It’s no surprise that the digital age has changed the English language. People now speak, write, and type in short-hand, using text language that shortens words and phrases. Think “Later” becoming “l8r,” “I don’t know” becoming “IDK,” and “I have no idea how to decipher text language” becoming “Huh?”
IMHO (In my humble opinion), this means it’s time for market researchers to re-evaluate. With surveys conducted through Internet mediums or via direct mail, researchers are left to analyze the words on the page—without any hints from inflection, vocal cues, or facial expressions of survey respondents.

Text speak isn’t the only type of millennial language you have to worry about, btw (by the way). The constant evolution of slang presents difficulties as well.

Deciphering qualitative research is hard enough as it is, but add in this new age of Internet-speak and market researchers need to keep Urban Dictionary on stand-by just to look up all of the shorthand words they don’t understand.

Need an example?

Well, imagine you distributed a customer service survey that asked the question, “How was your customer service today?” Seems like a simple enough question, doesn’t it?

Now imagine that these were the responses you received:

“The guy who helped me was totally sick.”

“Your company just can’t really hack it.”

“Your employees were so beast.”

“The manager I talked to was kind of a drag.”

When you hear “The guy who helped me was totally sick,” it’s up to you to determine what your customer means. Perhaps your customer service representative had a really bad cold and couldn’t stop coughing.  But most likely, in this context, the phrases “totally sick” and “hack it” probably don’t have anything to do with bronchial issues. “Totally sick” is a slang phrase—think of it as the equivalent of “really awesome” or “off the hook.” Those are good things, fyi.

Maybe you’re familiar with chat-speak and slang. Or maybe you’re comfortable enough using the Internet to look up words you don’t understand. But interpreting feedback from your customers is rarely as simple as throwing words into a slang dictionary. So, leave it to the professionals.

Our research team at Prime Contact can make sense of your customers, even if they seem to be speaking Gibberish. We professionally analyze and code text to provide you with information that’s actionable and easy to understand. WSTSH (We’ll skip the short-hand.)

Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best: “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” But can a positive attitude really make a difference when selling a product or service? Well, it’s easier to sell a glass of water that’s half-full than trying to promote one that’s half-empty.

Imagine a scenario in which you’ve just discovered that a significant number of your customers are unhappy.  So unhappy, in fact, that they’re leaving you for your biggest competitor. They’re seeing someone else, and it’s not them—it’s you. But you don’t know why they’re dissatisfied, so what do you do? Probably develop a pessimistic attitude and worry that this problem is out of your control.

Until now.

Prime Contact will work with you to find out where the problems are so you can gain back your enthusiasm. For instance, by enlisting our help in conducting a focus group, we’ll show you people’s initial reactions to your products and services. By signing your company up for mystery shopping, you can hear from real customers about why they really aren’t satisfied. Whatever the results, we’ll help you look on the bright side of negative customer reactions to fix whatever it is that needs fixing.

Positive imaging has been used by psychologists for years to enhance performance. If you’re stuck not knowing where your customers are left wanting more, it’s going to be hard to stay positive—and this will impact your future performance.

So, I think we need to talk.

Prime Contact can assist you in getting your enthusiasm back. We’ll help you put on those rose-colored glasses because a little optimism goes a long way. If you’re not happy, your customers won’t be either.  Our team will show you how to keep your chin up, by putting actionable information right in front of you. We can help. I’m positive.