Our Background: 1939-1949

Dorothy "Tommie" Walker founded our business in 1939 by conducting the company's first survey for an Indianapolis bank. To accomplish this, Tommie went door-to-door conducting interviews to ask people if they had listened to the bank's radio program. The next year, when A&P Tea Co. insisted Tommie be a fully insured independent contractor, Walker Research Service began operating on the family's dining room table. Walker trained interviewers in the family basement and tested products such as vacuum sweepers, greeting cards and vitamins. The business continued to flourish as sugar rations and other wartime emergencies gave rise to studies such as whether cough drops would replace candy.

By the mid-1940s, Walker had a staff of 25 part-time interviewers and toward the end of the decade conducted studies on post-war radios, rugs, pancake mixes and safety glass for automobiles. During this period, we added the L.S. Ayres department store to our list of clients. Working for this well-known local retailer helped to build the image and reputation of Walker. Our research focus centered on getting answers to specific questions from specific people. Near the end of our first decade in business, Walker was conducting a wide variety of research studies—including the "Train of Tomorrow"—which captured how train transportation was conducted on the New York Central and Santa Fe Super Chief.

A family business, young Frank Walker got his start in market research by counting movie house attendance with a "clicker" in each hand.

Our Background: 1950-1959

The 1950s were full of accomplishments, growth, and new clientele for Tommie Walker and her company. In 1950, Tommie was honored as "Woman of the Year" by the Advertising Club of Indianapolis. Shortly after moving the company's offices from her family basement to the back room of Frank Walker Sr.'s insurance agency, the Grand Rapids Ad Club invited her to speak at their all-male club, thinking Tommie was a man. When introducing her, the flabbergasted president said, "We promise not to ever do this again."

In 1952, Walker Research Service suddenly found itself at a crossroads. In one year, the importance of the business grew dramatically when Tommie's husband, Frank Walker Sr., died suddenly at age 45. Around the same time, a prominent New York-based firm offered Tommie a position in its Chicago office. Tommie declined but formed a mutually beneficial relationship with the firm, as they were instrumental in helping Walker develop a network of field interviewing offices around the country.

As a result, the decade proved to be one of rapid expansion for Walker Research Service. During the 1950s, the part-time interviewing staff grew and Kitty Hatfield joined the company as our first full-time employee. Kitty worked with Tommie for many years handling all the inside administrative functions. We completed studies on various products, including deodorants, shoe polish, dog candy, cake mixes and automotive parts. Tommie also made her first debut as a model for the Ball Brothers sales brochure after completing a study on jar lids for the company in 1956. And finally, before this decade came to an end, Walker conducted studies for leading restaurant chains such as Burger Chef. Tommie also traveled coast-to-coast promoting the country's first research consumer test center, which Walker successfully opened in 1958.

Our Background: 1960-1969

With Frank Walker Jr.'s return from the military in 1960, change and "building" were in store for Walker. It was a decade of dramatic growth in our employee and client numbers and expanding research focus, including the areas of political elections, consumer products, automobiles and much more. And even as our 25th anniversary passed inconspicuously, the company began developing long-term strategic plans and Walker Research Service became known as Walker Research, Inc.

After much anticipation, Walker employees opened our new 6,000 square-foot headquarters in 1965. One year later, the company's rapid growth forced the Tab Department to move into a small house behind the building.

After nearly 30 years at the top of the corporate ladder, Tommie developed a plan for leadership transition. In the mid-1960s, Jim Sammer joined the firm and started a journey that would involve him serving the company for 35 years, finishing his active career as vice chairman. In 1967, Tommie became chairman of the company and Frank Jr. was named president. The following year, Walker Research became a corporation.

The advent of television, mass marketing and brand names helped companies nationwide recognize the value of market research as a business discipline. Capturing the breadth and diversity of our research, Walker conducted studies on a wide range of products and events, including frozen foods, tires and advertising campaigns. And, to name a few, our client base included top brand names such as Goodyear, Eli Lilly, Proctor & Gamble and 7-Up. Leading the industry's change to new technology capabilities, we established new data entry functions and installed our first computer system.

Our Background: 1970-1979

Technology created a foundation for the future in the 1970s for Walker. Computers replaced hand tabulation of survey results and certain surveys were being conducted simultaneously in multiple cities using longdistance telephone service and samples drawn from telephone directories. What's more, Walker highlighted our progressive culture when it implemented computer-assisted telephone interviewing. In this decade of growth, Walker conducted more than 2,200 studies for more than 400 companies with the top clients being Kellogg, AT&T, Central Telephone and Clorox. The work for AT&T brought about Walker's focus on customer research as management information that later became our strategic focus.

Young Steve Walker got his start in the business by helping to construct and paint telephone interviewing booths while a junior high school student.

