The answers to what you're wondering about.

Our service portfolio covers the entire chain from decision-making data to action plan:

• Traditional research: NKI/NPS, brand, employee, customer experience, concept testing.
• Digital insights: e-Mystery Shopper™ (e-commerce), Persona Web Audit™ (B2B websites), Digital Reputation™ (continuous monitoring).
• AI analysis: sentiment analysis of open-ended responses, automated reports, custom AI tools integrated into your own systems.
• International capability: 17 languages via web and telephone with native speakers.

We specialise in translating data into decision-ready insights — not just delivering numbers. Every report is manually read, prioritised and packaged for the leadership team.

Among the clients we have had the privilege of working with are Husqvarna, Trelleborg Wheel Systems, Atea Sverige, Stena Metall, Perstorp, Tikkurila, Jotun, NetOnNet, Marbodal/Nobia, Consilium Safety Group, ICANIWILL, Wayne's Coffee, Rowico Home, IHM Business School and Chalmers — among many others. See the full client list →

Industries we frequently work with: manufacturing, food & beverage, automotive, ventilation, pumps, furniture, machine tools, chemicals, construction, retail, dental, energy and education.

Compared to large global research agencies (Ipsos, Kantar, Norstat) we typically come in 30–50% lower in price for equivalent primary research, deliver faster, and with Johan Asklund as your personal contact throughout. Compared to smaller local agencies, we have international capability — 17 languages, native speakers via telephone — and AI-driven sentiment analysis that not all have.

What we don't do: we don't redesign websites, we don't run continuous mystery shopping in day-to-day operations, and we don't implement technical changes. We are specialists in decision support and recommendations — not in execution.

The 17 languages we work in directly: Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Arabic. Other languages are handled via verified native-speaker partners.

The native-speaker model means that telephone interviews are conducted by someone whose mother tongue is the target language — not by a Swedish interviewer working through an interpreter. This captures nuances and response rates that translated surveys miss (typically 80% response rate on telephone interviews vs 9–12% on surveys in B2B).

We choose references based on your industry and engagement type — e.g. B2B manufacturing if you are an industrial company, retail/food B2C if you are there. Among clients we often raise as references (with their permission): tech companies that have done NPS tracking, B2B manufacturers that have done lost-customer analysis, retail chains that have done NMI with 50+ units.

We can also send written references ("what our clients have said") if you prefer that to telephone contact.

The scale runs from 0 to 10. Respondents are classified as Promoters (9–10), Passives (7–8) and Detractors (0–6). NPS = % Promoters – % Detractors. Range: –100 to +100.

The value of NPS is not the number itself — it is that it is comparable over time, between regions, between salespeople, and against external benchmarks. But: the number is just the start. The real value lies in understanding why customers respond as they do. That is where we come in with deeper analysis, driver measurement and concrete improvement recommendations.

Calculate what an NPS improvement is worth for you →

• Online surveys — fast, cost-effective, high reach. Best for large customer bases where breadth is the priority.
• Telephone interviews with native speakers — higher response rate (typically 80%+ for B2B key accounts vs 9–12% for survey), deeper answers to open-ended questions. Best for your top-20 accounts and international distributors.
• In-depth interviews — when you need to truly understand customer decision-making. 8–12 interviews usually achieve theme saturation.
• Focus groups and panels — for concept development, brand and product testing, both B2B (3–5 participants) and B2C (8–10 per group).
• Digital analysis — of website, SEO and visibility on social media and digital platforms.

We help you understand how you are perceived today, where there are gaps between desired and actual image, and which communicative priorities will deliver the greatest impact. A typical delivery includes:

• Spontaneous and aided awareness against specific competitors (positioning map)
• Driver analysis — what triggers the choice (price, quality, sustainability, design)
• Brand attribute analysis — which adjectives the target audience associates with you
• Per-segment breakdown (age, geography, behaviour, B2B role)
• Quotes and themes from qualitative interviews — directly usable in communications

Lead time: 6–10 weeks. International studies take longer with multiple languages.

B2B brand →  ·  B2C brand →

Our model — five key areas:

• Clarity — business idea and goals known and understood
• Goals and follow-up — is everyone working towards the same thing?
• Planning — quality processes and decision structures
• Skills development — long-term investment in employees
• Leadership — soft values measured rigorously, top-score benchmark

Workshop support is included in all NMI engagements. We come on site and run workshops at group level where employees themselves discuss the results and develop action plans. The report becomes actions — not a PDF that gets archived.

Anonymity by design: no IP logging, no personal data collected. Per-group breakdown but never below threshold (typically 5 responses).

