Customer

Customer satisfaction Customer satisfaction, a business term, is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. It is seen as a key performance indicator within business and is part of the four perspectives of a Balanced Scorecard. In a competitive marketplace where businesses compete for customers, customer satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key element of business strategy. There is a substantial body of empirical literature that establishes the benefits of customer satisfaction for firms.

Measuring customer satisfaction Organizations are increasingly interested in retaining existing customers while targeting non-customers; measuring customer satisfaction provides an indication of how successful the organization is at providing products and/or services to the marketplace. Customer satisfaction is an ambiguous and abstract concept and the actual manifestation of the state of satisfaction will vary from person to person and product/service to product/service. The state of satisfaction depends on a number of both psychological and physical variables which correlate with satisfaction behaviors such as return and recommend rate. The level of satisfaction can also vary depending on other options the customer may have and other products against which the customer can compare the organization's products.

Because satisfaction is basically a psychological state, care should be taken in the effort of quantitative measurement, although a large quantity of research in this area has recently been developed. Work done by Berry (Bart Allen) and Brodeur between 1990 and 1998 defined ten 'Quality Values' which influence satisfaction behavior, further expanded by Berry in 2002 and known as the ten domains of satisfaction. These ten domains of satisfaction include: Quality, Value, Timeliness, Efficiency, Ease of Access, Environment, Inter-departmental Teamwork, Front line Service Behaviors, Commitment to the Customer and Innovation. These factors are emphasized for continuous improvement and organizational change measurement and are most often utilized to develop the architecture for satisfaction measurement as an integrated model. Work done by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (Leonard L) between 1985 and 1988 provides the basis for the measurement of customer satisfaction with a service by using the gap between the customer's expectation of performance and their perceived experience of performance. This provides the measurer with a satisfaction "gap" which is objective and quantitative in nature. Work done by Cronin and Taylor propose the "confirmation/disconfirmation" theory of combining the "gap" described by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry as two different measures (perception and expectation of performance) into a single measurement of performance according to expectation. According to Garbrand, customer satisfaction equals perception of performance divided by expectation of performance. The usual measures of customer satisfaction involve a survey

[4]

with a set of

statements using a Likert Technique or scale. The customer is asked to evaluate each statement and in term of their perception and expectation of performance of the organization being measured.

Methodologies American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is a scientific standard of customer satisfaction. Academic research has shown that the national ACSI score is a strong predictor of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, and an even stronger predictor of Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) growth. On the microeconomic level, research has shown that ACSI data predicts stock market performance, both for market indices and for individually traded companies. Increasing ACSI scores has been shown to predict loyalty, word-of-mouth recommendations, and purchase behavior. The ACSI measures customer satisfaction annually for more than 200 companies in 43 industries and 10 economic sectors. In addition to quarterly reports, the ACSI methodology can be applied to private sector companies and government agencies in order to improve loyalty and purchase intent. Two companies have been licensed to apply the methodology of the ACSI for both the private and public sector: CFI Group, Inc.applies the methodology of the ACSI offline, and Foresee Results applies the ACSI to websites and other online initiatives The Kano model is a theory of product development and customer satisfaction developed in the 1980s by Professor Noriaki Kano that classifies customer preferences

into

five

categories:

Attractive,

One-Dimensional,

Must-Be,

Indifferent, Reverse. The Kano model offers some insight into the product attributes which are perceived to be important to customers. Kano also produced a methodology for mapping consumer responses to questionnaires onto his model. SERVQUAL or RATER is a service-quality framework that has been incorporated into customer-satisfaction surveys (e.g., the revised Norwegian Customer Satisfaction Barometer to indicate the gap between customer expectations and experience.

