Concentrating on the customer experience and attaining high customer satisfaction ratings is key to any organization. Whether a business markets its products or services to consumers or to other businesses, the interpersonal interactions from representatives, the quality of service and the ability to maintain a high regard among customers is all critical to overall success and the bottom line.
For example, in 2008 Sprint had a lackluster customer satisfaction score and a poor reputation to match, which resulted in frantic spending to develop initiatives intended to stop the flood of lost subscribers, claims 1to1Media.com. Now, in 2012, the business has focused on customer care from the beginning of every subscription process. This has reduced customer care costs from $3.7 billion annually in 2008 to $2 billion a year in 2012 – $1.7 billion in savings each year. In addition, the company has signed 1 million new subscribers per quarter for the past six consecutive quarters.
How did the organization accomplish these feats? Sprint turned around its brand by paying attention to the needs and desires of the customer. Customer satisfaction research is the ideal method of gaining insight into the views of consumers. From the very first interaction and throughout the entirety of the contract, keeping tabs on satisfaction levels can give a business the data it needs to succeed in a competitive market.
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linkedin Advantest Corporation, a global provider in semiconductor test equipment, released the results of the annual VLSI Research Customer Satisfaction Survey. According to the organization’s global customer base, Advantest provides a high-quality service. Results from the annual survey and other data collection enterprises are used to develop products and services.
The survey found that more than 99 percent of the worldwide chip market rated the organization as a premier brand in 15 categories and three factors – supplier performance, customer service and product performance.
"Making the 10 BEST list each year since its inception is an impressive distinction," said G. Dan Hutcheson, CEO of VLSI Research. "In a year that presented challenges including catastrophic natural disasters in its home country, and the acquisition of a major competitor, the company never lost sight of its customer-focused approach to business."
Organizations interested in rising to the top in their competitive industry can use customer satisfaction research to provide a basis for new initiatives. Methods such as web surveying provide a business with clear-cut and definable results. This invaluable insight into the views of a customer base can advance programs and services.
In an increasingly mobile world, it comes to no surprise that the performance of communication methods are an integral component of customer loyalty when it comes to banking. Without appropriate channel management, financial institutions may be largely unable to retain customers, according to the latest results from the 2012 World Retail Banking Report.
An outstanding 70 to 90 percent of all banking customers cite the internet and local branches as the most important communication channel, yet only 40 to 60 percent report a positive experience. This relatively low customer satisfaction rating can quickly foul the relationship between a business and its consumer, which can result in two large trends developing: customers switching institutions and an increase in mobile banking.
Mobile banking already has the highest increase in positive customer satisfaction and experience in a majority of global regions. By 2015, an estimated 43 percent of consumers are expected to use mobile tools every month, and 10 percent will be daily users.
A business looking to improve the customer experience may wish to deploy strong services in a variety of communication channels such as local branches and online or mobile platforms. Using customer satisfaction research an organization can determine prevalent trends in the average user’s experience and create strategic plans of action based on accurate information.
BabyAge.com experienced an increase in customer satisfaction rates and sales after obtaining a third-party internet retailer guarantee from buySAFE, Inc. Not relying on subjective reasoning, BabyAge.com implemented a split A/B testing methodology to accurately determine if there was an increase in sales and improved customer satisfaction after partnering with the brand.
According to the organization, order conversion improved by 4.7 percent over a four week period. Customer satisfaction also increased due to the new online retailer guarantee.
"When reviewing potential 3rd party services, there is always natural skepticism, but with an 80 percent satisfaction rate provided by the buySAFE program the feedback speaks for itself. Customer Satisfaction and experience has always been a key factor in providing value to our clients and with the benefit of buySAFE, this coincides with our corporate message," said Ryan Urban, Chief Revenue Officer of Babyage.
The organization has a history of using surveying to determine the success of programs. Businesses interested in gaining reliable feedback on new initiatives can invest in customer satisfaction research.
Relationships are ever-evolving, and this fact holds true between business and customer partnerships as well. According to Coveo Insights, identifying the changing landscape of customers’ needs is a primary responsibility of a successful company. Without such communication, it is too easy for organizations to fall from grace in the customer’s eye.
As a result, customer satisfaction research is an ideal method of tracking the needs and desires of the collective group. Methods such as web surveying provide a communication channel that has been refined to streamline data so that it may be consumed and used to more easily improve services and programs.
The insight gained from customer satisfaction research allows a business to craft strategic plans of action and build a superior brand. Communication is vital in any relationship – and surveys are the necessary tool for promoting discussion between companies and consumers. In a competitive market, every nuance of a business’ practices must be examined in order to negate any potential for missed sales. Basing initiatives off satisfaction feedback is a smart business move.
How well is your business promoting its relationships?
Consumers talk. However, are companies accurately applying the right communication strategies to hear them?
According to the 2012 Global Customer Service Barometer, nearly a third of consumers believe that even in the current recession, businesses are paying less attention to providing quality service, which is resulting in poor customer satisfaction feedback. The research entailed 1,000 random interviews conducted between February 22 and 29, 2012. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percent.
In addition, three out of ten consumers believe businesses’ attitudes toward customer service have not improved and only 32 percent of customers are under the impression that businesses are focusing on improving service.
