The document describes Avoca's approach to conducting client feedback and customer satisfaction surveys for CROs. Avoca's surveys are designed to measure customer perceptions, identify strengths and weaknesses, gather information to improve satisfaction and retention, and inform strategic decisions. Avoca will collaborate with the CRO to design the survey, achieve a high response rate, provide real-time access to results, and offer recommendations based on the feedback.

1. Avoca’s Approach to
Client Feedback/
Customer Satisfaction
Survey Programs

2. 2
Avoca Customer Feedback Programs
Research Objectives
● The objective of implementing a Client Feedback Program is to effectively
and efficiently measure customer perceptions and to identify areas of
strength and areas requiring improvement.
● The purpose is to gather in-depth information so that the CRO can take specific
actions to improve customer satisfaction, increase market share and enhance
customer retention.
● This research serves to identify customer situations requiring immediate
action and important areas of focus for operational process improvements.
● The data from Avoca Client Feedback programs is used by Executive
Management to inform strategic decisions in the Business Development,
Marketing and Operational areas.

3. 3
Avoca Customer Feedback Programs
Critical Success Factors
● Development of a Communication Strategy for disseminating information
about the Program and survey results to project teams and operational staff.
● Robust sample to allow for trend, subset and correlation analyses.
● Conduct of in-depth telephone interviews with the CRO contacts to gather
quantitative and qualitative data.
● Review of individual surveys to proactively identify issues/concerns.
● Action plan to address issues and gaps and to communicate back to clients
the action that is being taken.

4. Avoca Approach

5. 5
Avoca Customer Feedback Programs
Project Planning
● During an initial strategy meeting, Avoca would share best practices based
on 15 years of conducting this type of research. We would help the CRO to
determine the most effective way to leverage and disseminate data and to
take action based on results. Some of the topics of the Session would
include:
╸ Decision process, prior to program start, regarding how the data will be used and
who at the CRO will “own” taking action and tracking issues to resolution
╸ Review of other process improvement and relationship management activities to
determine how best to align the feedback program with these activities
╸ Benchmarking of specific information; inclusion of specific questions that Avoca
uses in our feedback programs so that we have the ability to compare the CRO
data to other “reference data” for context
● Following this initial strategy session, Avoca will provide an initial “straw-man”
survey and schedule time for review and finalization with the CRO.

6. 6
Avoca Customer Feedback Programs
Avoca’s Approach
● Senior Avoca consultants would collaborate with the CRO to design a
customized survey instrument, sampling paradigm, and analysis plan. It is
recommended that Avoca work with Project Management and Business
Development Representatives from the CRO to determine the specific
questions that will be most informative and beneficial.
● Invitations to participate in this Program would be sent to respondents from a
senior executive at the CRO. In each invitation, an explanation of the CRO’s
objectives for gathering client feedback will be provided and The Avoca
Group will be introduced. (Avoca will compose the invitation letter, if
requested.)
● Within 24-48 hours of issue of the introductory letter, Avoca would initiate
contact to schedule an interview. Up to three reminders would follow the
initial invitation, if necessary.
● Any serious issue uncovered during a survey will be coded as an
“actionable" issue by Avoca and will be reported to the CRO within 24 hours
of completion of the survey.

7. 7
Avoca Customer Feedback Programs
Avoca’s Approach
● During telephone surveys, Avoca interviewers would gather quantitative
data (numerical ratings, rankings, etc.) and would seek to elicit sufficient
information in response to open-ended questions to achieve a full
understanding of respondents’ views.
● Avoca utilizes survey specialists who have a deep understanding of clinical
outsourcing. Most of our survey team have worked with Avoca for more than 10
years.
● An AvocaView™ web portal would be established for hosting the CRO’s
data and to provide password-protected, real-time access to individual
survey results, the program documents, survey instrument, contact
information, and summary data.
● Individual surveys would be available within 48-72 hours from completion.
● Avoca could provide recommendations for developing a review and action
plan component for this program.

