How to Increase the ROI for Your Customer Satisfaction Measurement Efforts (article 4 of 4)
by Service 800, Inc.

Article 4 – Should We Make Customer Satisfaction Comparisons Across the Company?

The measurement of customer satisfaction is critical to businesses of all sizes. Customer feedback helps companies:

• Allocate resources properly
  
• Forecast revenues more accurately
  
• Generate repeat business
  
• Motivate employees

The most astute companies measure customer satisfaction in several different business areas…product manufacturing, service, partner performance, on-line accessibility, training, sales, and the like. Still, many have not realized the benefits of measuring satisfaction at every customer touch point.

To get a true picture of performance across the board, it is important to gauge satisfaction levels in all areas that interact directly with customers. After all, you may have the best products in the world, but if your customers cannot get the service and support they need, when they need it they may not be likely to buy from you again. Conversely, you may have a world-class service and support organization, but if your products continually have problems, your customers will quickly become dissatisfied with your company.

When measuring customer satisfaction, ask questions like ‘Was the technician professional?’ and ‘Was the solution provided complete?’.

These types of questions are generic to measuring satisfaction, regardless of the customer touch point. Many companies find it useful to make cross-organizational comparisons for generic questions like ‘professionalism’. If your company is striving for a high level of professionalism overall, cross comparisons can help you establish professionalism consistency.

The same is true of measuring customer loyalty. Remember, customer satisfaction helps you find out if customers are pleased with your products or performance. It does not necessarily mean they are loyal. On the other hand, customer loyalty is a more of a partnership, where the customer puts energy back into the relationship.

When measuring customer loyalty, ask questions like ‘Are you likely to buy from us again?’ and ‘Would you recommend us to a friend or colleague?’

Again, you can ask generic questions at every customer touch point, giving you and others the ability to compare satisfaction levels throughout the company.

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To Contact Us — To discuss this topic, any other Benchmark Benefits article, or to provide topic suggestions, please contact Jan DeMatteo at jan@service800.com.

For More Information — For additional information about the SSPA SoftwareMetric Customer Satisfaction Benchmark, SERVICE 800, or other benchmark programs, visit www.service800.com/benchmarkprograms.asp.

About SERVICE 800
Founded in 1989, SERVICE 800 designs and administrators real-time customer satisfaction measurement programs, helping service organizations follow up with their customers within hours or days of service events. The company utilizes a distinctive follow up telephone interview process along with e-mail, web, and other survey techniques to measure customer satisfaction. With offices in Minneapolis and London, SERVICE 800 has been measuring customer satisfaction for corporations throughout the world for over a decade.