QuestionPro Adds Rich Features to Online Survey Service; Sophisticated data-collection and analysis tools enable more accurate market research and increased customer insight

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 27, 2005--QuestionPro, a leader in online survey hosting and delivery since 2002, announced today it has added significant functionality to its online survey service. The addition of its "Market Research Toolset" extends its existing data-collection and analytics services by introducing three new capabilities: Online Panel Management, Action Oriented Analytics and Decision Support Systems.

While online surveys have become extremely popular for profiling website visitors and deriving customer intelligence, many "basic" services offered by consumer-oriented sites offer little more than simple surveys intended for single use purposes. More advanced hosted survey tools can be prohibitively expensive for market research firms, marketers or small businesses.

“With QuestionPro's Decision Support System we are able to contact our guests and amend negative situations quickly”

Only QuestionPro blends high-end research functions with a consumer-friendly interface at an affordable price. Its latest version includes features for panel management, conjoint and TURF analysis and real-time event notification.

"All too often simple surveys leave you with more questions than answers," said Vivek Bhaskaran, founder and CEO of QuestionPro. "The features we've added in this release help researchers get better insights from their surveys and polls. As former analysts, we know what tools and features are needed to turn data into decisions."

There are three new capabilities included in QuestionPro, including: Online Panel Management, Action Oriented Analytics and Decision Support Systems.

Online Panels: QuestionPro's new toolset makes it easier than ever to create and manage panels. A panel is effectively a pool, or group, of a subset of customers/potential customers. Companies and researchers create this panel by asking panelists for demographic, geographic and other types of profile information once. Each subsequent time a panelist participates in a survey, the answers are stored as part of their profile. This enables a number of benefits:

-- Research Quality -- By recruiting and managing an online panel, a user is in control of the sample size, composition and frequency. This control increases the overall quality of the results.

-- Increased reliance on analytics rather than hypothesis -- Having an easily accessible online panel encourages companies to conduct more research and make significant business decisions on research as opposed to "gut-feel." Moreover, online panels contribute to analytical research that can be cross-linked with data from qualitative research like focus groups. This enables business decision makers to rely on data coming from both the qualitative as well as the quantitative segments.

-- Lower Cost -- Self-service software solutions to recruit, maintain and utilize panels are typically more cost effective than renting and outsourcing online panels.

Action Oriented Analytics: QuestionPro's Market Research Analytics is an extension to its existing tools to dive deep into the data collected via online surveys and polls. The Market Research Analytics includes the following tools that can give insight into data beyond basic frequency analysis -- via a point-and-click browser interface.

-- Grouping and Segmentation -- With the Segmentation tool a user can quickly create and define segments or profiles based on responses to surveys or even pre-existing data. Target groups can be segmented for comparative analysis on various attributes -- i.e. the Satisfaction Scores of Tier 1 sample customers vs. Tier 2 sample customers.

-- GAP Analysis -- The GAP analysis tool can help determine the co-relation between importance and the satisfaction for the various issues that are pertinent to a company. Absolute measures of satisfactions scores without insight into the perceived importance of the same are not likely to improve the overall customer affinity. GAP analysis can identify the "gaps" between satisfaction and importance and help prioritize future customer focus areas.

-- TURF Analysis -- Total Unduplicated Reach and Frequency (TURF) is a statistical model that enables researchers to determine the combination of product lines or distribution channels that achieve the highest level of consumer interest or market coverage. QuestionPro's TURF module includes tools for analysis and simulation and gives market researchers one-click access to the "Reach" or "Coverage" of products and services, thus eliminating duplicates. The TURF simulator tools go a step further by allowing users to simulate every combination of choices (product or service) to figure out what combination gives them the maximum reach.

-- CONJOINT Analysis -- Conjoint Analysis tools can help market researchers extract numeric values for the different attributes of a particular product in a manner that is intrinsic to the consumer. Consumers are presented with different profiles and are asked to choose and rate the different profiles. Different models are used to calculate the relative importance of the different attributes that make up a product. This data can further be used to determine market-share of products and how new product introductions may re-align the market-share.

Decision Support System: The Decision Support System allows companies conducting customer satisfaction surveys using QuestionPro to proactively monitor consumer loyalty and react to problems and concerns before they start hurting the bottom-line. Using the integrated Rules Engine, different managers of different product/service lines can be notified about satisfaction scores in real-time.

"With QuestionPro's Decision Support System we are able to contact our guests and amend negative situations quickly," said Mark Cymerman, vice president of operations for Clever Ideas, Inc., which has leveraged QuestionPro's technology services to enhance and improve customer satisfaction levels across its organization. "Our customers are impressed with our ability to expeditiously respond and show our concern regarding their feedback. It also serves as an opportunity to stop negative word-of-mouth before it starts."

About QuestionPro

QuestionPro.com offers market research software for the creation, distribution and analysis of electronic surveys. QuestionPro offers the most advanced survey design and development capabilities possible via the Internet. The integrated analytical tools make data-collection and insight a single-stop solution. Hundreds of market-leading companies have utilized QuestionPro's Web-based survey software for their market research initiatives. More information on QuestionPro is available via the Web at www.questionpro.com.