J.D. Power and Associates provides another measure of customer satisfaction, known for its top-box approach and automotive industry rankings. J.D. Power and Associates' marketing research consists primarily of consumer surveys and is publicly known for the value of its product awards. Other research and consulting firms have customer satisfaction solutions as well. These include A.T. Kearney's Customer Satisfaction Audit process[6], which incorporates the Stages of Excellence framework and which helps define a company’s status against eight critically identified dimens

Improving Customer Satisfaction Published standards exist to help organizations develop their current levels of customer satisfaction. The International Customer Service Institute (TICSI) has released The International Customer Service Standard (TICSS). TICSS enables organizations to focus their attention on delivering excellence in the management of customer service, whilst at the same time providing recognition of success through a 3rd Party registration scheme. TICSS focuses an organization’s attention on delivering increased customer satisfaction by helping the organization through a Service Quality Model. TICSS Service Quality Model uses the 5 P's - Policy, Processes, People, Premises, Product/Services, as well as performance measurement. The implementation of a customer service standard should lead to higher levels of customer satisfaction, which in turn influences customer retention and customer loyalty.

Customer satisfaction research Customer satisfaction research is that area of marketing research which focuses on customers' perceptions with their shopping or purchase experience. Many firms are interested in understanding what their customers thought about their shopping or purchase experience, because finding new customers is generally more costly and difficult that servicing existing or repeat customers. Many people are familiar with "business to customer" (B2C) or retail-level research, but there are also many "business to business" (B2B) or wholesalelevel projects commissioned as well.

Types of research Descriptive or documentary research Many customer satisfaction studies are intentionally or unintentionally only "descriptive" in nature because they simply provide a snapshot in time of customer attitudes. If the study instrument is administered to groups of customers periodically, then a descriptive picture of customer satisfaction through time can be developed (this is a type of "tracking" study).

Inferential or models-based research Beyond documentary types of work are studies that attempt to provide an understanding of why customers have the perceptions they do and what may be done to change those perceptions. While models-based studies also provide snapshots of customer attitudes, the results of these studies are more powerful because they present the firm with recommendations on how to improve customer satisfaction. Frequently, these studies also provide firms with a prioritization of the various recommended actions. Inferential studies can also be conducted as tracking studies. When this is done, the firm can gain insight into how the drivers of customer satisfaction are changing in addition to documenting the levels and areas of customer satisfaction.

Methods Quantitative Research Studies Quantitative studies allow a firm to develop an understanding of the "big picture" of their customers' experiences based upon a relatively small number of interviews. This "sample" of the firm's customers must be carefully designed and drawn if the results of the study are to be considered representative of the customer population as a whole. In most cases, the results of quantitative studies are based upon the responses of a relatively "large" number of interviews.

Depending upon the size of the population and the amount of segmentation desired, "large" can be as few as 50 responses or range from several hundred to thousands of interviews. Mail-based, telephone-based, and (more recently) Internet-based surveys and related data collection methods.

Qualitative Research Studies Qualitative studies are used by firms to provide a more detailed and/or unconstrained understanding of customer experiences. In most cases, the results of qualitative studies are based upon dozens of interviews. Qualitative studies are not designed to provide insights that are projectable to the customer population: qualitative studies are used for initial exploration of experiences and topics or to probe more deeply the reasons behind customer perceptions. Focus groups (group depth interviews) and "one-on-ones" (individual depth interviews) are common examples of qualitative studies.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN 7 STEPS 1. Encourage Face-to-Face Dealings This is the most daunting and downright scary part of interacting with a customer. If you're not used to this sort of thing it can be a pretty nerve-wracking experience. Rest assured, though, it does get easier over time. It's important to meet your customers face to face at least once or even twice during the course of a project. My experience has shown that a client finds it easier to relate to and work with someone they've actually met in person, rather than a voice on the phone or someone typing into an email or messenger program. When you do meet them, be calm, confident and above all, take time to ask them what they need. i believe that if a potential client spends over half the meeting doing the talking, you're well on your way to a sale.

2. Respond to Messages Promptly & Keep Your Clients Informed This goes without saying really. We all know how annoying it is to wait days for a response to an email or phone call. It might not always be practical to deal with all customers' queries within the space of a few hours, but at least email or call them back and let them know you've received their message and you'll contact

them about it as soon as possible. Even if you're not able to solve a problem right away, let the customer know you're working on it.

