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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 An O-ring, also known as a packing or a toric joint, is a mechanical gasket in the shape of a torus; it is a loop of elastomer with a round cross-section, designed to be seated in a groove and compressed during assembly between two or more par ...
of certain
Mazda , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in FuchÅ«, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one mi ...
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 ( or ; ) is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries), the twenty-first largest automaker by production worldwide in 2017. Subaru cars are k ...
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 Super Bowl XVIII was an American football game played on January 22, 1984, at Tampa Stadium between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XVII champion Washington Redskins and the American Football Conference ...
. 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
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, California, to
Westlake Village Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County on its western border with Ventura County. The City of Westlake Village incorporated in 1981 becoming the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks Westlake Vill ...
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 David Habiger (born February 19, 1969) is an American businessman and entrepreneur who is the president and CEO of J.D. Power. Early life and education Habiger was born in Joliet, Illinois. His father was a mechanical engineer and entrepreneur. I ...
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 Customer satisfaction research is that area of marketing research, customer intelligence, and customer analytics which focuses on customers' perceptions with their shopping or purchase experience. Companies are interested in understanding what th ...
*
Participation trophy A participation trophy is a trophy given to children (usually) who participate in any sport event or contest but do not finish in first, second or third place, and so would not normally be eligible for a trophy. It is frequently associated with mil ...


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