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Keeping the customer satisfied

American consumers are most satisfied with banks, supermarkets and long distance phone companies. Upscale department stores landed in the customer-satisfaction basement, below even car repair shops, a perennial consumer bugaboo.

An OmniTel study by Bruskin/Goldring, Edison, N.J., asked 1,000 adults to rate quality of service they received. Besides the firms already mentioned, the survey included insurance companies, hospitals, discount stores, supermarkets, fast-food restaurants and car repair outfits. Banks received the highest percentage of customer satisfaction (59%). The department stores came in at 19%. Six of the industries fell below 50%, showing that most industries have considerable room for improving consumer satisfaction.

More Americans hitting the dusty trail

More Americans are spending their free time hiking and backpacking, according to a recent study by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA) of North Palm Beach, Fla. The results are drawn from a syndicated tracking study conducted among 15,000 households by American Sports Data Inc.

The results of the study indicate that the number of frequent hikers and backpackers (those who participated at least 25 times a year) has risen by 25.2% since 1990, from about 1.6 million to nearly 2 million. This represents an increase in the number of diehard hiker/backpackers, since the number of overall participants has remained constant.
 
The availability of more trails - urban, suburban and rural - and increased interest in walking has contrib-uted to the sport's surge in popularity. Hiking is also a fairly inexpensive activity and requires few specialized skills.

A demographic breakdown of the study reveals that:

  • More women are participating, with a 66% increase in the past two years.
  • Residents of the South and West are the most enthusiastic participants. The two regions combined accounted for a 36.9% increase in frequent participation, from 1 million participants in 1990 to 1.4 million today.
  • Participation by residents of big cities (population of more than 500,000) grew by 61.1%, from 715,000 in 1990 to 1.15 million last year.
  • The 18- to 24-year-old and 45- to 54-year-old age groups saw a drop in the number of frequent participants.

American women still like to 'shop 'til they drop'

Despite a sluggish economy, 70% of American women still love to shop, and they often do so for emotional reasons. While 20% practiced a form of "shopping therapy" when feeling down, most (65%) found that feeling good and a desire to celebrate is what propelled them into stores, according to EDK Forecast newsletter of EDK Associates, New York. But members of the "shopping therapy" group were also most likely to be brand loyal, and impulse shoppers. This group was also most likely to use a credit card for shopping, even when experiencing tight cash flow. Women without partners were most likely to be emotional shoppers. Those least likely to enjoy shopping were women aged 40 to 59, and industrial and blue-collar workers.

Teens want honesty and originality in their ads

If you want the reach the 12- to 19-year-old age group, make sure your advertising is honest and "different, creative." So say 2,107 demographically selected respondents from that group, according to a new study by Teenage Research Unlimited, Northbrook, Ill. These top two rules received 68% and 54% endorsement, respectively. Next on the list, respondents also looked for ads that are clear (42%), don't talk down to teens (42%) and are humorous (38%). A third of the respondents want advertisers to use "up-to-date phrases or slang," and a quarter recommend using "great" music, although they don't want advertisers to change the words to an original song.

Teens often equate creativity with humor - the two combined rate nearly as important as honesty. Girls were more likely than boys to say that sex shouldn' t be used in ads (41% vs. 23%).

The study projects that today's 27.1 million teens will have spent $93 billion on products and services for themselves and their families in 1992. Males and females spend about the same amounts of money in total, but males, who are more likely to be employed, spend more of their own money ($43 a week vs. $34), while females, who usually do more family shopping, spend slightly more family money than males ($28 a week vs. $26). Older teens spend quite a bit more than their younger counterparts. Eighteen- and 19-year-olds spend $101 each week, compared with $69 for 16- to 17-year-olds, and $37 for 12- to 15-year-olds. More than 70% of adolescents have a savings account and nearly 20% have checking accounts.

There's gold in that thar feminist market

Marketers who stereotype feminists do so at their peril: the feminist market is neither small, nor poor, nor careless aboutpersonal appearance. A telephone poll of 500 women conducted by EDK Associates, New York, found that over a third of all respondents considered themselves feminists. In the Northeast, Mountain and Pacific regions, that figure rose to 40%; it dipped to 28% in the South. Managerial and professional women were particularly likely to say they were feminists, at 44%.

But contrary to popular perception, feminists were more, not less, likely to care about their appearance: 63% of feminists wore makeup daily, compared with 57% of non-feminists; 72% (compared with 65% of non-feminists) manicured their fingernails, and the same percentage liked to shop. Moreover, feminists spent nearly $4 more per dress and own more shoes than non-feminists. Feminists also were more likely to try new things, including new products and new stores.