A good example of this is my Web host. They've had some trouble with server hardware which has caused a fair bit of downtime lately. At every step along the way I was emailed and told exactly what was going on, why things were going wrong, and how long it would be before they were working again. They also apologised repeatedly, which was nice. Now if they server had just gone down with no explanation I think I'd have been pretty annoyed and may have moved my business elsewhere. But because they took time to keep me informed, it didn't seem so bad, and I at least knew they were doing something about the problems. That to me is a prime example of customer service.

3. Be Friendly and Approachable A fellow SitePointer once told me that you can hear a smile through the phone. This is very true. It's very important to be friendly, courteous and to make your clients feel like you're their friend and you're there to help them out. There will be times when you want to beat your clients over the head repeatedly with a blunt object - it happens to all of us. It's vital that you keep a clear head, respond to your clients' wishes as best you can, and at all times remain polite and courteous.

4. Have a Clearly-Defined Customer Service Policy This may not be too important when you're just starting out, but a clearly defined customer service policy is going to save you a lot of time and effort in the long run. If a customer has a problem, what should they do? If the first option doesn't work, then what? Should they contact different people for billing and technical

enquiries? If they're not satisfied with any aspect of your customer service, who should they tell? There's nothing more annoying for a client than being passed from person to person, or not knowing who to turn to. Making sure they know exactly what to do at each stage of their enquiry should be of utmost importance. So make sure your customer service policy is present on your site -- and anywhere else it may be useful.

5. Attention to Detail (also known as 'The Little Niceties') Have you ever received a Happy Birthday email or card from a company you were a client of? Have you ever had a personalised sign-up confirmation email for a service that you could tell was typed from scratch? These little niceties can be time consuming and aren't always cost effective, but remember to do them. Even if it's as small as sending a Happy Holidays email to all your customers, it's something. It shows you care; it shows there are real people on the other end of that screen or telephone; and most importantly, it makes the customer feel welcomed, wanted and valued.

6. Anticipate Your Client's Needs & Go Out Of Your Way to Help Them Out Sometimes this is easier said than done! However, achieving this supreme level of understanding with your clients will do wonders for your working relationship. Take this as an example: you're working on the front-end for your client's exciting new ecommerce endeavour. You have all the images, originals and files backed up on your desktop computer and the site is going really well. During a meeting with your client he/she happens to mention a hard-copy brochure their internal marketing people are developing. As if by magic, a couple of weeks later a CD-

ROM arrives on their doorstep complete with high resolution versions of all the images you've used on the site. A note accompanies it which reads: "Hi, you mentioned a hard-copy brochure you were working on and I wanted to provide you with large-scale copies of the graphics I've used on the site. Hopefully you'll be able to make use of some in your brochure." Your client is heartily impressed, and remarks to his colleagues and friends how very helpful and considerate his Web designers are. Meanwhile, in your office, you lay back in your chair drinking your 7th cup of coffee that morning, safe in the knowledge this happy customer will send several referrals your way.

7. Honour Your Promises It's possible this is the most important point in this article. The simple message: when you promise something, deliver. The most common example here is project delivery dates. Clients don't like to be disappointed. Sometimes, something may not get done, or you might miss a deadline through no fault of your own. Projects can be late, technology can fail and sub-contractors don't always deliver on time. In this case a quick apology and assurance it'll be ready ASAP wouldn't go amiss.

Conclusion Customer service, like any aspect of business, is a practiced art that takes time and effort to master. All you need to do to achieve this is to stop and switch roles with the customer. What would you want from your business if you were the client? How would you want to be treated? Treat your customers like your friends and they'll always come back.

“A customer is the most important visitor on our premises, he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.” -Gandhi

The Customer Focus Customer service training for companies who want to create a stronger service culture that builds loyal relationships with their customers and a better environment for their employees. Welcome to The Customer Focus website. The programs focus on customer service training, and were created to help develop a mindset dedicated to delivering outstanding customer service to both external and internal customers. A by-product of this customer service training program is that it helps build employee loyalty and a better working environment. The fundamental purpose of a business is to satisfy customer/client needs at a profit. Your company can only benefit from a strong customer service culture. Satisfied customers are converted to loyal customers. More sales come from existing customers. You customers become your advocates, creating excellent word of mouth advertising. And, much more. The bottom line is

