¶ … Market Research Impacts Relationship Marketing
How Market Research Impacts Management of Customer Expectations wide variety of market research techniques and approaches are used in companies for first discovering unmet customer needs, then defining product, pricing, distribution and services strategies for their fulfillment. Discovering unmet needs and their expectations of fulfillment are what differentiate successful new service and product development strategies. When market research techniques are used to capture customers' unmet needs and their expectations, respondents tend to overstate the negative aspects of how their needs have been unfilled or partially met (Yu, 2005).
This dynamic of measuring customer expectations is particularly relevant to Microsoft and their efforts to retain their Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, and other personal productivity applications. With the growth of open source applications that are either free for download (as Google StarOffice) or purchasable for a fraction of the cost of Microsoft Office, Microsoft has a major challenge on their hands of researching customer expectations. The use of usability testing labs and the role of Microsoft Research looking to completely re-define the software user experience are examples of how customer expectation research impacts product strategy (Turner & Krizek, 2006). Microsoft's future development plans for ensuring a high level of usability of their applications also includes putting the familiar Microsoft Office applications interface onto the more complex Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM). These are all strategies Microsoft has undertaken based on their research of customers' expectations to bring their previously more difficult-to-use applications more in alignment with what customers' expectations dictate. For Microsoft, the managing of expectations from purely a usability and functionality standpoint can mean the difference of holding onto their long-standing customers or not. Research expectations are essential for Microsoft to continually bring value to their loyal customer base. Without this research Microsoft would not be able to align their product strategies to the evolving needs and expectations of their customers.
References
Yu, L (2005). The Great Expectations Effect. MIT Sloan Management Review, 47(1), 5. Retrieved March 12, 2008, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 924480251).
Turner, P & Krizek, R. (2006). A Meaning-Centered Approach to Customer Satisfaction. Management Communication Quarterly: McQ, 20(2), 115-147. Retrieved March 11, 2008, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 1148834491).
