Revenue growth and profitability are the key indices of success, studied by every retailer. Yet both rise and fall in response to consumer behavior, which means that you must also study your customer and your competition. Detailed knowledge of customer satisfaction and consumer attitudes should stand behind every important operational decision you make.

There is just no substitute for retail survey research. Some companies insist that they don’t need to survey their customers because they are in touch with them every day at store level. We think this is a dangerous mentality. For every customer who takes time to complain, many remain silent. Your store managers may know what their most vocal customers think, but what about that silent majority?

Other retailers believe that occasional focus groups and/or mystery shops provide enough consumer feedback. These research tools have some value, but they are certainly not sufficient. A group of eight self-selected, vocal shoppers does not provide a reliable, statistically valid sample of your customer base. And mystery shops provide detailed operational feedback about single shopping trip, not nearly representative of the myriad customer experiences that happen in your stores each day.

How do successful retailers use survey research?

	To obtain detailed customer feedback on merchandising strategy/execution, price perception, and operational performance
	To identify image strengths and weaknesses compared to other stores in the market
	To understand why sales my be stagnant or declining in general, in a given store, or in a particular category
	To uncover potential image problems and satisfaction gaps BEFORE they impact sales
	To determine the potential impact of a new competitor in the market
	To gauge consumer reaction to a planned change or initiative
	To have an independent measurement system for evaluating managerial performance