全面质量管理的原则和应用在工业的各个部门越来越普遍。许多TQM工具需要客户反馈，但在获得反馈方面，许多公司步履蹒跚。作者提出了一个客户研究模型，该模型将为组织提供全面的、基于统计的客户数据，并说明如何将这些数据整合到全面质量管理过程中。该模型包括以下步骤:定性研究、过渡阶段和定量检验。其结果是一种更有针对性的全面质量管理方法，该方法将关键的外部客户信息集成到内部流程中，并为全面质量管理应用提供了优先方向。这些影响可以在组织的所有职能中看到。

TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES AND APPLICATIONS HAVE BECOME MORE AND MORE COMMON ACROSS ALL SECTORS OF INDUSTRY. MANY TQM TOOLS REQUIRE CUSTOMER FEEDBACK, BUT IN OBTAINING THAT FEEDBACK MANY COMPANIES FALTER. THE AUTHOR PRESENTS A CUSTOMER RESEARCH MODEL THAT WILL PROVIDE ORGANIZATIONS COMPREHENSIVE, STATISTICALLY BASED, CUSTOMER DATA AND ILLUSTRATES HOW TO INTEGRATE THE DATA INTO THE TQM PROCESS. THE MODEL CONTAINS THESE STEPS: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH, TRANSITIONAL PHASE, AND QUANTITATIVE EXAMINATION. THE RESULT IS A MORE TARGETED TQM APPROACH THAT INTEGRATES CRITICAL EXTERNAL CUSTOMER INFORMATION INTO INTERNAL PROCESSES, AND PRIORITIES DIRECTION FOR TQM APPLICATION. THE IMPACTS CAN BE SEEN ACROSS ALL FUNCTIONS OF THE ORGANIZATION.