure you received that survey in the form of an email asking for your opinions.  If all was “fine” with your recent interaction…did you complete the survey???  I’m guessing probably not, because…well it is work per se.

Now imagine if you received this email survey request when your hotel room had no hot water or smelled like something very unfriendly. This experience could leave you feeling angry/grumpy because I know it would do that to me. So now you get a chance to give them this feedback…angry feedback.   

“The consideration of how you collect your data is just as important as the metrics that you are measuring and analyzing.” 

As researchers we find conducting online surveys fairly easy, fast, and inexpensive. But for respondents – completing a survey is work and can be time consuming.  Telephone surveys on the other hand almost fall in your lap.  You don’t have to do anything – you listen and answer questions.

Side Note: Telephone surveys will ALWAYS capture richer verbatim feedback. Typing a long response online about why you rated your satisfaction as a 7 usually results in a “It was good” type of response.

Now this is where we believe the mode of data collection is so important because, again, we have seen it happen with actual real data. If you don’t include telephone surveying as part of your data collection methodology, you aren’t receiving a true representation of customer feedback. Now, let that sink in for a moment.

If you are tracking customer experience metrics with online surveys only, I’d invite you to test to see if this holds true. Perhaps blend online and telephone surveys (what we call Mixed-Mode) for a month or two and analyze the results.  You may be very happy you did. Remember, what we found is from several years’ worth of data!

The consideration of how you collect your data is just as important as the metrics that you are measuring and analyzing.  If given an opportunity to propose a customer experience program for any client, I’m always going to strongly recommend a mixed-mode (telephone AND online) survey methodology if it is feasible.  Don’t forget – based on our findings, your customer sentiment may actually be higher than you think!  Now, let that sink in for [more] than a moment.

Serenity Now

We don’t always have control over our workload. Ideally, our day is full of fulfilling, interesting, meaningful, and enjoyable tasks. However, at times our work can be stressful, irritating, overwhelming, and/or boring. Most of the time I can handle all tasks with a calm, composed demeanor and a smile on my face because I’m nothing if not a complete professional. I’ll share some tips on setting up your environment to improve your mood and insulate yourself against negative reactions to work stress that have been helpful to me.

It helps to set up my environment in a way that is sensorily pleasant and comforting. Here are some ideas to use your six senses to reduce stress, increase calm, and/or self-soothe when you feel upset.

Sight.

• Your office should have comfortable lighting to minimize eye strain.

• Have pictures or other items near your desk that are pleasant for you to look at. For example, I have Frank Costanza taped to my monitor, and looking at him keeps me from screaming out loud.

• Adjust your display settings to reduce blue light and/or wear blue light blocking glasses.

Hearing.

• If you can, listen to music while you work. Make playlists to improve your mood and/or help you concentrate. Music with lyrics can be distracting, as it engages the same parts of your brain that you need to retain and comprehend information, but it can be used to elevate your mood! For concentration, classical and instrumental music without lyrics is best.

• Turn on white noise to drown out distractions.

Taste.

• Have favorite snacks, drinks, treats, or gum on hand.

• Have strongly flavored gum or candy to distract yourself from an unpleasant situation.

Touch.

• Have a fan or heater nearby if the office temperature is not optimal.

• Wear comfortable clothes and shoes.

• Have a swatch of material and/or some stones that are pleasant to the touch.

Smell.

• Wear your favorite perfume.

• Spritz your face with rose water.

• Keep a diffuser or scented candles at your desk.

Note: Be careful with this one if you share office space with others, as your favorite scent may not be pleasant to others (or even trigger a migraine). In this case if you need an olfactory boost, see if you can step outside or keep a scented item in your car.

Movement.

• Have some fidget toys to play with.

• Stretch your muscles.

• Do some jumping jacks.

There can be certain vulnerability factors that make us more susceptible to stress, making negative emotional and/or physiological reactions more likely to occur. People may react to stress with strong emotions (ex. anger, worry, sadness), or they may feel physically ill (ex. racing heart rate, sweat, pain).

When we feel emotionally overwhelmed, we may not be able to interact with our colleagues in a professional or productive manner, and we are prone to making mistakes. Dialectical Behavior Therapy suggests using TIPP skills to manage extreme emotions quickly and effectively.

Temperature.

