New Postings

In a recent article describing Walmart To Go, a home delivery concept currently being tested in San Jose, CA (Walmart To Go-Will It Stay?), the author says that the new service may help the brand to bridge one of its biggest obstacles - "getting people who would not be caught dead in its aisles to shop there."

Of late, there has been a lot of blog-based discussion, among consultants, academics, and the business community, of the business outcome value of customer advocacy measurement.  At the same time, there is growing recognition that earlier, more antecedent, measures of customer attitude and potential behavior - such as satisfaction, retention, loyalty, engagement, and recommendation - don't universally correlate with marketplace outcomes, and have other actionability weaknesses and challenges which advocacy measurement can largely overcome.  We call for a more contemporary, real-world, and accountable measure - customer advocacy.  

There are several respected and well-known brand valuation approaches.  Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2010, and the recently released Millward Brown’s 2011 BrandZ study are two excellent examples.  While the methodologies and results are different, the message is the same – brands generate value for their shareholders and their customers by clearly defining themselves in a differentiated and meaningful way, delivering on their promises, and creating excitement in the marketplace.  These are brands that understand the importance of activating passion among consumers.

As our 2010 National Banking Survey continues to make buzz in the banking industry, Market Probe is excited to announce work is under way to determine customer advocacy leaders in banking for 2011.  Last year’s winners (See the 2010 winners here) have already demonstrated a clear understanding of the value of customer advocacy in the banking industry, but will they keep their top honors?  

Our 2011 National Banking Survey will include surveys of over 3,000 primary bank customers from the 30 largest banks.  Research will be conducted throughout May and June.  Customers surveyed will be between 30-59 years of age and have household incomes of $50,000 or more.  

In our recent study of customer advocacy among enterprise IT Decision Makers, Microsoft scored the highest among four major tech brands (Microsoft, IBM, HP and Cisco). This enthusiasm is a major force that has powered Microsoft’s applications, operating systems and tools solutions in business markets.  Indeed, Microsoft can safely lay claim to being one of the half dozen most important technology vendors for business solutions, and its momentum may be increasing. In our research, Microsoft takes a leading position among Advocates for cloud computing: one of the main future forward indicators of success.