Consumers ready for a taste of the new

Moskowitz Jacobs Inc., Valhalla, N.Y., reports that it has discovered four key patterns from its 10-year research on the sensory preferences of consumers in various packaged-good categories.

  • Clear likes and dislikes exist for the sensory characteristics of products (foods, health and beauty aids).
  • Significant inter-individual differences appear from study to study. People differ from each other in their likes and dislikes.
  • Defined clusters of consumers have specific identifiable sensory prefer-ences. These are the "sensory preference segments." Sensory segmentation pervades all products.
  • Sensory preference segments transcend conventional brand usage patterns, demographics and national boundaries. A common set of sensory preferences exists worldwide; what varies is the relative size of each segment within a single country.

Research conducted between 1982 and 1990 has shown that sensory preference segmentation remained fairly consistent. There were three major and several minor groups of consumers with these clearly defined preference patterns:

  • high impact group (likes bright colors, strong flavors);
  • modest impact group (indifferent to colors, likes moderate flavors and complex textures); and
  • low impact group (indifferent to colors, wants weaker flavors and simple textures).

Recent research is revealing a new pattern, shaping up as follows:

  • Segmentation has become more complex. It used to be possible to classify consumers into three to five segments.'Researchers think many more segments exist now than before.
  • There are no longer clearly defined "high," "medium," and "low" impact groups, even within the flavor category.
  • Texture as a segmenting variable for sensory preferences seems to have lost much of its clout. Consumers who before had clear texture preferences now like many different textures.

The reasons for these changes are threefold:

  • Consumers are becoming more adventuresome in the products they will accept (for example, as a result of advertising).
  • There are many more products avail-able for consumers to try. Consumers are finding that they like many new products that present new flavors and textures.
  • Brand loyalty is eroding, and with it an expectation that the product "must have a certain taste or texture." Brand loyalty brought with it expectations about the sensory "rightness" of a product. That sense of "rightness" created the heart of the consumer's sensory preference. Now there is no more "right."

Home shopping grows

More Americans are watching TV, then dialing and buying. A recent Bruskin/Goldring OmniTel survey of 1,000 adults showed that 14% of respondents said they had bought something from one of the two major cable merchandising channels. Purchasers were evenly divided between QVC and Home Shopping Network at 8% a piece; two percent have used both.

Those most likely to buy from TV vary according to the network. QVC shoppers tend to be slightly older than Home Shopping Network buyers, with 77% of QVC patrons 35 or over, compared with 63% for Home Shopping Network. Conversely, 37% of Home Shopping Network buyers were in the 18- to 34-year-old range, vs. 23% for QVC. Respondents earning more than $40,000 were more likely than any other income group to buy from Home Shop-ping Network (10%). More residents of the Northeast and South shopped from home.

Optical scanners eye prices accurately

The Illinois Department of Agriculture, Springfield, Ill., reports that retail optical scanners entered accurate prices more than 95% of the time. The scanners are used at check-out counters in many stores to read into cash registers identifying information from bar codes about product price, type and brand.

When an error occurs, it's usually because incorrect pricing information was programmed into the store computer, not because the scanner misread the information. Department inspectors randomly select at least 10 items at Illinois stores equipped with scanning devices and compare the advertised price for each item with the price that scanners enter into cash registers. Items on sale often are used in the tests to determine whether sale prices are reflected at the register. During recent inspections of 50 stores, 995 items were scanned for price testing. Inspectors determined that stores overcharged for 34 of the items and undercharged for 11. Overall, 4.5% of scanned prices were incorrect.

Inspectors test about 80,000 weighing and measuring devices and indicators ayear, including commercial scales, octane and liquid measurement readings of motor fuel pumps, and net quantities listed on prepackaged goods in grocery stores.

Shoppers want convenience and savings

A new study shows that more than hot specials are required to appeal to today's shoppers, who are trying to save time as well as money. The Philadelphia-based Consumer Network Inc. asked shoppers across the country to send in and comment on ads and circulars they thought were especially good or bad. The firm conducted similar studies in 1988 and 1990; it finds that in 1993 shoppers are more interested in ads that actually help them shop: ads that are organized like the stores and include pictures that help them locate new and repackaged products on the shelf.

