Apple initiates "Customer Pulse" market research focus group

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Apple has quietly begun a campaign called "Apple Customer Pulse" to gather market research from select customers through periodic surveys.



AppleInsider reader Brian reports that he received an email from Apple's Market Research department inviting him to fill out a survey on Apple products he owns. After completing the survey, he was invited to become a member of the "Apple Customer Pulse" group.



"Apple values your opinion and invites you to participate in a survey about your Apple products," the email read. "Your responses will remain completely confidential, and results will be viewed only in aggregate. The survey should take five minutes or less to complete."



According to Apple's new website for the Apple Customer Pulse panel, the program will be "an online community of Apple product users who provide input on a variety of subjects and issues concerning Apple." Participating customers will reportedly receive up to two surveys a month.







The AppleCustomerPulse.com domain is owned by MarkMonitor, a brand protection company that Apple has used in the past to manage domain names, while Apple IT manager Kenneth Eddings is listed as the admin contact. MacRumors reports that the site is currently hosted by Socratic Technologies, a San Francisco-based market research firm.







Apple has been known to regularly conduct market research, but the Pulse panel appears to be more extensive than past campaigns, which often consisted of a single survey.



Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    cwfrederickcwfrederick Posts: 171member
    i got one of those invites. after some demographic questions, the survey asked something along the lines of 'what one thing would you want to change at apple?' FWIW, my reply was:



    I love how well designed the products are (especially the aesthetics), and that I don't have to worry that I am going to be suckered by gimmicks.



    I would like to see apple be more proactive in conveying the tremendous value that the products present, without any ostentation. Yes, I believe apple products, in their beauty and synergy, do have a magical quality, but they have a very practical quality as well, in the increased quality of life that they afford. As a customer, an apple fan, and a stockholder, this is the direction I think would most benefit apple in how they portray the apple brand to the public. As an apple fan, I appreciate and share the enthusiasm of owning apple products that I see in the commercials. However, those that are new to apple need a more down to earth introduction. Thank you for considering my comments.
  • Reply 2 of 18
    suddenly newtonsuddenly newton Posts: 13,819member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cwfrederick View Post


    i got one of those invites. after some demographic questions, the survey asked something along the lines of 'what one thing would you want to change at apple?' FWIW, my reply was:



    I love how well designed the products are (especially the aesthetics), and that I don't have to worry that I am going to be suckered by gimmicks.



    I would like to see apple be more proactive in conveying the tremendous value that the products present, without any ostentation. Yes, I believe apple products, in their beauty and synergy, do have a magical quality, but they have a very practical quality as well, in the increased quality of life that they afford. As a customer, an apple fan, and a stockholder, this is the direction I think would most benefit apple in how they portray the apple brand to the public. As an apple fan, I appreciate and share the enthusiasm of owning apple products that I see in the commercials. However, those that are new to apple need a more down to earth introduction. Thank you for considering my comments.



    Nicely put.

    Awaiting my invitation... any day now...
  • Reply 3 of 18
    newbeenewbee Posts: 2,055member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post


    Nicely put.

    Awaiting my invitation... any day now...



    Perhaps your invitation ... and mine ... both got "lost in the mail" ? ... just an oversight, I'm sure.
  • Reply 4 of 18
    Looks fake to me. When I click this link "Would like to join?" and it took me to error page: http://survey.sotech.com/xxxxxx/start.asp?s=1 which it looks like this: http://cl.ly/0F2J1C0S2f2R0y3L3O47
  • Reply 5 of 18
    I got an invitation on Saturday night. I have often wondered -- as a 20 year Mac user, and purchaser of every conceivable Apple product with the exception of the mac mini -- if Apple would seek out the feedback of longtime users like myself.



    Frankly I was thrilled be asked. My feedback:

    Further simplify the syncing of contact objects, calendars and mail, across multiple devices, wireless file transfer and updates.

    Don't abandon iWeb give us a Pro version.

    Back to my mac has persistent intermittent connectivity issues.

    Make bluetooth mouse and keyboard automatic "favorites" so that when i change the battery it doesn't take 20 minutes to be recognized.

    Facetime click option from within address book.

    Add the ability to send live video to iwork.com for presentations.

    Business version of Facetime. The ichat service was neat, but I what really needed a business version.

    Apple branded powerful online database tools a'la intuit's quickbase.

    More tools for all small business -- not just creative offices.
  • Reply 6 of 18
    see flatsee flat Posts: 145member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Elastic Reason View Post


    I got an invitation on Saturday night. I have often wondered -- as a 20 year Mac user, and purchaser of every conceivable Apple product with the exception of the mac mini -- if Apple would seek out the feedback of longtime users like myself.



    Frankly I was thrilled be asked. My feedback:

    Further simplify the syncing of contact objects, calendars and mail, across multiple devices, wireless file transfer and updates.

    Don't abandon iWeb give us a Pro version.

    Back to my mac has persistent intermittent connectivity issues.

    Make bluetooth mouse and keyboard automatic "favorites" so that when i change the battery it doesn't take 20 minutes to be recognized.

    Facetime click option from within address book.

    Add the ability to send live video to iwork.com for presentations.

    Business version of Facetime. The ichat service was neat, but I what really needed a business version.

