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The Project Experience is as
Important as the Outcome

Published: 9/9/2024

Craig Zurovsky
Enterprise Sales Director, Dynata

It has happened to every market research account leader – your team works tirelessly to execute a project and delivers an error-free, visually engaging report, on time with actionable insights. Your client thanks you and conveys that their stakeholders are happy with the insights and recommendations you provided. 

Another fully satisfied client, or so you thought…until you receive your client’s C-Sat rating, only to find out they gave you an overall ‘Average’ score. 

What happened? 

After a full debrief you learned that throughout the project, communication was slow and at times lacking, the client felt like they had to drive certain decisions, such as the sampling approach where no expert consultation was offered, and some interim deadlines were missed without advanced notice.  

The lessons 

  1. The project journey can matter as much as the outcome – even if we deliver a stellar report with actionable business insights, if the experience getting there was difficult for the client, satisfaction and ‘stickiness’ can be significantly diminished.  Market research is a hyper-competitive business, and there is always another company clients can choose to partner with. 
  2. Unless it is a major issue, clients often will not share their dissatisfaction; however, it is there all the same, and may affect who they select for future projects. 
  3. When mistakes inevitably happen – every agency makes them – honest, proactive, and timely communication can save the day.   
  4. Adding value beyond what is required in the contract pays dividends in client satisfaction, their desire to work with you again, and long-term strength of the partnership. 

The opportunity 

Research clients have always valued a smooth and seamless process, but never more than they do today. Everyone is under pressure to deliver more and greater value to their organizations, all the while facing increasing demands and stress in their personal lives.

As a result, value can be created when agency partners deliver an easy and stress-free experience through effective project planning and communications. Saving clients time and energy by proactively guiding them through the project process, and offering your expertise along the way, will cement the positive experience. On the other hand, when these elements are lacking, negative perceptions can occur.  

Best practices for a great client experience 

While many of these are well established, they are often not adhered to or forgotten altogether. Following these practices will ensure a great experience for your clients and keep them coming back.  

  • Even for simple projects, always hold a kickoff call – at a minimum, it gives the client confidence the project is in capable, thoughtful hands. 
  • Lay out the full project plan end-to-end, next steps and provide a detailed schedule, even if some milestones and dates are tentative. This will uncover any misalignment or client concerns early on when we can still adjust the plan. 
  • Communicate frequently with project updates, and reminders of items the client needs provide, especially when the schedule depends on them.  
  • Maintain awareness of all commitments and deadlines. If there is any risk of not meeting them, communicate with the client as soon possible, with explanation and potential impact on the schedule.  
  • Never assume – if there is any question about a project detail – sample, intention on a survey question, data view, deadline, etc. – ask your client to confirm! 
  • It’s not a bad idea for the team lead to check in with the client mid-project to confirm there aren’t any issues or concerns you are not aware of. 
  • Take every opportunity to add value. For example, even if your client hasn’t hired you to design their questionnaire, if you have knowledge of the topic area or research methodology, investing an hour to review the survey and offer your feedback can make a big impact.  
  • Plan and iterate reports with your clients.  Share drafts to illustrate how you visualize data, write headlines, the narrative style, etc. to ensure the final report aligns with their needs and minimizes the work they must do before sharing with their stakeholders. Ideally, plan a collaborative workshop to move from draft to final narrative and report. 
  • Follow-up to debrief so you know exactly what the client thought of the experience and outcome and identify any opportunities for improvement. Your interest in this feedback can make a big impact.  
  • Invest in continuous improvement and long-term partnerships – hold monthly team calls with key clients, develop and follow client-specific SOPs, log issues/mistakes and share status and remediation steps transparently with clients, and be open to receiving and acting on client feedback.