Bureau West

I’m going slightly “off-topic” this month, because it seems that the challenge of juggling too many tasks resonates with many of our colleagues and clients.  I recently started following a productivity system that is working really well for me, and I wanted to share it with you.  It’s a system created by David Allen called “Getting Things Done.”  I’m not connected to them in any way – I’m just impressed with how well it works, so I wanted to pass this along.

I learned to use the system by reading the book called “Getting Things Done” by David Allen, which is available on Amazon.com and on Allen’s website, www.davidco.com.  I really feel like I’m getting more things done and feeling less overwhelmed than before.  Here’s a description of the system from the website:

GTD^® is the popular shorthand for “Getting Things Done^®“, the groundbreaking work-life management system and book by David Allen that transforms personal overwhelm and overload into an integrated system of stress-free productivity.

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Sophisticated without being confining, the subtle effectiveness of GTD lies in its radically common sense notion that with a complete and current inventory of all your commitments , organized and reviewed in a systematic way, you can focus clearly, view your world from optimal angles and make trusted choices about what to do (and not do) at any moment. GTD embodies an easy, step-by-step and highly efficient method for achieving this relaxed , productive state. It includes: 

• Capturing anything and everything that has your attention
• Defining actionable things discretely into outcomes and concrete next steps
• Organizing reminders and information in the most streamlined way, in appropriate categories, based on how and when you need to access them
• Keeping current and “on your game” with appropriately frequent reviews of the six horizons of your commitments (purpose, vision, goals, areas of focus, projects, and actions)

Implementing GTD alleviates the feeling of overwhelm, instills confidence, and releases a flood of creative energy. It provides structure without constraint, managing details with maximum flexibility. The system rigorously adheres to the core principles of productivity, while allowing tremendous freedom in the “how.” The only “right” way to do GTD is getting meaningful things done with truly the least amount of invested attention and energy. Coaching thousands of people, where they work, about their work, has informed the GTD method with the best practices of how to work (and live), in that most efficient and productive way.

I hope you find the system as helpful to you as it has been to me!

An article in this month’s issue of Inc. profiled Dawson Rutter, a man who went from being a cab driver to building a $34 million limo company by providing a superior customer experience.  What I found fascinating about the article was the fact that you don’t have to be a company the size of the Ritz-Carlton hotel chain to provide truly excellent customer service.  It’s a matter of priorities.  Rutter’s company, Commonwealth Worldwide Chauffered Transportation, started small.  They pull from a pool of drivers that is largely untrained and itinerant.  Yet they are able to consistently provide customers a superior experience which has been the basis of their success.  They do it by investing money in training and customer service.  For example, their phone system doesn’t have a voice menu and they answer all calls within three rings.  This increases call center staff costs but increases profits even more.

Another important differentiator for the company is its extreme attention to detail.  Drivers never remove their jackets.  They always keep clients’ luggage in their line of vision until the bags are loaded in the car.  They make sure to have the client’s favorite beverage and reading material.  And the list goes on.

This type of attention to detail can help almost any company stand out – and frequently at little or no extra cost.  I’d like to tell you that the way to learn which details are important to your customers is to have Bureau West conduct research – but that would only be part of the story.  Consider additional ways to gather information to improve the customer experience.  For example, is there an opportunity for employees to engage customers in conversation in the course of their transaction?  And speaking of employees, many companies overlook their own employees as a rich source of information on the customer experience – consider ways to ensure you receive ongoing input from company staff.  Another option is to have managers telephone customers after the sale.  Rather than just having customers fill out a survey, an actual conversation will generate far richer insights.

We’d be glad to help strategize about the best ways to learn how to improve the customer experience at your company – whether utilizing Bureau West researchers or your own staff.  Please give us a call at (818) 752-7210.

I’ve just returned from supervising international research in China, India and Germany.  On the flight to Germany, I read an interesting newspaper article about the opportunities and challenges facing companies who want to do business in China and India.  With populations of 1.3 billion and 1.1 billion respectively and explosive growth rates, many companies feel they can’t afford to ignore these markets.

However, both markets pose some formidable challenges.  One such challenge is the difficulty in becoming established in countries with markets very different from those in the west and significant regulatory hurdles.  Some companies deal with this challenge by pursuing an integrated two-track strategy – looking both at selling to customers in these countries but also becoming a customer themselves and utilizing each country’s resources.  For example, Microsoft has set up research labs at some of China’s top universities, and this has made it easier for the company to get the government’s cooperation in enforcing intellectual property laws in the software sector.

Another challenge: with markets so big, companies may do themselves a disservice if they try to define an “average” Chinese or Indian customer.  Remember, the middle class is comprised of more than 300 million people in each of those countries.  Companies should look to market to finely targeted segments in each country.  For example, Chinese appliance maker Haier Group offers a washing machine for rural people that can not only clean clothes but also sweet potatoes and peanuts!  They also sell a tiny machine designed to clean a single change of clothes which is popular with urban customers.

And it’s important to become immersed in what’s going on in these countries to understand – and benefit from – the differences between their markets and Western markets.  For example, in India, billboard advertising is particularly effective at targeting two ends of the economic spectrum: the poor who don’t have televisions and don’t read newspapers, and business people who spend hours in chauffeur-driven cars (having a driver is quite common in India), and therefore have time to read the billboards and absorb their messages!

To learn more about marketing in China and India, contact us.  We’ll work with local researchers to understand what truly motivates your prospects there.  Call Bureau West at (818) 752-7210. 

Sources: “How to get China and India right,” Wall Street Journal Europe, May 1, 2007; “Mushrooming billboards offer a crash course on India’s growth,” Hindustan Times Mint, April 30, 2007

Many assume there is a significant disadvantage to conducting research online: since we don’t see respondents’ body language or hear their voices, the thinking goes, we get less out of online research than research conducted face-to-face.

Our experience has shown this is not the case.  And a recent article in Quirk’s Marketing Research Review agrees.  In a panel discussion with researchers who have done a great deal of work both online and in-person, the researchers agree that respondents not only express emotions online, they’ll sometimes express themselves more freely online than in person.

Online research participants express emotion by using capital letters, quotation marks, and emoticons, as well as formatting such as underline, italics, larger type and changing the color of the text.  In addition, respondents will frequently take more time and answer at greater length to ensure they are fully conveying the meaning they wish to express.

In online discussion board focus groups, the discussion is asynchronous, that is, respondents aren’t necessarily reading each other’s comments in real time, but rather log in at their convenience a few times a day over the course of several days.  As a result, respondents can take their time to express themselves more fully.  Also, since participants are anonymous and in the psychological safety of their own home or office, they’re less likely to be swayed by others’ opinions and more likely to provide their honest thoughts and feelings.  This advantage is even more important when discussing sensitive topics.  The anonymity affords far greater openness than could ever be obtained in person.

For those who are hesitant to try online research, we recommend starting by using a combination of methods.  Online discussion board focus groups provide input equivalent to two or three in-person focus groups.  Instead of conducting groups in three cities, consider doing focus groups in two locations plus an online discussion board focus group (which, of course, can be comprised of people from all over).  Call Bureau West at (818) 752-7210 and we’ll work with you to design the optimal research methodology for your needs.

Sources: Bureau West research; “Is the Emotion Missing?” Quirks Marketing Research Review, January, 2007