Establishing itself as an industry leader, Walker helped the market research industry make great strides. In 1972, we developed the highly popular "Your Opinion Counts" slogan and campaign, and later donated it to the industry. Two years later, Walker completed and donated the results from a national industry image study, the first-known documentation of attitudes toward the survey research industry. Then, in 1975, Frank was among a group of industry leaders who established the Council of American Survey Research Organizations, founded to selfgovern the affairs of the industry.

By the end of the decade, Walker's client list resembled a "Who's Who of American Industry", and we had begun preparing to help companies globally.

Our Background: 1980-1989

Walker continued to expand on the national attention and recognition it earned in the previous decades. During the 1980s, we began our journey up Advertising Age's list of top research companies. As one of America's fastest-growing research firms, we increased our data processing and graphic design capabilities, opened new testing facilities across the nation, and accomplished more studies.

The decade also involved more leadership transitions and the official involvement of the family's third generation. Steve Walker earned his start with the company as project director in 1982, and later on Tommie handed off the chairman's responsibilities to Frank.

Continuing to expand, we moved our headquarters in 1985. During this period—driven by the leadership of Jim Sammer and long-time executive Ann Cox—an affiliated firm, Walker Clinical Evaluations, was founded. Meanwhile, Walker's research model evolved to include a hands-on information gathering phase, including developing our own questions and selecting more effective questions generating more valuable feedback.

To maintain Walker's high quality standards as an industry leader, an "On Time, On Budget, On Target" quality improvement program was established. And, being ahead of the curve, we understood the critical value of employee loyalty.

Thinking larger and bolder, Walker set its sights on being one of the premier research firms globally. And by the end of the decade, we formally established the Walker Information Global Network, which became the first and only consulting organization solely dedicated to measuring stakeholder opinion and loyalty worldwide.

In the fall of 1989, the corporation celebrated its 50th year at a gala black-tie event held at the historic Indiana Roof Ballroom.

Our Background: 1990-1999

The 1990s was a decade of changes and growth. Shortly after the company formed a fundraising business, Walker Direct, the company changed its name twice, experienced a leadership transition, and altered the face of the company.

Following a determined fight with cancer, Dorothy "Tommie" Walker passed away on June 27, 1992.

In 1994, the family-owned company defied the common theory that family involvement begins tapering off with the third generation by selecting Steve to lead the company as president. Guiding the company's leadership and focus, Steve also assumed the responsibilities of chief executive officer in 1996. Steve positioned the company for the new information age globally by directing a series of changes, including selling Walker Direct and Walker Clinical Evaluations. The revenues from those sales were invested in developing our technology capabilities. The following year, the company was renamed Walker Information and all its divisions were consolidated into one entity, focused on the business impact of customer and employee loyalty.

In the mid-1990s, Walker Information began conducting groundbreaking benchmark studies for industries and proprietary research on corporate philanthropy, business ethics and employee loyalty. In 1998, Walker Information capitalized on the many technological advancements by developing the necessary tools to improve the efficiency of asking, answering and comparing.

Reflecting the dramatic changes in the research industry, Walker uniquely positioned itself as a leader in the industry by integrating the research industry's science, benchmarks and tools, which earned remarkable acceptance—and, ultimately, increased business—from our clients.

In its 60th year in business, Walker Information was recognized for its commitment to the highest standards of integrity and corporate responsibility when it received the prestigious 1999 American Business Ethics Award from the Society of Financial Service Professionals.

Our Background: 2000-2009

As we ushered in not only a new decade but a new millennium, Walker was poised to expand the overall value we offer to our clients. With a firm foundation in research, Walker began leveraging investments in technology to increase operational efficiency and provide client access to cutting-edge Internet-based tools.

Beginning with Walker SmartLoyalty™ System, an award-winning online application, Walker's technology team built a growing portfolio of tools to vastly improve the speed and use of customer information. Through new business intelligence tools, mobile applications, integration services, and other tools, Walker was determined to ensure the right customer information could be delivered to the right person at the right time in a manner prompting action.

In 2001 Steve Walker and Jeff Marr made headlines through a release of their compelling book, Stakeholder Power, which showcased the impact of how companies could improve their bottom-line performance by building strong, trusting relationships with all their stakeholders. Walker's focus on publishing continued with the establishment of monthly online newsletters and routine distribution of Walker Loyalty Reports – insightful benchmark studies on employee and customer loyalty, which captured the attention of companies, media outlets, financial analysts, and an array of other industry leaders.

As the decade advanced, clients turned to Walker for far more than research and technology tools. We became trusted advisors, consulting with our clients on broader business issues centered on customer strategies. Leadership training, education, and facilitation evolved as important components of the value we delivered. Twice a year clients flocked to our user forums where Walker provided opportunities for productive sharing, learning, and networking.