What is J.d. Power And Associates?

J.D. Power and Associates
	Division of The McGraw-Hill Companies
Founded	Agoura Hills (1968)
Founder	James David Power III
Headquarters	Westlake Village, United States
Industry	Marketing Research
Slogan	Turning Information into Action
Website	www.jdpower.com

J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services firm founded in 1968 by James David Power III. The firm conducts independent and unbiased surveys of customer satisfaction, product quality, and buyer behavior for industries ranging from cars to restaurants. 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.^[1] It was ISO 9001 certified in 2002.^[2] The company is a business unit of the Information and Media Group of McGraw-Hill, who purchased it from James David Power III in 2005.

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.^[3] J.D. Power ratings are based on the survey responses of randomly selected and/or specifically targeted consumers. This methodology differs from the reviews by non-profit Consumer Reports, its similarly well-known rival, which produces ratings based on the testing of products against in-house standards as well as the opinions of surveyed readers. J.D. Power relies on consumer reporting and does not conduct its own in-house product testing.

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.^[1] Companies which have used J.D. Power surveys range from cellphone and computer manufacturers to real estate firms. 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.^[1] In the 1990s, J.D. Power tightened its rules on awards advertising to prevent excessive use of the J.D. Power logo.^[3]

Automotive surveys

J.D. Power conducts annual surveys of the automotive industry both in the U.S. and other countries. The Vehicle Dependability Study is a measure of problems experienced after three years of overship, while the Initial Quality Study is a measure of problems experienced in 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.

International research

J.D. Power has expanded internationally, bringing the language of customer satisfaction to consumers and businesses in India, Japan, Taiwan, China, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, South Africa, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and France. ^[4]

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.^[5] The UK car survey consists of comments and ratings entirely from the members of the public who bought the cars new two years previously, and are thus in a more meaningful position to comment on the car than anyone testing it for a few days. 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, an overall score is available.^[6] The list usually comprises about 130 cars and is published every year in the UK.

Criticism

Some critics claim that J.D. Power uses a "pay for play" business model where the highest bidder gets the award.^[7]

References

External links

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