Wasted Opportunity - Market Research 1

I was picking up coffee this morning in the main street of our village and decided to get some cash from the ATM.

My local bank has recently installed a shiny new ATM to replace the slightly tired looking old one which had served faithfully for many years.

I stuck my card in and a few seconds later the new machine coldly dispensed a few $50 notes.

Now I hate $50 notes. They're just awkward. Shops never seem to have enough change for them; taxis wont accept them for short trips. I'd rather have a wad of $20's and $10's - far more useful day-to-day. Clearly, or perhaps just presumably, I am in the minority.

The old ATM had a really useful feature where, before dispensing the cash, it would ask me how I wanted it, and give me the option of a number of combinations of denominations. That would seem to me to be useful for both the 'big noters' who wanted piles of $50's and $100's AND those of us who wanted something smaller. Freedom to choose is the greatest gift a consumer can be given; and it should be a fundamental right.

Now here is the rub. Not once but three times over the past 18 months my bank has emailed me asking me to participate in market research about ATMs. I always try to participate in market research - I think it is great to provide feedback when asked. So I answered three different but similar online questionnaires about ATMs. In each there was a whole series of questions about how I felt about the fact that, unlike other bank's ATMs, their ATMs allowed you to choose the denomination you wanted dispensed. It was the only thing in the market research I wanted to focus on. As far as I am concerned an ATM is an ATM; at least my bank had a point of difference with theirs that really delivered a customer benefit.

Anyway, despite the fact that I was puzzled about why they had to do the same market research 3 times, I was pretty confident in each of them I had got my message across loud and clear - I love the ability to be able to choose how my currency is dispensed!

You can imagine how I felt this morning when I rocked up and found they had taken away my choice. Anger and frustration were the two primary responses - why keep asking me what I want if I am going to be ignored???!!! This is exactly how brands alienate their customers.

It is also one of the primary frustrations created by market research. We are asked but rarely listened to.

Of course, I am prepared to accept that I may have been amongst a minority. The vast majority, when asked, may have said "No, take our choice away! We don't want the hassle of the extra step in the process. Just gives us whatever currency you want to give us".

But if that were the case the bank still missed an opportunity. They could have had their cake and eaten it as well. They managed to track me down 3 times to ask me the questions in the first place. They surely could have tracked me down a 4th time and let me know things weren't going to go my way.

If I had received an email from them saying something like, 'look, we know you felt passionately about our ATMs primary point of difference, but the vast majority of people didn't give a toss about it; we are sorry, but this time around majority rules and we are going to change the software on our ATMs', a few things would have happened:

• I would have felt like they were listening
• I would feel valued
• They would have put a human face on their otherwise corporate bank
• I might have had time to ponder and prepare for the change
• I would feel like I wasn't being patronised by them

And as a result I would continue to be a brand supporter rather than a brand agitator.

It is the little things that make a lot of difference when you are trying to win the hearts and minds of consumers.