Decreasing the temperature of your face has an almost immediate calming effect.

• Fill a bowl with cold water, hold your breath, and dip your face in.

• Put an ice pack on your eyes and cheeks.

• Splash cold water on your face.

Intense exercise.

If your body is revved up by emotion, a short burst of intense exercise will expend your body’s physical energy. Don’t overdo it – 10-15 minutes should be enough.

• Go for a run or a brisk walk.

• Jump rope.

• Dance.

• Do some jumping jacks.

• Go outside with a bowl of ice and throw ice against a (windowless) wall or at the ground.

Paced Breathing.

Breathing out more slowly than breathing in can reduce agitation and slow down your heart rate. Inhale for 4 seconds, pause, then exhale for 5 seconds. Repeat several times. If you feel lightheaded, take a break to breathe normally, then resume paced breathing. Try to focus fully on your breathing.

Progressive muscle relaxation.

Tense and relax each muscle group, one at a time, from top to bottom. Tense the muscles for 5 seconds, focusing on the sensation of tension in your muscles. Then fully relax the muscles and note the difference in how that feels.

Practice doing paced breathing and progressive muscle relaxation when you’re not distressed, and you’ll be able to recall and perform these skills with more ease when you need them.

Let’s Wrap This Up.

We spend so much time working either on-site or remotely. It’s a fact of life and not necessarily a bad fact as we are all in this together. We never know what one person is going through by reading an email, text, or seeing them on a computer screen – let alone in-person.  As stated earlier, most of the time we can handle all tasks with a fairly calm and composed demeanor, but it’s important to remember that some days/hours/minutes can be challenging…and that is okay – really okay.

Seinfeld Image ©Netflix

2022 Year In Review

Sparks Research marked its 51st year in 2022 with a number of projects that highlight the hallmarks of our approach: precision, insight, and timeliness. We provide companies of all sizes and in all industries with data comprehension and insights powered by best-in-class analysis, cutting-edge and flexible methods, and high-touch customer service.

Indeed, since our founding, we have translated marketing research findings into marketplace solutions for our clients. These findings include global Fortune 100 companies and leading national and regional companies in industries such as financial services, retail, automotive, professional services, utilities, higher education, healthcare, consumer packaged goods, manufacturing and general services industries.

In short:

The answers are here.

2022 Endeavors

We have been busy and 2022 was a great year! We added several new clients to our growing list in the higher ed, healthcare, energy, and financial services industries. Our new initiatives spanned the globe with several international and national survey engagements (consumer and B2B). We’ve also supplied some regional needs related to CX and brand health.

Our methodologies continue with online, telephone, mixed mode (online and telephone), QRE onsite surveys, online qual research and managed services (we are your Qualtrics programming experts). Our analytic offerings continue to grow as well, with CX/CES benchmarking and drivers, new product development (conjoint), pricing elasticity and defining ever-changing brand personas through segmentation analysis.

Our 6 Core Solutions

Our high-level and all-encompassing solutions allow Sparks Research to cover the range of the marketing research field for our clients.

We would welcome the opportunity to share more and to learn about how we can help you.

Happy Holidays to All!

As we here at Sparks Research begin to reflect on 2022, we are thankful that our existing relationships continue to grow, and that our new relationships allow us to grow.  

We are blessed with friends and family like you.

All of us here at Sparks Research extend our very heartfelt gratitude as we venture into 2023!

May God continue to bless you and your families.

Cheers!

The Sparks Team

Oh Maxims

1. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

2. Change is the only constant. 

3. Nothing ventured nothing gained. 

4. Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

5. You can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. 

6. You can’t boil the ocean (Ok, that is quasi-internal at Sparks, but you catch my drift!) 

Oh Maxims! It seems like they all are begging us to improve. We are on the constant search for our best selves. If we aren’t, then we should be! Now there’s a thought. 

 Here is a great example of a company striving to be better through change…  

In 1991 Kentucky Fried Chicken changed its official name to KFC. The biggest reason that the company changed the name was because the public, starting in the 1980s, was becoming more health-conscious and they wanted to play down the “fried” part of the name. The research suggested that people did not want to be reminded that what they were eating wasn’t as healthy as what the fat-free craze was suggesting/screaming to them! 

