Sailors have long been confounded and literally moved to a location that they had not intended because they did not reason in what mariners call set and drift. The direction of the current (horizontal movement of water) is called set. Current speed is called drift.  The two, acting in conjunction with one another, and when not accounted for, can take one far and wide of the intended destination; or waypoint.  So it is with understanding customers’ needs (set) and the degree to which your firm can deliver to them (drift).  Not using DR (as you would in navigating and piloting a vessel) in meeting customers’ needs and expectations as in any industry means losing customers to the competition.  But, more and more DR alone may not cut it!  A more sophisticated tool or set of tools needs to be employed.  Much like one validates their DR by fixing a LOP with at least two bearings, organizations delivering products and services to mariners should establish a fix now and again to successfully reach the next waypoint.

Waypoint Analysis, a division of Steward & Associates, conducts customer value research and loyalty, for the maritime industry to assist in understanding and uncovering the boating communities’ wants, needs and desires.  Whether you wish to learn if a product or service is viable in the market, or whether you are retaining or acquiring customers at the same rate as your competition, Waypoint Analysis is here to assist you.  The president, Davis Steward, is a licensed Coast Guard Captain and routinely sails his boat out of the lower New York Harbor into Long Island Sound and destinations “down east,” along with chartering the Chesapeake Bay.  He and his crew have the market research and seamanship background to address your unique needs.

To see the ways in which Waypoint Analysis can assist you in keeping your business on course, click here.