QUALITY SURVEYS OF AMERICA provides market research and meaningful analysis for major automotive corporations.  The company was founded in 1987 by Carol Suhr. 

QUALITY SURVEYS OF AMERICA is a unique market research company because Carol Suhr, owner and president, is involved in every step of the research process including concept development, survey design, data collection and analysis.

PROJECT AND CAPABILITIES PROFILE

Carol Suhr’s research experience spans thirty years and includes a wide range of methodologies upon which she draws in designing and conducting marketing and evaluation studies.  The combination of market research expertise, academic research experience, and “hands-on” approach to processing and presenting data make Carol distinctive in the research and evaluation business. 

Market Research Expertise

During her research career, Carol has worked for top industrial and service companies, government agencies, and non-profit organizations.

·         Methodologies have included mail surveys, telephone surveys, focus group and personal interviews, diary studies, product tests, mall intercepts, and secondary data analysis.

·         For most projects, Carol has been actively involved in every aspect of the research from designing the study to presenting the results.

·      One concentration has been research that tracks market share, product usage, consumer attitudes, and customer satisfaction.  Markets have included automotive parts and service, gasoline, motor oil, and car/truck sales.

·         Another focus has been on program evaluation including intensive reviews of informal education programs for young women, assistance for blind and handicapped persons, and professional association services.

·    Carol has a thorough knowledge of sampling and statistical techniques and is an expert in data processing.

·         Quality Surveys of America’s ongoing clients are American Honda, Hyundai Motor America, Nissan North America, Volvo Cars of Canada and Volvo Cars of North America.  Volvo and Honda have been clients since 1987. 

·        Previous clients have included American Chemical Society, American Leisure Industries, American Psychological Association, Army Times, DOE, Eagle Publishing, EPA, General Motors, Metropolitan Museum of Art and others.  Employers have been The NPD Group, Girl Scouts of the USA, American Foundation for the Blind, Columbia University and Cornell University.

Automotive industry projects  

à         Trend studies of vehicle owners enable automotive companies to develop programs to meet customer needs and increase market share.   Surveys are mailed to stratified quota samples of 240,000 U.S. and Canadian households, representative of more than 10 million vehicle owners.  These projects are ongoing and have been conducted since 1987.

à         Monthly, inventory data is collected from 1,200 parts managers.  Reports prepared for dealers and corporate managers enable them to track key stock management figures and pinpoint areas that could be managed more efficiently.

à         Bi-annual analysis of dealer repair orders determines over/under billing, shop efficiency, hours/dollars per customer and distribution of jobs.  This study, which began in 1990, provides input for corporate forecasts of parts sales and service hours and for dealer business analysis.

à         A model to forecast available automotive service hours within any defined geographic area was developed.  The model is updated annually and provided to field staff for use with car dealers and corporate managers in the dealer franchising department.

à         Corporate training events for new model introductions are evaluated using on-site surveys and in-store mystery shoppers.  The on-site survey enables trainers to immediately modify the training to be more effective.  The mystery shopping analysis uncovers strengths and weaknesses that are addressed in follow up training.

à         New model launches are evaluated using a mail survey to dealership general sales managers.  Results are used to improve future new model launches.

à         A dealer level marketing strategy research consisting of 40,000 customer satisfaction surveys, 3,000 employee surveys, and competitive pricing analyses enabled 200 car dealers to create effective service marketing plans.

à         Improvements and innovations were identified through surveying new car owners about their usage of rear seat entertainment systems.

à       Weekly data collection and analysis of showroom traffic and sales projections assisted car company executives in forecasting new car sales and designing promotions.

à       Attendees at sixty new car introduction events were surveyed to evaluate the affair so that future events could be improved.  Information was also collected for use in advertising the new car model.

à         Pilot test of a coupon promotion determined effectiveness of different promotions on bringing in new customers and increasing loyalty.

Academic Research Background

As an employee of Columbia University, Carol researched social behavior for the College of Physicians and Surgeons.  One project she analyzed was a longitudinal study of mental health, funded by the National Institutes of Health, using personal interviews.  Carol performed multivariate analyses and co-wrote a paper for presentation to the college faculty.

Carol holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University.  In her final two years as a student, she concentrated on graduate research and statistics courses in social psychology and consumer behavior, doing statistical analysis under grants from the U.S. government. 

Carol was active in the American Association for Public Opinion Research, an organization whose purpose is to explore research methodology and promote quality in public opinion research.  She presented a paper on screening for rare populations and the importance of question wording at their national meeting.   A methodological paper was presented to the Automotive Advertising Council on bias in market research.