 What a brave move - right?!?! Well, you can bet they did a lot of research to come to this conclusion. Yes, it was a big move, but they knew it was a good move because they tested it through research. They did not run around, “like a chicken with its head cut off.” They had direction from the data. 

A question for us all… do we need a brand refresh on some level? 

Let’s end this the way we started. Oh Maxims…

 “Business is never so healthy as when, like a chicken, it must do a certain amount of scratching for what it gets.” - Henry Ford 

Cheers to your personal and business successes. 

- The Sparks Team 

If an email looks fishy…it probably is. This one example really shocked me on how crafty things are these days…. always be on the lookout!

About a month ago I got an email from someone that I haven’t chatted with in a long time. Actually when I saw his name, I thought, “Wow — it has been too long!”

The email was odd, though. All it said was “Hello! Please email me as I have an opportunity.” Well, this long-ago friend was a former client, so technically this could have been a new opportunity. But because I had not talked to him in a long time I thought the email seemed fishy. So instead of responding, I decided to email him directly. 

I went to Linkedin and emailed him to say hello and tell him that an email I received “from him” looked a little weird and within a minute I got a reply. Ok, I thought, lets see what he is up to — a new opportunity could be on the horizon. 

The reply was also weird. It said, “Hi, Rich. How are you? I sent it.” But, maybe he is busy, I thought, and that explains the truncated response. So I replied, “Things are good with me. How can I help you?” The reply was then, “I’m glad to hear that. Can you reply on my email. I am in a meeting.”

Now, I was obviously convinced that was weird, so I went a step further and called him. He answered and I immediately asked, “Did you email me today?” First thing out of his mouth was that he was hacked. 

So – imagine this: I get a weird email that seemed too short and odd AND THEN through LinkedIn, his network was also hacked. I could even see the little emoticons would light up within LInkedIn to show that “he” was typing his responses to me in real time — only it was NEVER him! 

I guess what really came to me is this: even though I feel like I have a good read on what is real and what isn’t, I learned a lot from this example and shared this story with everyone at the office. People can be hacked through multiple sources and while you think you are safe in chatting on one platform to verify that person sent an email, that isn’t enough anymore. This really blew my mind. Just imagine if I took the LinkedIn reply as legitimate and then emailed back like he asked? What then? 

This entire situation encapsulates my biggest fears today for online research. Each and every day there is someone learning how to better scam and impersonate a friend, colleague or a company. Who can you trust?  And, if people have more experiences like this, they are going to be less and less likely to participate in research needs — and that greatly concerns me. 

Aligning with customers to define better ways to communicate is imperative for research assignments. Sending a pre-survey communication is best served by identifying that a survey is coming, defining what the survey is about, introducing the survey company and then having a true contact name and email address from the company. Going a step further, identifying the upcoming survey internally so that all client relationship associates are also aware will help prevent panic from a legitimate request (if internal team members aren’t aware, things could become a mess). If budgets allow, the best way of all to communicate is through good old-fashioned mail correspondence (but when was the last time you received something in the mail?).

Lastly, it can become even trickier when companies attempt to collect data “inhouse” as well as carry on with their regular job responsibilities. Who has time to do this and watch out for sneaky scammers AND do real work? Be safe out there.

I Don't Cut My Own Hair

Have you ever thought of yourself as a coach?  It may surprise you that we all should! Each day we coach others whether we admit it or even realize it.

Hey, I am not an expert in EVERYTHING!  I can’t be, so I surround myself with those who are. I don’t “cut my own hair” or “cut my own grass.” These are NOT my fields of expertise! Not even close! However, I have been in marketing research for 26 years here at Sparks Research and a Fitness Coach for over 30 years. I still do not know it all, but I am constantly seeking knowledge in both fields AND surrounding myself within my fields of “expertise” with other “experts”.

I do not teach “BARRE” and I do not “Run tabulation” or “Calculate weights.” (At my fitness studio I do some different weight calculating, but that is for another day and another conversation!)

So why do companies who ARE NOT experts in data collection and data literacy attempt to collect and analyze their own data? It is just not smart. Do you cut your own hair?

Hmmm - You don’t have to hire Sparks Research BUT you must hire a Marketing research firm, “the experts!” Of course, you can always consult Sparks Research because... “The Answers Are Here.” I know a shameless plug - right!?

Cheers to being a coach in your field and to hiring and surrounding yourself with other field experts!