8. 8
Avoca Customer Feedback Programs
Avoca’s Approach
● Avoca typically achieves a 65-75% response rate for these types of
programs.
● Once the Program is finished, an aggregate PowerPoint Summary Report
would be provided. This would include sub-analyses (i.e., by company, by
region, by respondent role) and could include correlation analyses
depending on the sample size.
● Avoca would review the final Summary Report with the CRO senior
management and would offer recommendations based upon the direct
client feedback.
╸ During the report-back strategy session, Avoca will facilitate a discussion
based on Key Findings and would include our perspective based on our
knowledge and experience in clinical research and clinical outsourcing.

9. About Avoca

10. 10
The Avoca Group
About The Avoca Group
● The Avoca Group helps pharmaceutical and biotech companies and service
providers build, measure, and manage critical business relationships.
● As the industry’s premier consulting firm focused on clinical research and
clinical outsourcing, The Avoca Group has a unique perspective of the
dynamics between Biotech and Pharma companies and their service
providers, and are experts in the nuances of partnering between sponsors,
investigative sites, and clinical service providers.
● Avoca’s consultants have extensive experience working for both Pharma and
Clinical Service Providers and possess both process improvement and change
management expertise.
● All survey specialists have understanding of clinical research and expertise
conducting in-depth interviews with senior executives in the industry.
● Avoca has 15 years of experience in the implementation of survey research
programs for sponsors and clinical service providers focused on understanding
the key quality indicators for all aspects of clinical research and the drivers of
customer loyalty. In helping to gather targeted industry intelligence for the
CRO, Avoca will bring this experience to bear.

11. 11
The Avoca Group
Client List
Pharmaceutical/Biotech
AstraZeneca Grünenthal
Boehringer-Ingelheim Johnson & Johnson
Bristol-Myers Squibb
J&J Pharmaceutical
Research Development
Cadence
Celtic Pharma Millennium
Centocor Novo Nordisk
Cerexa Ortho Biotech
CJPCUS Ortho Clinical
Cordis Pfizer
CR Bard Purdue Pharma
Cubist Regeneron
Eisai Roche
Endo Pharmaceuticals Terumo
Ethicon
The Medicines
Company
Ferring Pharmaceuticals
ServiceProviders
Acurian Marken
Aptiv Solutions Medical Research
ConsultantsBeardsworth
the CRO Metropolitan
Research AssociatesCardinal Health
Clinical Financial
Services
PAREXEL
PPD
CRF Health PRA International
ERT Premier Research
ExecuPharm Quest Diagnostics
Clinical TrialsGreenphire
ICON Clinical Research Quintiles
Idis REGISTRAT-MAPI
INC Research ResearchPoint
Indegene Synarc
inVentiv Health Clinical Theorem
LabCorp TKL Research

12. 12
Client Feedback Studies
Award Decision
Study
General Business
Relationship Study
Project Specific
Study
Investigator Site
Study
Captures investigator and study
coordinator perceptions and levels of
satisfaction in order to improve site
relationships
Identifies specific drivers
for the service
provider’s wins and
losses and what it takes
to win new business
Determines what a
client thinks is working
and what needs to
be improved
Uncovers client
attitudes toward
services within a
specific project
Three Types of Client Feedback
Plus, Investigator Site Studies

13. 13
Client Feedback Programs
Overall Objectives for Avoca Feedback Programs
● To identify the specific drivers for the service provider’s wins and losses and
what it takes to win new business.
● To help service providers understand clients’ perceptions and their
positioning in the marketplace.
● To enable a service provider to learn what concerns or issues a client may
have with the company overall, its staff, or its processes.
● To identify areas of strength and weakness that require attention within an
ongoing project so they can be addressed in real time, and to identify
overall trends and areas that require improvement across projects.
● To gather relationship metrics that link to overall corporate strategy
execution.

14. Contact Avoca at:
(609) 252-9020
www.theavocagroup.com
info@theavocagroup.com
179 Nassau Street
Suite 3A
Princeton, NJ 08542
Improving the Health of
Critical Business Relationships