Customer Satisfaction Survey

The extent to which a customer has been satisfied with the products or service they have experienced when dealing with your organisation is largely dependent on the pre-conceived expectations they had of this product or service in the first place.

Customers primarily form their expectations through past purchasing experiences, word-of-mouth from family, friends and colleagues and information delivered through marketing activities, such as advertising or public relations.

If a customer's expectations are consistently exceeded (rather than merely satisfied), that customer will be far more likely to remain loyal to your organisation in the long term, both in terms of repeat business as well as promoting your organisation's products and services to their friends and family. Conversely, if a customer's expectations are not met, they will be dissatisfied and highly likely to tell others about their experience.

Quantum's Customer Satisfaction Survey is an excellent means by which to determine:

• The expectations that customers have of your organisation's products and services

• Whether you are meeting, exceeding or falling short in delivering on these expectations

• New customer requirements or market trends that can be utilised in order to continue to exceed customer expectations.

Quantum's Approach: Customer Satisfaction Survey

Quantum's Customer Satisfaction Survey draws on the SERVQUAL model developed by Zeithaml, Parasuraman, and Berry. The SERVQUAL model uses several dimensions of service quality to measure the gap between the customer's pre-conceived expectations of service and the service actually received. The principles and dimensions of the SERVQUAL model are highlighted in the diagram below.

Another tool which Quantum utilises in order to measure customer satisfaction is the Net Promoter Score. The Net Promoter Score is calculated from one simple question about whether a customer would recommend a product or service to a friend or colleague. Research has indicated this question to be the ultimate determinant of customer satisfaction with strong correlations being found between Net Promoter Scores and revenue growth. Willingness to promote a company is such as strong indicator of loyalty because when customers recommend an organisation, they are putting their personal reputation on the line - something they will only do if they are intensely loyal.

The Net Promoter Score is calculated by subtracting the percentage of customers who say they are unlikely to make a recommendation from the percentage who say they are extremely likely to do so. Comparing Net Promoter Scores across Regions, Divisions, Branches, etc. will reveal root causes of differences as well as best practices that can be shared. Net Promoter Scores are also benchmarked against similar-sized organisations from your specific industry sector.

Benefits: Customer Satisfaction Survey

• Determine whether you are meeting, exceeding or falling short in delivering on the expectations that customers have of your organisation's products and services.

• Determine new customer requirements or market trends that can be utilised in order to continue to exceed customer expectations.

• Determine the percentage of your 'promoters' (intensely loyal customers) who are willing to recommend your organisation to their family, friends and colleagues.

• Benchmark customer satisfaction against your competitors to determine the specific dimensions of service quality that require improvement within your organisation.

• Using an external provider to administer your survey will ensure respondent anonymity and hence, give your customers the confidence to provide an objective evaluation of your organisation.