Regular Measurement of Customer Satisfaction

Ensuring a good level of customer satisfaction is key to the success of every business and it should be measured on a regular basis. All too often this happens, at best, once a year, but often much less frequently.

Competitive Advantage conducts regular surveys for a number of its clients. In one case, a customer survey is repeated every six months. As a result the client has been able to benchmark their performance against competitors, initiate improvements in their own customer service, exploit their competitors' weaknesses and react to their competitors' improvements.

Solution

When commissioning a regular survey there are two phases. Design/set-up and regular repeating of the survey in a standard format.

In the first phase issues of concern are identified, questions are written and the first survey is conducted. Very often this will include extra questions to help identify and define the areas of interest to customers, possibly differentiating between the customer segments.

Upon completion of the first survey and reporting of the findings, the format for future surveys can be agreed. By standardising this at an early stage it significantly reduces the cost of reporting for subsequent surveys.

As time passes trends become clear, not just in the client’s business, but with their competitors. In today’s dynamic market environment monitoring competitor performance is as important as monitoring your own. Any worthwhile competitors will be measuring their own customer satisfaction and making improvements to the way they do business.

Benefits

• Provides a set of key performance indicators which company and staff can be measured against.
• Compares your company’s performance with your competitors.
• Identifies how you can differentiate your business from your competitors.
• Identifies areas where your competitors are gaining an advantage over you.
• Helps set business priorities.
• Helps make your customers feel that you are interested in them.
• Provides impartial positive and negative customer feedback.