- WELCOME
- SYNOVATE.COM
- WE'VE MOVED
- NEWS
- ADVERTISING RECEPTIVITY
- MOVING TRACKERS ONLINE
- PEOPLE
- Freda Adams
- Ian Mills
- Debra Hall
- Matt Benson
- Horst Feldhaeuser
- Jonathan Dodd
- Grant Storry
- Penny Turner
- Diane Dickinson
- Nicola Legge
- Deborah Donaldson
- Bev Foden
- Sue Cardwell
- Jing Zhao
- Nicola Crawford
- Rashi Dixit
- Ricky Hodge
- Alan Yang
- Joshua Buckley
- Cherie Bulley
- Anna Gurr
- Michelle Craik
- Sue Bowerbank
- Data Processing
- EXPERIENCE
- AWARDS
- TESTIMONIALS
- NEWSLETTER
- SEMINARS
- OPINION
- RESEARCH FAQ
- CAREERS
- PRIZE DRAWS
- CONTACT US
Executive Research Director
BSc (Eng)
Fellow of the Market Research Society of New Zealand
New Zealand ESOMAR Representative
Debra established Research Solutions (now Synovate) in 1992, in response to what she saw as a gap in the market for a research company that would get down off the fence, and tell clients what they thought, as well as what the research said. Debra combines an analytical mind with a talent for communication. Her engineering training forms the basis for a pragmatic approach to problem solving, and a keen sense of reality.
Debra has been an integral research partner of ASB BANK since 1995, having provided research and advice through the development of their award winning campaigns, including Robert the Robot, and the highly acclaimed Goldstein series.
Her expertise in financial markets has been recognised further afield, with the contract to provide customer relationship and commitment monitoring to Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s Institutional Banking and Financial Markets divisions.
Beyond financial markets, Debra has developed strong retail understanding through her work with Burger King, which pre-dates the launch of the brand in NZ, and continues as they develop strategies for consolidating their success.
Debra’s direct approach to research has been valued by a range of Government clients, including Auckland Regional Council, Infrastructure Auckland, Transit NZ and the Ministries of Education and Health. Developing a reputation for straight talking in regard to Auckland infra-structure issues, Debra has worked extensively on transportation and housing intensification issues.
She was also an integral part of the teams which wrote the current NAMS Asset Management and Customer Service Manuals – essentially “writing the book” on local government community consultation.
Debra’s knowledge and communication skills have led to invitations to speak at both overseas and New Zealand conferences, on subjects ranging from customer loyalty through to pricing strategies, New Zealanders’ investment attitudes and local government asset management. Her presentations are consistently rated amongst the best, and recent presentations include….
-
The Great Customer Satisfaction Con – a paper debunking the myth that customer satisfaction necessarily leads to greater loyalty, or more profits, presented to the NZ Market Research Conference in 2001 and subsequently for the NZ Direct Marketing Association (twice).
-
How to Identify (Rural) Customers’ Needs – a paper to the IIR Rural Marketing Conference in March 2001.
-
Researching Your Customers – a training session presented as part of the EMA Learning Conference 2001.
- Debra has also presented twice to IIR Pricex conferences, in 1999 and 2000.
Current clients of Debra’s include ASB Bank, Burger King, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Air New Zealand, AMI, Public Trust and Ravensdown.