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Winter 2005
Message from the PresidentIt's an honor and a privilege to follow John Gorman in the writing of this column. I have a tough act to follow.
First, the fact that a result varies with wording is actually a strength of research, not a weakness. By comparing the different reactions to different words, the researcher can gain an understanding of what respondents really think.
What makes great customer service? It’s a question we at ODC ask in two perspectives—both in how we deal with our clients and how our clients deal with their customers. The answer, of course, is complex. However, I’ve noticed some characteristics that every successful company has in common. Here is a sampling of some of them:
- They listen to their customers. Companies can’t provide great customer service if they don’t listen to what customers are saying.
- They care. Companies that genuinely care about what they are doing run circles around companies that do not. Think about when you travel—hotels and airlines that have caring staff can get away with a whole lot more mistakes than ones that do not.
- They change. If there is a better way to do something, they do it. They have processes in place that allow this adaptation to occur, and they have a corporate culture that supports this.
- They listen to their employees, and they keep their employees engaged. Employees often have the pulse of the customer measured, but they do not always get the chance to convey this information to decision makers.
- They learn from their mistakes. Every company makes mistakes, but some make the same ones over and over again—this is a recipe for disaster.
In my new role as President of ODC, I consider it my job to ensure ODC heeds these key tenets of great customer service. And, we look forward to helping your company do the same.
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President Bush and the Partisan Divide If there has been one thing George W. Bush has been able to count on since becoming president,
it is that Republicans are united behind him. Results to our recent national polls indicate this may
be changing, opening the door to a new range of political possibilities in America. President Bush’s
job approval rating has ranged from a healthy 63% in April 2001, to a stratospheric 88% in the
aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, to an average of approximately 50% over the last year, where it
appeared to have bottomed out. Throughout the ups and downs of his presidency, approximately
9-in-10 Republicans have consistently approved of his job performance. Until recently. The early November Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll found George Bush’s job approval at a new low,
driven down largely by an erosion of support among Republicans. The early November poll found the
president’s job rating at 36%, with his rating from Republicans down 12 points since September. As of
early November 10% of Democrats, 26% of Independents and 72% of Republicans approved of the job
Bush was doing as president.
A range of outcomes could flow from an erosion of Republican support for Bush. The most obvious
being electoral losses for Republican politicians whose base may come to lack the unified sense of
purpose and energy that has served them so well in recent elections. It was in no small part fervent
party unity that helped Bush edge John Kerry last year—according to exit polls, 93% of Republicans
voted for Bush while 89% of Democrats voted for Kerry.
Another potential outcome could be a dismantling of the partisan divide that has polarized America
during Bush’s presidency. Since the 2000 presidential election, many of the most significant issues
facing America have been viewed through a partisan lens. One of the most obvious character-istics of
this partisan divide is that Republicans have tended to be more optimistic about issues that reflect
upon the president’s job performance. This dynamic is clearly
evident in opinions toward many of the biggest issues facing the
country, starting with the war in Iraq and the U.S. economy.
As of our early September poll, Republicans were much more
optimistic about the future of Iraq than Democrats—56% of
Republicans thought the situation there would turn out well for
the United States, compared to 15% of Democrats. In the same
poll we found that 68% of Republicans thought things were going
as well as could be expected for U.S. troops in Iraq, compared to
21% of Democrats who thought the same.
Our early September poll also found a similar dynamic in
evaluations of the U.S. economy. Democrats were twice as likely
to be pessimistic (63%) about the economy as they were to be
optimistic (30%), while Republicans were more likely to say they
were optimistic (61%) than pessimistic (31%). Republicans and Democrats also disagree on issues that do not
directly reflect upon the president’s job performance. The hot
button social issues of abortion
rights and gay marriage are good
examples. The last time we polled
on abortion was in April, when we
found Democrats considering
themselves pro-choice by a 2-to-1
margin (53% to 22%), and
Republicans considering themselves
pro-life by about the same margin
(55% to 27%). In March of 2004 we
polled on gay marriage and found
fully 70% of Republicans supported
amending the U.S. Constitution to
define marriage as being between a
man and a woman, while just 38%
of Democrats supported this idea.