More for HR directors →

Competitor analysis can be a standalone engagement or a module in a broader brand study. Components:

• Positioning map — where competitors sit on key dimensions (price/quality, premium/value, traditional/innovative)
• Mystery shopping against competitors (B2C) or sample-based in-depth interviews with target segment (B2B)
• Digital visibility: SEO ranking, content breadth, social proof (reviews)
• Price and offering comparison where publicly visible
• Customer experience: how competitors deliver phase by phase across the customer journey

What is required:

• Sufficient customers per segment (typically at least 30 for significance)
• Good segment data in the customer register — which salesperson, region, category each customer belongs to
• Telephone interviews for your top-20 key accounts give 80%+ response rate even where online surveys give 9%

Typical delivery:

• Per-salesperson report: top-3 strengths and improvement areas per account manager
• Per-region comparison with top-score benchmark
• Lost-customer analysis broken down per subsidiary/salesperson/region
• Identification of customers in the danger zone (proactive risk management)

For concept testing with 3–5 concepts 300–500 responses often suffice to rank concepts with confidence. For brand measurement with competitor benchmarking we recommend 800–1200 responses.

We use quota sampling so the panel matches the Swedish population on gender, age, geography and education. Deviations are weighted in analysis so the final result gives an accurate national picture.

For niche audiences (e.g. "have purchased organic coffee in the last 30 days") the sample can be smaller — then more qualitative methods (in-depth interviews + qualitative analysis) are used as a complement.

Our benchmarks build on two sources: (1) aggregated data from Alba's previous engagements in the same industry (anonymised and in comparable format); (2) published external benchmark sources (e.g. ACSI, Bain & Co NPS reports, industry-specific research studies).

Limitations: We have strong benchmarks in manufacturing, retail, restaurant, automotive, furniture, dental and energy. For narrow niches (e.g. medical devices, defence industry) the benchmark database is thinner — there we complement with relevant public data.

Selling online? Then e-Mystery Shopper™ is the right choice. We walk through the entire checkout flow from your personas' perspective and document every friction point with a screenshot and concrete recommendation.

Selling services or complex B2B solutions? Then Persona Web Audit™ is the right call. We analyse across ten dimensions: navigation, brand, search engine optimisation, conversion architecture, social proof, forms, mobile experience, speed, GDPR and competitive positioning.

Both delivered as Word + PDF + PowerPoint presentation. Screenshots for every observation — nothing is text without visual evidence.

e-Mystery Shopper →  ·  Persona Web Audit →

The service comes in three tiers:

• Basic (Reputation Mirror) — quarterly monitoring of review sites, social media and basic search engine results. For companies wanting an overview without going too deep.
• Standard (Market Pulse) — monthly in-depth monitoring including industry forums, press monitor, sentiment analysis on open comments, and competitor benchmarking. For companies in growth phase or active brand work.
• Extended (Group View) — weekly monitoring for groups with multiple brands, international markets or high media exposure. Includes press preparedness.

First report delivered within 2–3 weeks of start. More about Digital Reputation →

This collaboration exists to combine Alba's 20+ years of experience in customer analysis and business development with MarketMind's digital methodology and technical capability. You have Alba as your primary point of contact and delivery owner — MarketMind is not visible in the client interface but provides the platform and technical delivery in the background.

Contractually: Alba is the supplier. All invoicing, contracts, data processing agreements and GDPR responsibility flow through Alba. More on data handling →

The only thing we typically ask for is: (1) a list of your main personas (if you have them) or a dialogue to define them; (2) access to GA4 data or Hotjar recordings if you have them and want us to correlate our observations against actual behaviour; (3) a brief calibration call where you tell us what you already know about the problem.

For NKI/NMI we need your customer or employee registers with contact details (email, phone). This is handled under a data processing agreement — see GDPR page →

We have anonymised example reports for:

• e-Mystery Shopper — example from a Swedish e-commerce player (Conversion Audit level, 47 friction points documented with screenshot)
• Persona Web Audit — example from a B2B manufacturer (10 dimensions, 12 personas)
• NKI per district — example from an industrial company with 4 subsidiaries
• Brand research — example from a consumer chain with 1008 responses
• NMI with per-group breakdown — example from a retail chain with 50 units

Request example report →

What you get visually:

• 1–3 screenshots per friction point (typically 25–60 per Conversion Audit)
• Annotated findings — red arrows and boxes showing exactly where the issue is
• Before/after mock-ups for major structural recommendations
• Heatmaps (included in Growth Intelligence package, or on request)
• Summary PDF with top-10 visual findings for leadership meeting

Screenshots are taken in a controlled browser environment (Chromium headless) for consistency. Incognito mode to capture the "new visitor" view without login.

