Back in late February, Edinburgh Airport was named as one of the top five airports in Europe for providing customer service and facilities. The other airports listed in the top five were Malta, Porto, Zurich and Copenhagen. Customer feedback was measured and collated from 209 airports worldwide to compile the list. Managing Director of Edinburgh Airport, Kevin Brown, said, ‘2010, with its ash, snow and other challenges, was a difficult year for the team at Edinburgh which makes this feat all the more impressive.’ (BBC, 16th February 2011) The importance of market research in helping to deliver first-class customer service cannot be underestimated. We wouldn’t know customers’ views about Edinburgh Airport if it weren’t for the market research that was carried out in those 209 airports.
For Zurich, the worldwide financial services group, market research helps it to understand what potential customers want from their insurance company. Based on a combination of primary research and secondary research it developed Zurich HelpPoint. This encompasses the different ways Zurich delivers for its customers, helping to meet their needs. The results of the …