J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services firm founded in 1968 by James David Power III. The firm conducts surveys of customer satisfaction, product quality, and buyer behavior for industries ranging from car to marketing and advertising firms. The firm is best known for its customer satisfaction research on new-car quality and long-term dependability. Its service offerings include industry-wide syndicated studies, proprietary research, consulting, training, and automotive forecasting. It was ISO 9001 certified in 2002. The company is a business unit of the Information and Media Group of McGraw-Hill, who purchased it from James David Power III in April 2005. The firm is headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California.

History

J.D. Power began moving its employees from its former headquarters location in Agoura Hills, California to its current headquarters in the Westlake section of Thousand Oaks in the weekend after April 11, 2002.

Marketing research

J.D. Power and Associates' marketing research consists primarily of consumer surveys. The company bears the cost of developing and administering specific surveys with sample sizes of between several hundred and over 100,000. J.D. Power ratings are based on the survey responses of randomly selected and/or specifically targeted consumers. J.D. Power relies on consumer reporting for study results as well as in-house vehicle testing for opinion based reviews in Blogs.

Although publicly known for the endorsement value of its product awards, J.D. Power obtains the majority of its revenue from corporations that seek the data collected from J.D. Power surveys for internal use. Companies which have used J.D. Power surveys range from Automotive, cellphone, and computer manufacturers to Home Builders, and Utility companies. To be able to use the J.D. Power logo and to quote the survey results in advertising, companies must pay a licensing fee to J.D. Power. These advertisement licensing fees, however, form a small part of J.D. Power's revenues. In the 1990s, J.D. Power tightened its rules on awards advertising to prevent excessive use of the J.D. Power logo.

Automotive surveys

J.D. Power conducts multiple annual surveys of the automotive industry in the U.S. as well as in other countries. The Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) is a measure of problems experienced after three years of ownership, while the Initial Quality Study (IQS) is a measure of problems experienced within the first 90 days of ownership. Other surveys include the APEAL survey, reflecting consumer's attitudes towards a vehicle's attributes, dealership service surveys, and customer purchasing experience surveys. Similar versions of the Vehicle Dependability and Initial Quality Studies are performed internationally, and usually released with the country's name, followed by the same title, e.g. Taiwan Initial Quality Study.

In the United Kingdom, the J.D. Power UK Car Customer Satisfaction Index reviews all cars that have reached two years of age at the time of publication. Surveys are conducted in partnership with UK automotive publication What Car?, which publishes the survey results. The UK car survey consists of comments and ratings entirely from the members of the public who bought the cars new two years previously. Satisfaction is based on a number of different criteria, and when the many thousands of marks in each area for each car are added up to form an overall score. The list usually comprises about 130 cars and is published every year in the UK.

International research

J.D. Power research surveys are conducted using local languages in India, Japan, Taiwan, China, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, South Africa (mail intercept only), Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and France.

References

See also

• Marketing research
• Customer satisfaction research

External links

• J.D. Power and Associates Corporate Site
• J.D. Power and Associates Consumer Site