The study, called "New Perceptions of Supermarket Advertising," also found that:

  • Store brands are welcomed in the store, but irritate shoppers when they are advertised, unless they are special features or part of a special promotion or program. The irritation is based on two assumptions: that shoppers don't need ads to tell them that store brands cost less; and that store brands are supposed to cost less than advertised products because they are not advertised.
  • Pictures of store managers - especially when they are white and male - irritate some shoppers because they suggest sexism and/or racism.
  • Spacious image ads that once delighted everyone now irritate environmentally concerned shoppers, who feel that full-page newspaper ads should not be used in a way that flaunts the wasteful use of resources like paper The 127-page study is based on feed-back and submissions from more than 5000 shoppers. It includes shopper-annotated photocopies of 106 "good" and "bad" supermarket ads nationwide, and 20 slides of the best and worst ads they critiqued.

Readers turn to local news first

Forget the funny pages - newspaper readers want to know what's happening at home first. According to an OmniTel study by Bruskin/Goldring, Edison, N.J., more than a quarter of the 1,000 adults surveyed said they read local news first. National and world news followed, at 21%, and sports took third place, at 13%. If women are excluded, however, sports ranks No. 1 (25%) and is especially popular with men aged 18 to 24 (28%). In contrast, only 2% of women turn to the sports pages first.

Entertainment sections (which include comics, horoscope, and movie and TV listings) received equal shares of men and women (8%), but this section's fans vary significantly by age. Younger readers (18 to 24) are much more likely to scramble for this section, compared with respondents aged 50-plus (24% vs. 3%, respectively). Slightly more men (10%) than women (7%) turned to business news first; women, on the other hand, beat out men by a five-to-one ratio in the search for coupons and inserts.

Enterprise-wide computing still growing

By 1998, 92% of large companies will have complete enterprise-wide networks linking all company departments, according to initial results from a survey on enterprise-wide computing. The study was conducted by IntelliQuest Inc., Austin, Texas, and sponsored by CMP Publications of Manhasset, N.Y. The results confirm that enterprise-wide computing has become the growth market of the '90s, according to John Griffin, CMP's director of strategic marketing.

The study also found that:

  • 53% of all PCs in large firms are connected to a network, compared with only 20% five years ago.
  • The average company expects the number of file servers in use to more than double in the next five years.
  • The number of gateways installed is expected to triple during the same period.
  • Nearly half of all respondents mentioned "business survival" as a reason why they installed their enterprise-wide network.
  • Electronic mail is the top application driving enterprise-wide networks.

The study also examined the role that enterprise-wide networks will play in computer-related purchase decisions - for example, 51 % of all software purchases in the last 12 months were affected by network considerations. The study additionally highlights the increasing role that network professionals will play in computer purchase decisions. Respondents predict that network managers will have the highest degree of influence overpurchase decisions in the coming years, says Kelly Sims, IntelliQuest networking specialist.

The study is based on disk-by-mail interviews sent to 344 randomly selected company sites with more than 1,000 employees. In total, 63% of the sites surveyed responded to the survey. IntelliQuest completed multiple interviews per site to segment individuals by role, i.e. if they were involved in the design, purchase, installation and maintenance of enterprise-wide systems. Interviews were also conducted by fax with senior managers to obtain qualitative information about the needs driving investments in enterprise-wide networks.

Prescription drug ads slip past consumers

Well over half (59%) of adults in a recent nationwide survey were unaware of prescription drug advertisements, according to Attitude Measurement Corp., Southampton, Pa. The study found that about 40% of the nearly 11,000 adults surveyed did notice prescription drug ads. Of that group, the most common sources were network TV (58%), magazines (52%) and cable TV (28%). Regardless of their awareness level, about half the respondents felt that such advertising was positive, compared with 27% who deemed it negative, and 22% who were neutral or unsure. The favorable reaction stemmed mainly from the feeling that such advertising increased awareness and knowledge. Those against prescription drug advertising felt it could be misleading or encourage a desire for unneeded medication. This group also felt it was the responsibility of the physician - not the advertiser - to supply information about such drugs.

Spreading the news

The spirit of evangelism - proselytizing - is vigorously alive in the United States. Forty-six percent of American adults, or 115 million people, believe they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs with others, according to a Barna Research Group survey. Of this group of evangelizers, however, a disproportionate number are conservative Christians, many of whom fall outside the classic mainstream Protestant camp. But many pastors express doubt about their flocks' evangelistic competence.
 
