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Predicting Olympic Records

An article in the New York Times, “Which Records Get Shattered?“, analyzes the prospects for record-breaking at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Nate Silver returns to sports analysis – his old stomping ground before he started the FiveThirtyEight blog which covers election polling. Michael Phelps, 4x100m relay, Beijing 2008 Olympics John Nunn winning his [Read More]

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IT terminology applied to surveys

James Murray is principal of Seattle IT Edge, a strategic consultancy that melds the technology of IT with the business issues that drive IT solutions. When James gave me a list of things that are central for IT professionals, I thought it might be fun (and hopefully useful) to connect these terms with online surveys [Read More]

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Top holiday business activities

We asked entrepreneurs, consultants and small business owners how they were spending their time over the holiday period. The question asked about the TOP activity, so people needed to prioritize. The most popular answers were “planning next year“, and “delivering to customers“, recognizing both looking forward and (presumably) the need to complete tasks. It would [Read More]

Statistics hero Nate Silver predicts Oscar results

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Nate Silver (statistics whizkid behind FiveThirtyEight.com which did an outstanding job of predicting the results of the 2008 election) is turning his attention to matters other than politics. After all, before he became a political pundit his forte was baseball statistics. If you want to read the published predictions [Read More]

First, I thought it was near impossible to obtain good market information without a large scale, complex market study. Working with 5 Circle Research changed that. We were able to put together a comprehensive survey that provided essential information the company was looking for. It started with general questions gradually evolving to specifics in a fast pace, fun to take questionnaire. Introducing “a new way of doing things” like Revollex’ induction heating-susceptor technology can be challenging. The results provided critical data to help understand the market demand. High quality work, regard for schedule, thorough understanding of the issues are just a few aspects of an overall exceptional experience.

Robert PoltCEORevollox.com

I hired Mike to develop, execute and report on a market research project involving a potential business opportunity. I was impressed with his ability to learn the industry and subsequently develop a framework for the market research project. He was able to execute the research and collect data efficiently and effectively. Throughout the project, he kept me abreast of the progress to allow for any adjustments as needed. The quality and quantitative output of the results exceeded my expectations and provided me with more confidence in the direction of the business opportunity.

Mike ClaudioVice President Marketing and Business DevelopmentWizard InternationalSeattle

Profiting from customer satisfaction and loyalty research

Business people generally know that satisfying customers is a good thing, but they don’t necessarily understand the link between satisfaction and profits. This is partly because much of the original work was done so long ago that contradictory cases and nuances have created confusion to build up. Additionally, some companies have appeared successful for a [Read More]

Van Westendorp pricing (the Price Sensitivity Meter)

This is a follow up to classes I taught that included a short section on pricing research methodologies. I promised some more details on the Van Westendorp approach, in part because information available online may be confusing, or worse. This article is intended to be a practitioner’s guide for those conducting their own research. [Read More]

Methow Valley Ski Trails gets pricing right

The Methow Valley is a remote area in Eastern Washington State. It’s a destination recreation area year-round, and even more so in the winter when the North Cascades Highway is closed making a circular drive impossible. I’ve enjoyed skiing the trails in the Methow Valley on a number of occasions, and on a recent visit [Read More]

Dutch ovens: paying a lot more means better value

An article on Dutch ovens in the September/October 2018 of Cook’s Illustrated gives food for thought (pun intended) about the relationship of between price and value. Sometimes higher value for a buyer means paying a lot more money – good news for the seller too. Dutch ovens (also known as casseroles or cocottes) are multipurpose, [Read More]