increased revenue. Shep Hyken, the creator of The Customer Focus programs, has been working with companies in the area of customer service and loyalty since 1983. It has taken years to develop the content that goes into The Customer Focus programs. The concepts, strategies and exercises are facilitated by professional trainers that have been approved to present the programs. The Customer Focus is a process that will require the commitment and dedication of every employee in a company. Click here to learn more about what The Customer Focus is all about. Or, call us at (314)692-2200 and have a short conversation with us. Within ten minutes we will determine if The Customer Focus program is right for you and/or your organization. What is The Customer Focus™? The Customer Focus™ (TCF) programs are powerful customer service training workshops. There are several options (Click here to view TCF options.) to consider. The most popular option is to bring TCF direct to your company in the form of a four-part workshop series or one-day seminar. However, all of the TCF programs have similar results – to create and sustain a culture that gets every employee to recognize the value of providing excellent customer service to both internal and external customers.

The success of the TCF program is based on continuity of information flowing to the participant over an extended period of time. With the exception of the one-day workshop, most of the TCF programs consist of four “classroom” sessions with simple, yet effective, exercises/homework in between each session. These sessions will inspire, motivate and educate. Following the sessions, including the one-day workshop, there will be at least six months of weekly tips and articles that reinforce the overall message of customer and internal service. In addition, we can help you create a simple program that recognizes participation and success. This gives longevity to the program and the feeling that even though the “classroom” sessions are over, the customer service training continues. Throughout the sessions the participants will learn to understand their role in the company’s overall customer service and customer loyalty strategy. They will completely understand how their department and individual responsibilities impact the customer. Participants will become aware of the many opportunities they have to make positive impressions (Moments of Magic™) with both their outside and internal customers. Participants will learn to enhance the experience that

both customers and fellow employees have with the company. One of the by-products of the TCF sessions is a stronger sense of teamwork and cooperation between employees and departments. Participants will develop a mindset that will help solve problems and complaints for both outside and internal customers. They will help save defecting customers as they learn how to turn Moments of Misery™ into Moments of Magic™. The bottom line is that participants will, through specific techniques and awareness, help to raise the bar on the company’s overall customer service strategies. The program will help create and sustain a culture that gets every employee to recognize the value of providing excellent service to both internal and external customers. This is customer service training at its best! That is what The Customer Focus™ program is all about!

What is Customer Focus? •

Customer Focus is about getting input from the customer far in advance of the sale - perhaps even before the product or service is designed.

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Customer Focus is about getting all employees to look at their job through the eyes of the customer.

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Customer Focus is about adding value at all levels of the organization not just sales and customer service.

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Customer Focus is NOT customer service...let us show you why Customer Service is NOT a Competitive advantage in today's marketplace and why Customer Focus IS...

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“This workshop gave me skills I can use in every aspect of my job. It will make me a better employee and I will focus more on customers internally and externally.” United Medical Resources

CUSTOMER FOCUS RESEARCH What make one document more customer focused than another document? Do individuals perceive customer focus differently? Do individuals with different cultural backgrounds, different training, or different work experience perceive customer focus differently?

Before I answer those questions, I need to define style versus tone in a document. Style refers to the choices that the writer makes. Tone is the impact on the reader. Style choices include word choice, sentence structure and length, organization, graphics, and the page and document design. Customer focus is an element of tone; it’s the impact of your style choices on the reader. So we are really asking: What style choices should I make as a writer or speaker, to give my document or presentation a customer-focused tone? To determine what prompts readers to see one document as being customer focused, I asked individuals to rank the customer focus of five documents. The base document was a two-page executive summary for a sales proposal. For each of the five documents, the appearance and content were the same while the organization and the writing varied. In other words, the objective of the experiment was to determine what style choices affected the perceived customer focus of a document. To date, more than 2000 individuals from 26 different countries have ranked the customer focus of these five documents. The results have been consistent across cultures: 1st 70% ranked the same document as most customer focused 2nd 70% ranked the same document as least customer focused 3rd The composite ordinal ranking was consistent across groups and cultures 4th Most participants could cite only one or two aspects of the writing to support their ranking