Visits to customers by a cross-functional team of marketers and engineers play an important role in new product development, entry into new markets, and in exploring customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The new edition of this widely used professional resource provides step-by-step instructions for making effective use of this market research technique.Using a wealth of specific examples, Edward F. McQuarrie explains how to set feasible objectives and how to select the right number of the right kind of customers to visit. One of the leading experts in the field, McQuarrie demonstrates how to construct a discussion guide and how to devise good questions, and offers practical advice on how to conduct face-to-face interviews.Extensively updated throughout, this third edition includes three new chapters as well as expanded coverage of the analysis of visit data. It also discusses which industries and product categories are most (and least) suitable to the customer visit technique. The author also covers how the customer visit technique compares to other market research techniques such as focus groups.

The Second Edition of Customer Visits offers a complete guide to all aspects of planning and executing a programme of visits to customers by individual managers and cross-functional teams. Features new to this edition include: expanded coverage of ad hoc results; more examples of good and bad procedures; expanded section on how to analyze visit data; expanded coverage of kinds of questions to be asked of customers; and better integration with other market research tools. Customer Visits offers a wealth of specific advice, and shows how customer visits can assist new product development and the improvement of customer satisfaction.

This is a book about the behaviour of customers around the world. Comprehensive in its coverage and managerial in its focus, the book dwells on the traditional issues in the field, and then extends them to emerging topics.