1. Briefing & objectives (1–2 meetings): We understand your business, your target audiences and your decision needs. Method, questionnaire design, sample and delivery format are decided here. Output is a project description signed by both parties.
2. Design & fieldwork (2–6 weeks): We develop the questionnaire, calibrate with you, run a pilot if relevant, and conduct collection — online survey, telephone interviews, in-depth interviews or focus groups.
3. Analysis & report (1–3 weeks): Statistical analysis, AI-driven sentiment analysis of open responses, driver analysis and thematisation. Manual interpretation by a senior analyst — every conclusion checked against the source.
4. Presentation & next steps (1 meeting + follow-up): We present results to leadership, discuss priorities and develop an action plan. Workshop support included where relevant.

International studies take longer with multiple languages — typically 1 week per language version on top of base lead time. Telephone interviews take longer than online surveys (2–4 weeks extra for 50–100 interviews). In-depth interviews (8–12) add ~3 weeks.

Express delivery available on request: Conversion Audit can be delivered in 5 working days for an additional fee. Mention any hard deadline at briefing.

For NKI with your top-20 key accounts we almost always recommend telephone interviews — online surveys give too few and too shallow responses from busy people who already get many emails. For broader segments (customers #21–500) online surveys are usually sufficient.

We design the sample so the response rate is statistically valid per segment (region, size, industry, salesperson) — not just in total. It is important to be able to say "we see X in Northern district, Y in Southern" without falling below significance.

What is included:

• Anonymised raw data export (Excel/CSV)
• Question document with exact wording and order
• Methodology document (sample design, weighting, significance calculation)
• Final report (PDF + Word)
• Presentation (PowerPoint)
• Many clients also opt for interactive dashboards where they can follow results on an ongoing basis — Power BI or Tableau

Personal data always follows the GDPR terms of the data processing agreement. For employee surveys we never disclose data that could identify individual employees. More on data handling →

Typical lead time from first contact to engagement start:

• e-Mystery Shopper Preview Audit: 3–5 days (briefing + sign-off)
• NKI/NPS online survey: 1–2 weeks (questionnaire design + data file)
• Telephone interview study: 2–3 weeks (recruitment + interview preparation)
• International brand study: 3–4 weeks (panel setup + translations)
• Employee survey: 2–3 weeks (anonymity design + leadership alignment + distribution)

Let us know if you have a hard deadline — we have delivered Conversion Audit in 5 working days and full B2C concept tests with 800 responses in 14 days. Typically 20–30% premium for express delivery.

Step-by-step checklist:

1. Briefing meeting (60 minutes): We understand your business, your goals and your decision needs. No preparation required.
2. Definition phase: We propose questionnaire design, sample, delivery format and timeline. You review.
3. Data file (for NKI/NMI): An Excel/CSV with respondent contact details — name, email, optionally phone, optionally segment data (region/salesperson/department).
4. Internal approval: HR surveys often require union dialogue and leadership decisions. We support the process if you wish.
5. Green light: We start fieldwork. You have no further duties until the report is delivered.

See the full onboarding process →

e-Mystery Shopper™ — fixed package prices:

★ = most chosen package. Credit-back: upgrade within 30 days and the previous tier price is deducted krona for krona.

Other services quoted per engagement. Give us a brief description of what you want to achieve and we will return with a sharp quote within a few working days. We are clear about what is included — no surprises after the fact. All prices excl. VAT.

We have an interactive ROI calculator where you can adjust your own key figures — number of customers, customer revenue, churn and expected churn reduction. The calculation shows preserved revenue, typical investment, ROI and payback period.

Worked example (B2B company, SEK 100M revenue): An NPS improvement from 4.15 to 4.30 (+3.6%) yields an estimated SEK 1.8–6.1M in additional annual profit. The effect depends on industry and actions taken.

Open the ROI calculator →

Continuous (e-Mystery Shopper retainer after audit):

Terms: 6 months initial commitment, then 3 months notice. Requires audit (Conversion or higher) within 12 months. Can be paused for 2 months at no cost.

A typical pilot design for an NKI engagement: we measure 1 region or 1 product category first — enough for you to see the report style, delivery, questionnaire design and gain a first insight. If you are satisfied we scale up to the full customer base, and the pilot investment is credited krona for krona.

For e-Mystery Shopper we have credit-back: start with Preview, and if you want more SEK 7,900 is deducted from Conversion Audit (SEK 44,000). The upgrade then costs nothing extra.

