Using Conjoint Analysis to Improve Customer Relationships and Outcomes

Palo Alto, CA—September 2009—The IRS recently contracted with Pacific Consulting Group (PCG) to conduct another conjoint analysis study—this time for the Large and Mid-Sized Business (LMSB) division. LMSB is tasked with ensuring voluntary tax compliance and enforcement of tax laws by large and mid-sized businesses. While the agency has designed and implemented a number of programs to increase efficiency and reduce taxpayer uncertainty and burden, there has not been an overarching analysis of what LMSB customers value and/or prefer in working with the IRS. The goal of the conjoint analysis is to assist LMSB in improving customer relationships by offering services and processes that meet customer needs while furthering LMSB’s primary directives. 

PCG successfully employed conjoint analysis for the Taxpayer Assistance Blueprint by helping the IRS use taxpayer preferences for service channels and attributes to optimize forecasts and budget allocations. With conjoint research, customers are asked to identify their top preferences upon evaluating different scenarios with various attributes. Because it provides proof of what customers really value, conjoint analysis can support strategies that help determine which service delivery mechanisms are most important and should have resources devoted to them.

In collaboration with LMSB, PCG and IRS staff will identify tax audit attributes of most importance to customers to use in the research design. The research findings will support LMSB initiatives to refine and improve their interactions with taxpayers for audits and other services to increase compliance and efficiency for both the IRS and the taxpayer.

About Pacific Consulting Group

Pacific Consulting Group (PCG) is a management consulting firm specializing in helping organizations improve their customers' and employees' experience and satisfaction. PCG's flagship service is the proprietary Net Impression^® process, which integrates measurement and action into a strategic approach that perpetuates change. PCG's services include designing customer/employee assessment strategies, conducting qualitative research, designing and administering surveys, analyzing and prioritizing improvement targets, and action planning to turn market research into successful innovations that improve the customer/employee experience and business results.