J. D. Power

J.D. Power is an American consumer research, data, and analytics firm based in Troy, Michigan. The company was founded in 1968 by James David Power III. It conducts surveys of customer satisfaction, product quality, and buyer behavior for the automotive, banking & payments, wealth and lending, telecommunications, insurance, health, travel, and utilities sectors. The firm is best known for its customer satisfaction research and benchmarking on new-car quality and long-term dependability. Its service offerings include industry-wide syndicated studies, proprietary research, consulting, training, and automotive forecasting.

J.D. Power reportedly charges hundreds of thousands of dollars to carmakers for access to its survey results, a large fee to mention their awards in advertisements, and has a service to help companies make improvements that should raise their rankings. The company claims that its business practices of consulting companies on how to improve rankings in their awards and the fees they charge for licensing their awards for promotional purposes are separate.

History

J.D. Power was founded in 1968 by James David Power III. Power had previously worked in advertising and doing customer research for the Ford Motor Company, where he felt customer satisfaction data was too often overlooked. He later joined Marplan, and then McCulloch, a chainsaw manufacturer. He left his position at McCulloch and founded J.D. Power and Associates on April 1, 1968, working at first from his kitchen table. The company incorporated on February 7, 1969. The "associates" referred to in the firm's title were his wife, who assisted him with market research, and his children, who helped stuff envelopes.

In 1973, the company first drew significant national attention when Julia P. Power, working from the results of customer surveys, discovered a design flaw in the O-rings of certain Mazda rotary engines. The report was then publicized by ''The Wall Street Journal'' and widely repeated in other outlets. In the following years, J.D. Power and Associates became particularly known for its automotive customer satisfaction rankings, while continuing to work in other areas such as food and computers. The firm created the first Dealer Attitude Study in 1976 and the U.S. Automotive Customer Satisfaction Index in 1981. J.D. Power's entry into the market of consumers surveys for personal computers, long distance providers, and cellular providers were not as successful as their automotive research.

Subaru paid J.D. Power to mention the results of their ranking in the J.D. Power Awards in 1984 and became the first company to mention their results in a television commercial, which aired during Super Bowl XVIII. According to J.D. Power, their rankings have appeared in more than 350,000 television commercials and two billion print advertisements. J.D. Power expanded its offerings to sell financial and insurance products through car dealerships in 2017.

In 2002, the company moved its headquarters from Agoura Hills, California, to Westlake Village in Ventura County. In 2005, James David Power was ready to retire and sold the firm to McGraw Hill Financial and also resigned as chairman. In September 2016, McGraw Hill (renamed S&P Global Inc. in April 2016) sold J.D. Power to XIO Group for US $1.1bn. In March 2018, Dave Habiger was named its president and CEO, succeeding Finbarr O'Neill who completed a ten-year tenure.

In 2019, J.D. Power was acquired by Chicago-based private equity firm Thoma Bravo and, as part of this acquisition, J.D. Power was merged with Autodata Solutions, a provider of data and software for the automotive industry. The combined company's headquarters moved to Troy, Michigan following the merger.

Benchmarking studies

J.D. Power conducts nearly 200 benchmarking studies annually, drawn from analysis of consumer behavior and market data, that are fully self-funded and fully independent. The firm conducts industry benchmarking studies of hundreds of leading brands in the following industries: automotive, financial services, healthcare, home, insurance, technology, media and telecom, travel and hospitality, senior living, and utilities.

The firm does not earn money on its product rankings, although using the logo and referencing results in advertising requires paying a licensing fee. Most of the firm's revenue comes from corporations that seek data for internal use.

J.D. Power research is conducted in the local languages of India, Japan, Taiwan, China, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Australia, Germany, UAE and the UK.

The company's longest-running benchmark studies are focused on the automotive industry. The Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) measures problems experienced after three years of ownership, while the Initial Quality Study (IQS) measures problems experienced within the first 90 days of ownership. Other well-known auto industry studies include the Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, which reflects consumer's attitudes towards a vehicle's attributes as well as dealership service and customer purchasing experience surveys. Similar version of the Vehicle Dependability Study and Initial Quality Studies are performed internationally and usually released with the country's name, followed by the same title, like the China Initial Quality Study.

See also

* Marketing research
* Customer satisfaction research
* Participation trophy

References

External links

J.D. Power Site

{{DEFAULTSORT:J.D. Power
Market research companies of the United States
Marketing companies established in 1968
2005 mergers and acquisitions
2016 mergers and acquisitions
Companies based in Los Angeles County, California
Companies based in Orange County, California
Companies based in Costa Mesa, California
1968 establishments in California