Where we are equivalent: methodological quality, statistical significance, native-speaker capability (17 languages), AI-driven analysis of open responses. Where we differ: we don't run tracker studies with 10,000+ respondents across 50 markets, we don't have global panel infrastructure in low-income countries, and we are not procurement-eligible via SCB framework agreements (but rarely needed).

When the large agencies are right: global tracker studies across 30+ markets, syndicated consumer panels, mega-corp engagements where procurement teams require ready framework agreements. When we are right: mid-to-large B2B/B2C company (50–5,000 employees), Nordic or European reach, price/effectiveness awareness, need for personal delivery.

We are happy to provide references and gladly share anonymised previous engagements as comparison. Request references →

We deliver standard supplier documentation packages quickly:

• F-tax certificate and VAT registration
• Proof of professional liability insurance
• Company certificate and annual reports (last 3 years)
• Quality system (own process description)
• GDPR documentation and DPA template
• Three reference clients (sector relevant)
• Sub-processor documentation (MarketMind for digital services)

Note that Alba is a smaller, owner-led firm — for large procurements (>SEK 2M) we are happy to participate in collaboration with a procurement-eligible partner. Let us know and we will find a configuration that works.

Concrete AI services:

• Sentiment analysis of open responses: Thousands of free-text answers classified automatically — positive/neutral/negative + theme matrix. This makes previously infeasible analyses possible.
• AI-driven theme identification: When 800 customers write free-text answers the AI finds recurring themes ("delivery time", "contact person", "pricing") and ranks by frequency and weight.
• Custom AI reports: Automated reports tailored to each recipient's role and decision needs — e.g. district summary to each regional manager.
• AI tools for your specific process: We build tailored solutions — customer segmentation, churn forecasting, lifetime value models — integrated into your own systems.

It is not AI instead of competence. It is competence augmented by AI.

Our quality process for AI analysis:

1. Data validation: We check that the dataset is representative and free of systematic errors before the AI model runs.
2. Model selection: We choose the model based on the task. Sentiment analysis typically runs on fine-tuned models for Swedish, not generic GPT models.
3. Sampling and review: Randomly drawn classifications are verified manually. Error rate is noted transparently in the report appendix.
4. Human interpretation: AI provides categories and frequency. Humans interpret what it means for your business — why, so what, what to do.
5. Source traceability: Every figure in the report can be traced back to exact responses in the raw data.

Typical use cases:

• Automatic classification of customer service tickets or sales opportunities
• Sentiment analysis on reviews, NPS free-text responses or employee pulse
• Churn forecasting based on behavioural data
• Automated leadership reports where the LLM summarises the week's data
• Competitor monitoring — automatic extraction of new moves by your competitors

We are happy to build a proof of concept in 4–6 weeks before you commit. That way you know the tool actually works in your context.

Our DPA template includes:

• Specification of purpose, duration and category of personal data
• Technical and organisational security measures (TOMs)
• Sub-processor list and approval process
• Reporting obligations on security incidents (72 hours)
• Return or deletion of data after engagement ends
• Audit rights for you as data controller

The agreement is sent with the offer. You have the opportunity to review and comment before signing. Many clients have their own templates — we adapt our process to yours.

Our sub-processor stack consists of the following types of providers — all EU-based. The full sub-processor list with specific providers is attached to the DPA — you must approve it before we use each provider.

On request we share the specific list with you before signing — names of providers, their role, and their own GDPR documentation. You have audit rights and veto rights on every sub-processor.

Technically and organisationally:

• Thresholds: Responses are grouped so that a group breakdown below 5 individuals is merged with the overall level. Default is 5; some engagements choose 7 or 10.
• No IP addresses: We do not log respondent IP addresses. This is configured in the survey platform from the start.
• No identifying free-text responses: AI-driven anonymisation check on free-text — if a respondent writes "I am the only woman on the team" this is masked before reporting.
• Separated files: The email distribution file is stored separately from response data. The correlation is destroyed as soon as distribution is complete.
• Encrypted transport: All data traffic is HTTPS/TLS 1.3+.
• Leadership commitment: Before the engagement starts, leadership confirms in writing that no attempts will be made to deanonymise respondents.

Standard retention:

• Personal data (email, name, phone): Deleted within 30 days of final delivery, or earlier on your request.
• Individual responses with pseudonym ID: Deleted within 30 days.
• Aggregated report and anonymous data file: Retained by us for 5 years for comparison (if you wish).
• Recordings of telephone interviews: Deleted after 90 days (transcript stored anonymously).
• Backup security copies: Deleted within 60 days.

You receive a deletion certificate when the entire retention process is complete. If you want alternative retention (shorter or longer), we adapt accordingly.