The biggest difference fell squarely along religious lines, with 57% of Protestants wanting to share their beliefs - including a whopping 71% of "born again" believers - while only 31% of Catholics feel similarly. Regular churchgoers also felt more responsibility. Educated and wealthy Americans were not only least likely to evangelize but probably unlikely to be evangelized. On the other hand, 54% of Americans earning less than $20,000 annually or who had no college experience felt a strong sense of evangelical responsibility.

Black Americans were the most enthusiastic, at 62%, with whites at 44% and Hispanics at 32%. The proselytizing fervor was highest in the South, where 56% of residents felt they should evangelize, and weakest in the Northeast, at 38%.

Data for the survey were drawn from the semiannual OmniPoll, conducted in February 1993 by Barna Research Group, Ltd., Glendale, Calif.

Best to you each morning (and afternoon and evening)

Most Americans eat breakfast, but definitions of breakfast, and breakfast time, stretch well past eggs and bacon at 7:30 sharp. The Sampler reports that a recent survey by Response Analysis, Princeton, N.J., found that 90% of us ate breakfast, but many of us "extend" our breakfast hours well into work. Almost three-quarters of working people eat at home, 17% eat or drink something on the way to work, and 68% (including some who have already eaten at home or in transit) have something after getting to work. The survey focused on food consumption during the first part of the respondent's day, regardless of whether the respondent started the day in the morning, afternoon or evening.

Four items (fruit juice, bread products, cold cereal and a hot drink) were especially popular, consumed by 20% of the 1,003 respondents. Coffee was by far the most popular hot drink. Almost 60% felt they ate a good breakfast, although some admitted that potato chips and candy bars constituted their breakfast.

Drug dosage instructions perplex many

Most Americans misinterpret instructions on drug dosage. Even seemingly clear instructions like taking medication "on an empty stomach" or "every eight hours" can cause confusion. A survey of almost 1,100 adults by Attitude Measurement Corp., Southampton, Pa., found that 75% of respondents thought taking medication on an empty stomach meant taking it after meals, while about 10% thought it meant taking it just before or during meals. The phrase "every eight hours" was prone to even more misinterpretation: Two-thirds thought it meant taking their medication three times a day, and almost 30% thought it meant taking medication twice a day. Attitude Measurement Corp. also found that a quarter of the respondents felt their primary care doctor wasn't telling them everything they need to know about their prescription drugs, especially possible side effects, although they overwhelmingly believed (76%) that witholding information was not intentional. These findings suggest that consumers still need to be proactive in pursuing medical information.

Men preen, too

Grooming products formerly associated with women are gaining ground in men's bathroom shelves as well. A recent survey by New York-based Market Facts Inc. conducted for GQ magazine, found that more men are using products like mousse, fragrance and facial moisturizer, and spend an average of 40 minutes daily on personal grooming. The overwhelming motivation (89%) was personal appearance, and 70% think people consider them good-looking.

Almost 80% used hair conditioner, 55% used facial moisturizer, 45% used hair spray, 31% used astringent, 27% used mousse, 20% used body scrub, 19% used a facial mask, and 12% used anti-aging cream. Almost two-thirds used fragrance regularly; 88% bought after trying a sample, 51% after trying a scent strip in a magazine. Nearly 68% said they borrowed or bought grooming products advertised for women. However, 75% said they would not use a hair-replenishing potion if it took five years off their life.

The survey of 1,000 men also found very specific buying patterns. Respondents bought toothpaste, deodorant, mouth wash, pain relievers and shampoo most often in a supermarket; fragrance, facial moisturizers and cleansers, lotion, astringent and anti-aging/eye cream most often in a department store; vitamins and minerals, sun protection, and hairspray most often in a drugstore; and hair gel, mousse and facial masks most often in a salon.

In other findings, the survey reported that:

  • 67% paid more attention to their diet than five years ago; 87% said they exercised mainly to improve health.
  • Irritation from shaving was the major skin care problem among 37% of respondents, with nearly the same percentage concerned about avoiding wrinkles.
  • 70% used condoms; of that group, 59% used them to protect against sexually transmitted diseases, 51% for birth control, and 14% because their partner insisted. In a related finding, more than two-thirds said they have changed their sexual behavior because of sexually transmitted diseases, with about the same percentage reporting an active sex life.
  • More than half felt that "flirting or sexual joking in the workplace" was not acceptable; 41% said they were careful about their work behavior because of sexual harassment.
  • Vanity is not an exclusively female domain: 82% reported checking their appearance in a mirror at least three times during the day.