J.D. Power

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J.D. Power
FormerlyJ.D. Power and Associates
Company typePrivate
IndustryMarket Research
FoundedLos Angeles, California (1968)
FounderJ.D. Power III
Headquarters
Troy, Michigan
,
United States
Key people
Dave Habiger, President and CEO
OwnerThoma Bravo
Number of employees
833
Websitejdpower.com/business

J.D. Power is an American consumer research, data, and analytics firm based in Troy, Michigan.[1][2][3][4][5] The company was founded in 1968 by James David Power III.[6][7] 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.[8]

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.[9] 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.[10]

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.[11][12][13]

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.[11][12] 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.[8]

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.[13][10] J.D. Power expanded its offerings to sell financial and insurance products through car dealerships in 2017.[14]

In 2002, the company moved its headquarters from Agoura Hills, California, to Westlake Village in Ventura County.[15] 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 sold JD Power to XIO Group for US $1.1bn.[16] In March 2018, Dave Habiger was named its president and CEO.[17]

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.[18] The combined company's headquarters moved to Troy, Michigan following the merger.[19]

Benchmarking studies

A selection of the awards presented to the Ford Motor Company by J.D. Power in 2007

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.[20]

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.[21]

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.[22][23][24][25] 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.[26][27][28][29] 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

References

  1. ^ "How J.D. Power drove change in auto research". Fortune. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  2. ^ Bowman, Cynthia Paez. "What is J.D. Power?". Bankrate. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  3. ^ "U.S. to Change Measure of Car Inflation Using J.D. Power Data". Bloomberg.com. 2022-01-18. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  4. ^ Martin, Timothy W. (2015-10-30). "McGraw Hill to Pursue Sale of Consumer-Research Unit J.D. Power". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  5. ^ "Bank of America Receives J.D. Power Certificate". www.pymnts.com. 2022-03-04. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  6. ^ Elfland, Mike. "Consumer research giant J.D. Power III, Holy Cross grad and one-time Worcester paperboy, dies at 89". The Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  7. ^ "J.D. Power Center for Liberal Arts in the World". College of the Holy Cross. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  8. ^ a b "USNews.com: From boats to Internet service, J. D. Power lives to rank". US News. 2004-03-07. Archived from the original on 2013-10-09. Retrieved 2007-04-05.
  9. ^ Morran, Chris (2010-05-10). "Can You Trust Those Awards You See In Auto Ads?". Consumer Reports.
  10. ^ a b Eric Schilling (December 6, 2017). "Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About The JD Power Awards". Jalopnik. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  11. ^ a b Al Lewis (December 18, 2013). "How J.D. Power made companies listen to the customer". Market Watch. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  12. ^ a b Taryn Luna (January 12, 2014). "Seven Things You Need to Know about James David Power". Boston Globe. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  13. ^ a b Roger Schlueter (April 1, 2017). "This is how J.D. Power became a big deal". Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  14. ^ "Dave Habiger, J.D. Power's new CEO, is tech expert and car guy". Automotive News. 2018-03-21. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  15. ^ "J.D. Power Moving to New Headquarters". Los Angeles Times. April 11, 2002. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  16. ^ Clark, Simon (31 January 2018). "How J.D. Power Was Acquired by a Chinese Company Shrouded in Mystery". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  17. ^ "New CEO Says His Job Is to Help J.D. Power Grow Faster". Bloomberg.com. 2018-03-21. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  18. ^ "Thoma Bravo finalizes J.D. Power acquisition". Crain's Chicago Business. 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  19. ^ "J.D. Power to merge with Autodata; Thoma Bravo deal closes". Auto Remarketing. 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  20. ^ "From boats to Internet service, J. D. Power lives to rank - U.S. News & World Report". web.archive.org. 2013-10-09. Archived from the original on 2013-10-09. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  21. ^ About J.D. Power | J.D. Power
  22. ^ Luna, Taryn (January 12, 2014). "Seven things you need to know about James David Power III". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  23. ^ Hirsch, Jerry (2022-02-10). "J.D. Power Finds Infotainment Trips Up Vehicle Dependability". Forbes Wheels. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  24. ^ "Kia Ranks First Out of 32 Automotive Brands in the 2022 J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study". www.futurecar.com. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  25. ^ "J.D. Power vehicle quality sinks to new low". Automotive News. 2022-06-27. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  26. ^ Krok, Andrew. "Gas Prices Spur Dissatisfaction in 2022 J.D. Power APEAL Study". CNET. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  27. ^ Rich, Maeve (2022-07-27). "Porsche Dominates Premium Car Brands in J.D. Power's 2022 APEAL Study". MotorBiscuit. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  28. ^ Hyatt, Kyle. "Lexus, Mini Lead 2022 J.D. Power Customer Service Index Study". CNET. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  29. ^ Hirsch, Jerry (2021-01-07). "J.D. Power Study Finds More Consumers Looking at Digital Car Buying". Forbes Wheels. Retrieved 2022-09-06.

External links

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