Listen to me! Part 3

Here are excerpts from a further exchange between me and Bruce about how to measure a professional service firm's listening activities. 

Bruce: if I understand the description of qualitative research correctly, this survey is conducted in a manner that allows interaction and follow-up questions, as opposed to a typical mail-out survey that asks customers to fill out a questionnaire and return it.

Suzanne: yes, but it can also include the mail-out kind of survey; I just don't think those are as useful when one is dealing with the marketing of complex and intangible services such as architecture and engineering.

Bruce: is it possible that soliciting customer comments on our web site (then acting on those comments wherever appropriate) also constitutes listening?   

Suzanne: yes, but be careful.  First, this audience self-selects, so you don't hear from all the rest of your targeted clients.  Second, it's one way, and not as conducive to real listening.  Third, the real crux of the listening metric is that it's supposed to evolve ahead of the clients, and not be a static initiative that doesn't change for years.  Remember, the game is not to assess customer satisfaction -- it's to improve your marketing effectiveness. 

Bruce: assuming I understand listening correctly, what makes this approach any more objective and fact-based then the more traditional/conventional type of survey? 

Suzanne: this actually is a question about how to conduct qualitative analysis, as I mentioned in my "Listen to me! Part 2" post from a few days ago.

Bruce: is it the ability to interact and refine their response based on follow-up questions? 

Suzanne:  You can set it up this way, yes.