Conversations with corporate researchers
Nancy Vogt
Vice President, Customer Experience Program Manager, Zions Bank
You’ve worked in the MR industry for 25 years. How have you seen the industry evolve?
The field of market research has undergone so many changes over the course of my career. When I started in the business 25 years ago as a project manager on the vendor side, almost all of the research projects I managed were conducted by phone. I remember monitoring our outbound calls and listening to respondents as they answered our questions. We literally heard the customer’s voice in those days. I could hear which questions seemed interesting to respondents; which ones they were eager to answer; which questions were confusing or unclear; and the point at which they started to become impatient with the length of the survey.
By the early 2000s, research had transitioned to primarily online data collection, which allowed enormous cost-savings and new capabilities, such as the ability to include images and video. Online surveys were a novelty in the early days, so response rates were higher and we were better able to keep a respondent’s interest. Online survey panels gave us the ability to target specific demographics and to craft lengthier surveys for respondents who were being compensated.
In recent years, as we’ve become ever more cognizant of survey fatigue, we’ve had to think long and hard about our priorities when designing a survey, considering each question to decide whether it is just “nice to know” or whether the response will be actionable. We’ve also had to think about how to make our surveys as interesting, fun and convenient for the respondent as possible. Surveys are shorter, more conversational and more mobile-friendly.
In the 1990s, customer satisfaction was all about monitoring customer satisfaction scores. Over time we’ve learned to tailor surveys and reporting to provide more actionable findings. We’ve become better at focusing on customer experience in its entirety. One tried-and-true methodology that I’ve used from the beginning and still find useful today is key driver analysis. I still like to use quadrant charts to help our internal stakeholders identify where to prioritize resources based on the drivers most closely linked to overall satisfaction.
How has technology played a role in how the companies you’ve worked for choose to outsource vs. insource research? How do you see this evolving in the future?
Another significant shift in the marketing research industry was the introduction of in-house survey and panel management platforms. The flexibility and cost-savings of these platforms have been significant. Prior to this new technology, market research projects were usually outsourced. Companies tended to rely on outside expertise, especially those without an in-house research staff. Over the past 10 years or so, more and more companies have acquired do-it-yourself survey platforms and use has proliferated among wider groups internally, leading to the thinking among many that no training or experience is needed to conduct survey research beyond learning how to program the survey platform. I think most companies will find that there is a middle ground, depending on the complexity of the project.
Zions First National Bank was founded in 1873. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of working at a company with a legacy as rich as Zions?
Perhaps because I’m a history buff, I’ve always been drawn to work for companies with a rich history and culture. All of my jobs in corporate research have been for companies well over 100-years-old. Zions Bank provided banking services to the first pioneers who settled in the state of Utah and has a rich collection of stories about serving Utah customers over the past 143 years. My first job as a corporate researcher was at BellSouth (now AT&T), founded as Southern Bell in 1879. I loved the company’s museum that showed how it had served customers since the beginning of telephone service.
The obvious advantage of a lengthy history is strong brand awareness. Our brand study finds that Zions Bank enjoys the highest top-of-mind brand recognition of any company in the state of Utah. Being around for a long time also helps your brand to foster a reputation of trust. Our brand study also finds that Zions Bank has earned a strong level of trust over the years among consumers in our footprint. We don’t take this lightly and strive to earn this trust every day.
On the other hand, the challenge of being a legacy brand is the tendency to be viewed by consumers as old-fashioned or out of date. Our challenge is to make sure our customers know that we continually update our systems and practices to meet their needs. Just as we are continuously updating our legacy systems to provide the best customer experience, we have also been enhancing our customer research programs to provide an ongoing measure of the customer experience.
What are some of the challenges you face when monitoring customer feedback from a variety of channels?
We have so many channels now to hear from our customers at Zions Bank, including ongoing relationship surveys; transactional surveys; unsolicited customer feedback received through our Web site and call center; our retail mystery shopping program; and social media. We often receive feedback on the same topic or issue through multiple channels. While we are monitoring and reporting on these feedback channels, it is a challenge to integrate everything into one coherent picture. One step we have taken is to combine all of the separate reports into one quarterly customer experience report. To take this a step further, we are looking at ways to bring the data across channels into one platform for integrated dashboard reporting.
What excites you about coming to work each day?
I’m excited every day about doing something I think really matters – to the bank, its clients and our community.
Zions Bank is a 143-year-old organization that is deeply rooted in tradition and heritage. At the same time, the culture of the bank is one of “conservative entrepreneurship,” which leads the organization to continually examine how it is meeting the needs of its clients and communities. In my role, I have the opportunity to not only help the bank build on its legacy of creating value, I get to help the bank shape its vision for the future as we continue to move into a new age of banking.
Additionally, I love working for an organization that is making a meaningful difference in the lives of its clients and communities. It is said that everyone wants to play for a winning team, and I take a great deal of pride in working for a winning organization.