Aldi: using online surveys for business research

Aldi is a global discount supermarket chain with its global headquarters in Germany. The company operates under two divisions, Aldi north and Aldi south, and collectively operates over 5,000 stores throughout Europe, the UK, and the United States, with expansion plans including a presence in the Far East. Aldi's global annual revenue exceeds €100 billion. We are going to examine Aldi US consisting of over 2000 stores operating in 37 states. Aldi's projection for 2022 is to have 2,500 stores at operation with over $15 billion in revenue in the US alone, Aldi is expected to become the third largest grocery chain, following Walmart and Kroger. Clearly Aldi has become a major force in the global grocery store market. We will look at Aldi US headquartered in Batavia, Illinois, and how they've implemented a customer satisfaction survey is part of assessing their business practices. Aldi names this survey the Tell Aldi survey signifying the desire of Aldi to hear from its customers. Aldi's strategy focuses on providing high-quality products at low prices. Aldi reduces the cost of shopping for both their business and for the customers. Aldi's business model is simple and efficient. Through their customer experience research, they've discovered that customers are willing to accept some shopping inconveniences to maintain quality and pay less for their groceries. Aldi identifies their customers priorities through their Tell Aldi survey, and they align these priorities with their business model. A deliberate aspect of Aldi's strategy is to deliver what customers say they care about the most, and they found that to be great quality and low prices. Aldi asks their customers if the ultra conveniences in frills that grocers offer is what they really want, or is this just a business practice that's been replicated by companies competing against each other instead of satisfying their customers preferences. Now, Aldi took a risk with this unconventional approach, and they discovered that delivering unwanted expectations impedes them from truly satisfying their customers. They believe they can only exceed customers expectations by learning those expectations through their Tell Aldi survey.