What Drives the SSPA Software Benchmark? (article 4 of 5)
by Service 800, Inc.

The five-week series includes the following articles:

> SSPA Software Benchmark Participant Success
> How Customers Benefit from Benchmarking Efforts
> The Mechanics of Service Performance Benchmarking
> Participants Power the SSPA Software Benchmark
> The 2004 Annual Benchmark User’s Group Meeting

Participants Power the SSPA Software Benchmark

One of the most popular attractions of the SSPA SoftwareMetric Benchmark is the participants’ ability to mold and shape the benchmark. Because this is an industry benchmark, it makes sense that industry players define its parameters.

Every year, SERVICE 800 hosts a Benchmark Users Group Meeting on behalf of each of its industry benchmarks, including the SSPA SoftwareMetric Benchmark. The conferences focus solely on benchmark participants, their needs, and concerns regarding customer satisfaction measurement. Some of the activities of these meetings include:

Adjusting Industry Benchmarks — The primary purpose of the user meeting is to allow benchmark participants to meet and fine tune the benchmark based on changes in the industry. For example, participants might decide to reword one or two questions for clarity. Along the same lines, they might vote to put the questions in a different order, or add and drop questions based on shifts in important service attributes.

Similarly, users might decide that they need further data breakouts, like by types of software (accounting, CRM, property management, etc.). This gives them the granularity they need to compare themselves to similar service providers as well as competitors.

Bottom line, benchmark participants have the power to adjust the benchmark based on the most critical metrics for the industry sector they represent. Still, to implement any change to benchmark components, a consensus of participants must agree on and approve the changes. No single participant can drive changes on behalf of the entire group.

Recommending New Benchmarks — Participants have driven the need for new types of benchmarks. At a Benchmark Users Group Meeting a couple of years ago, participants proposed the idea of measuring customer loyalty, in addition to customer satisfaction. They worked as an industry team to debate the pros and cons, determine the goals of the loyalty benchmark, uncover areas to measure, and worked hand-in-hand with SERVICE 800 to design the interview questions.

Mind Share — Don’t overlook the fact that industry leaders revel in the opportunity to gather and discuss similar concerns and challenges. As they discover similar challenges, the annual meeting gives these leaders an opportunity to share solutions and try to raise the level of service for the industry as a whole. For example, attendees share ways of using customer satisfaction data to drive change, reward high performance, and determine unbiased bonus structures. They also discuss how companies can use benchmark data to determine where to apply limited resources and get the most benefit.

Recognize Achievers — Each year, the group recognizes a limited number of participants for outstanding service performance over time, by honoring them with a Service Quality Award.

Next Week — “The 2004 Annual Benchmark User’s Group Meeting”

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 Software 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 follow up 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.