This is a poor view of a majority of businesses in the U.S. from the eyes of consumers. Purely looking at it from a profit margin perspective, an estimated two thirds or 66 percent of respondents stated they are willing to spend more with a company that provides an excellent customer experience. This is down from the 70 percent who stated they would spend more if service was exceptional. Recipients of high-quality customer service were willing to spend 13 percent more on average.
Businesses wishing to improve the bottom line can take a look at customer satisfaction feedback to determine where they are missing the mark. Meeting customer expectations by providing a service or product they view positively will improve satisfaction feedback and profit margins.
Organizations intent on improving how customers view their brand can use customer satisfaction research methods such as Interactive Voice Response (IVR) to collect details of the consumer experience. With the results in hand, a company can better commit to improvement measures in products, services and overall experience. Use reliable data to strategize a solution to lackluster reviews and watch as satisfaction feedback improves. In a competitive marketplace, standing out from the crowd for excellent service can gain a business the edge it needs to succeed.
Have modern business practices left customers unheard? According to an excerpt from a Business Strategy white paper, “Broadcasting the Voice of the Customer,” the evolving face of industry has largely left communicating with customers wide open, with few organizations capitalizing on the opportunity by using customer satisfaction surveys.
"Before the Industrial Revolution, most businesses in the United States were sole proprietorships or small family-run businesses. In those days, every member of the business was in direct contact with the customers and had the opportunity to passively or actively hear the voice of the customer," the paper states. "The voice of the customer tells us what about our product or service that customers find valuable, and what they find annoying or useless. By focusing on what customers found valuable and removing or reducing what they found annoying, these small businesses could accumulate financial success and customer loyalty."
The paper went on to discuss how in the midst of an interconnected world, many businesses are failing to realize that measuring profits is not enough. Now more than ever, communication channels such as customer satisfaction surveys must be used to gain an insight into the minds of those that matter most – the consumers.
Customer satisfaction research methods such as live agent surveying provide businesses the ability to make contact with customers and decipher how to increase positive regard through comprehensive reporting. Crafting unique and direct surveys promote a company’s overall goal by highlighting what products or services are lackluster and which ones shine in the eyes of the customer.
In the modern age, businesses must use every available opportunity to implement strategic plans of action if they want to succeed for the future. While communication may be a more complicated process than it was prior to the Industrial Revolution, customer satisfaction surveys can help bridge the gap.
Companies across the United States are dedicating themselves to measuring customer satisfaction. However, are they doing it correctly?
According to Quality Digest, more organizations are focusing on chasing new customers than retaining current ones. This is surprising, given that experts agree that it costs five to eight times more to attract new customers than to keep the ones already using the service or product.
The global economy has increased market competition across industries. Now more than ever, companies recognize the need to dedicate employees to serving the customer and differentiate their services from those of their competitors. Simply offering a product can gain average customer satisfaction ratings, but offering it along with the right support services could bump rankings from acceptable to exceptional.
Use high-quality customer satisfaction surveys to gain insight and reliable data on the views of the collective group. Capture customer’s true feelings with research methods such as web surveying to measure performance and determine how to improve services.
Take satisfaction feedback and turn it around to become an industry leader through the proper use of custom surveys.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. announced its rank as the number one online retailer in the books, music and video category for customer satisfaction according to the latest ForeSee E-Retail Satisfaction Index. The improved customer satisfaction brought the organization into the top 10, and was attributed to listening to what users wanted.
Results were based on almost 21,000 responses, where Barnes & Noble earned a customer satisfaction score of 82 – up 2 points from 2011’s satisfaction rate and higher than this year’s industry average of 78.
"Providing our customers with the highest quality service in all aspects of their interactions with us is the number one priority at Barnes & Noble.com. We are proud to receive the top rankings in the survey and thank our customers for this recognition," said Dan Gilbert, executive vice president of operations and customer service at Barnes & Noble.
The company responds to approximately 4,000 customer services questions online and in stores every day. It has dedicated itself to using feedback gained from customer satisfaction research to advance services and programs. Businesses can use accurate satisfaction measurements to make intelligent decisions and optimize successful programs while altering or eliminating lackluster services.
In an ultra-competitive market, knowing how your company is satisfying customers is the ideal way to thrive. Let your customers express their feelings with customer satisfaction research.
HR Strategies, a provider of human resources solutions, recently conducted a customer satisfaction survey. The organization hoped to collect data and satisfaction feedback on individual departments, and to learn how clients' rated the company for accuracy and timeliness, responsiveness and how courteous representatives were in all dealings.
The business states that it uses customer satisfaction research to measure how effective it is at meeting client needs and learn of any programs, services or areas that need improvement.
After tallying the results, the business received a 98 percent rating for accuracy of services provided, 99 percent for timeliness of services and 98 percent for responsiveness to client inquiries. When broken down further by department, the Benefits Department received a satisfaction score of 96 percent, the Workers Compensation Department gained a 97 percent, HR received 99 percent, Payroll department earned 98 percent and HR Strategies received a 98 percent score.
The organization plans to use these survey results and those obtained in the future to further improve service. Businesses dedicated to evaluating their performance can implement custom customer satisfaction surveys to gain an in-depth understanding of how clients’ view the organization.