    Apple branded powerful online database tools a'la intuit's quickbase.

    More tools for all small business -- not just creative offices.



    Nice list. Too bad you did not include Matte option for iMacs.
  • Reply 7 of 18
    rhyderhyde Posts: 294member
    Now they're listening to focus groups! It's all downhill from here.
  • Reply 8 of 18
    akf2000akf2000 Posts: 223member
    Imagine Steve heading a focus group! he'd ninja star them all to death.
  • Reply 9 of 18
    pxtpxt Posts: 683member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Elastic Reason View Post


    I got an invitation on Saturday night. I have often wondered -- as a 20 year Mac user, and purchaser of every conceivable Apple product with the exception of the mac mini -- if Apple would seek out the feedback of longtime users like myself.



    Frankly I was thrilled be asked. My feedback:

    Further simplify the syncing of contact objects, calendars and mail, across multiple devices, wireless file transfer and updates.

    Don't abandon iWeb give us a Pro version.

    Back to my mac has persistent intermittent connectivity issues.

    Make bluetooth mouse and keyboard automatic "favorites" so that when i change the battery it doesn't take 20 minutes to be recognized.

    Facetime click option from within address book.

    Add the ability to send live video to iwork.com for presentations.

    Business version of Facetime. The ichat service was neat, but I what really needed a business version.

    Apple branded powerful online database tools a'la intuit's quickbase.

    More tools for all small business -- not just creative offices.



    Much better feedback than the other guy, who couldn't think of a single product-related improvement.
  • Reply 10 of 18
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    It's a phishing site. It's not Apple's at all.



    Why is this being reported?
  • Reply 11 of 18
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    It's a phishing site. It's not Apple's at all.



    Why is this being reported?



    Why do you think it is a phishing site?

    It has clearly been set up by a marketing research company hired by Apple.
  • Reply 12 of 18
    satoricalsatorical Posts: 60member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rhyde View Post


    Now they're listening to focus groups! It's all downhill from here.



    You are dead-on accurate. If Wall Street understood what really drives Apple's revenue, this news would cut the stock's value by half today.



    This, paired with the news that Apple is looking to software to drive iPhone iterations, is a really bad sign that conventional management and milking the present product lineup for value is set to reign, rather than a focus on true innovation and seeking the insanely great.



    I am no PC fanboy troller. This news just gives me the heebie-jeebies as an Apple-lover.
  • Reply 13 of 18
    ecphorizerecphorizer Posts: 533member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PXT View Post


    Much better feedback than the other guy, who couldn't think of a single product-related improvement.



    Now that's just not nice.



    The purpose of such surveys is to get a cross-section of feedback from a wide range of users. While one might concentrate on a list of future features, someone else could voice their thoughts about how to reach out to different segments of society. The "other guy" noted some good positive aspects but suggested that Apple focus on how its products can be more productive.



    That kind of feedback is just as important as a list of specific desirable features.
  • Reply 14 of 18
    silic0nsilic0n Posts: 1member
    I have to agree that this news has somewhat perturbed me. Apple tells the people what they want, and the people realise that Apple are right for the right reasons. Not the other way round. But just because they are more directly soliciting feedback, doesn't necessarily mean that they are going to blindly follow what they are told.
  • Reply 15 of 18
    kibitzerkibitzer Posts: 1,114member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post


    Nicely put.

    Awaiting my invitation... any day now...



    "I have opinions! I have opinions!" ... [Jumping in place with hand high in the air.] ... "Pick me! Pick me!"
  • Reply 16 of 18
    rtm135rtm135 Posts: 310member
    Here's my feedback:



    (1) Love your iSwag. Keep doing what you do.

    (2) Please stop outsourcing production. Jobs are needed here. Use some of that zillion dollar warchest to build manufacturing plants here.

    (3) Buy Skype. merge it with FaceTime, and get the IEEE to make the resulting product the standard for videocalling.
  • Reply 17 of 18
    quinequine Posts: 15member
    I don't trust this site. The design has weird flaws that seem uncharacteristic of apple - the logo is off, the menu bar is not the modern look.



    Also the site uses jquery (which apple doesn't seem to use much on its public sites anymore) and there are requests being made to .asp pages. Why in the world would apple set up a site using microsoft technology?



    Also, everything else apple has done that I've seen took place on apple.com, why would they suddenly use another domain.



    It all seems very suspicious.
  • Reply 18 of 18
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,309moderator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Quine View Post


    I don't trust this site. The design has weird flaws that seem uncharacteristic of apple - the logo is off, the menu bar is not the modern look.



    Also the site uses jquery (which apple doesn't seem to use much on its public sites anymore) and there are requests being made to .asp pages. Why in the world would apple set up a site using microsoft technology?



    Also, everything else apple has done that I've seen took place on apple.com, why would they suddenly use another domain.



    It all seems very suspicious.



    If you type the domain into a whois database search:



    http://whois.domaintools.com/applecustomerpulse.com



    the contact comes up as Apple's address. It's pointing at this company's servers though:



    http://www.sotech.com/main2007/eval.asp



    I'd guess either they entered false contact info or they were hired by Apple to conduct a survey. I suspect the latter as I've never seen Apple put out a survey themselves before.
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