Of course, President Bush’s degree
of responsibility for the partisan
divide is highly debatable; Democrats
and Republicans disagreed long
before George W. Bush became
president, especially on enduring social issues like abortion and
gay rights. At the same time, President Bush has inarguably
become a divisive figure in contemporary American politics. If
fewer voters are taking cues from him, perhaps arbitrary partisan
divisions will be lesser guideposts and we will have an opportunity
to bring a greater range of perspectives to some of the major
issues facing our country. It’s worth noting that both Democrats and Republicans are likely
to appreciate a dismantling of the partisan divide in America—our
late September poll found that over two-thirds of Democrats (77%)
and Republicans (80%) are fed up with partisan bickering in
Washington D.C. Other research, however, suggests that a partisan
divide reaches well beyond Washington D.C. and dismantling it
may not be a job that begins or ends with politicians.In fact, a
Fox News/ODC poll from February 2001 suggests this divide reaches
right into our bedrooms—79% of voters told us they were married
to a spouse of the same political party. And even here we found
greater party unity among Republicans (90%) than Democrats (76%).
by: Chris Anderson
Growth at ODC
In order to provide the leadership and management strength that ODC will need to grow in the years ahead, several changes are taking place in ODC management.
Company founder John Gorman will continue to lead the company as chairman and CEO.
Brad Kates, who has done an outstanding job as a vice president and head of the energy group within ODC, is promoted to president. Brad will be responsible for many of the day-to-day operations of the company including developing strategies for growth.
Tom Medlin will be treasurer and CFO of the company and be responsible for financial management.
Ernie Paicopolos will continue as clerk of the corporation.
In recognition of his solid sales and client service performance, Larry Shiman is promoted to vice president.
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Member Benefits: Why You
Should Join An Association At Opinion Dynamics, we work with associations servicing a range
of industries, individuals, and organizations. While each association
faces a unique set of issues, there exist challenges that are
consistent across industries. These include: Understanding Motivations for Maintaining Membership Maintaining the financial health of a membership organization
requires an understanding of what motivates members to stay
with an organization. This often depends on whether the
association primarily serves individuals or organizations.
Primary motivations for joining individual member-driven
associations typically include the following: Associations whose members are largely organizations, rather
than individuals, tend to focus on other member benefits: Diversifying from one signature event Some associations are best known for a single core competency,
such as an annual conference, or industry publication. In these
cases, the identity of the association becomes inseparable from its
core competency. Members are often unaware of the multifaceted
nature of the organization. Even more troubling, changes in the
circumstances surrounding the association’s core competency
(i.e., a competing conference emerges) may lead members or
potential members to begin questioning the utility of membership.
Some associations have successfully battled this issue by changing
their marketing approach and even developing a new brand name
to differentiate the association from its more famous event. Other
associations have initiated member communication campaigns or
used word-of-mouth among boards and executive leadership to
highlight the other services offered. Awareness of benefits It is common for association executives to overestimate member
awareness of association services, benefits and activities; members
often ignore the communications that provide information on
the services and benefits. We have found that there is tremendous
value in communicating with members using more than one medium—
for example, utilizing direct mail, e-mail and personal phone calls.
Utilizing multiple communication methiods can lead to an increase
in member participation and the overall sense of association value.
As noted above, each association also faces unique challenges.
Primary research allows associations to better understand their
members’ needs and concerns, and understand the attitudes of a
broader population, which allows associations to remove much of
the guesswork from their strategic planning, and confidently
implement initiatives to achieve their goals.
For more information, please contact Larry Shiman at 617-301-4650.
by: Larry Shiman
ODC’s California office is up and running, led by Sharyn Barata. The new phone number is 949-367-4580.
Riley Newbert has joined ODC as a data analyst for our energy team. Riley previously worked as an analyst at Abt Associates.
Jennifer Mitchell-Jackson will be leading a panel entitled, “Quantifying Energy Savings for Information- Based Programs” at the 16th National Energy Services Conference.
ODC President Brad Kates recently presented the 2nd Annual EEMA Awards, honoring the best in energy efficiency advertising at the AESP/NEEC Conference.
Richard Greif recently presented results of both a consumer and industry survey at the "Future of Classic Giant Screen Films" panel at the Giant Screen Theater Association conference held in Boston.
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