Measuring\ncustomer satisfaction has far wider ramifications than merely knowing that they\nhad a smile on their face once they\u2019d made their purchase. A company\u2019s very\nexistence can depend on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is, of\ncourse, gratifying to know that the product or service you have worked so hard\nto create is sufficiently well received to ensure repeat business and, if\nyou\u2019re lucky, to build a great reputation. There are, however, more fundamental\nreasons to care about what your customers think. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether or\nnot you measure customer satisfaction, or are required to within your field,\nthere are industries which offer little choice in this regard. Firms which\ncarry a qualitative accreditation, such as those of the International Standards\nOrganisation (ISO), or other sector-specific accreditations in such fields as\nIT or health, will be held to account during audits and measured against\nspecific criteria when it comes to customer satisfaction. A failure to meet the\nlevels expected can have serious consequences for them, such as failing the\naudit and even losing their accreditation. In turn, some of their clients will\nhave a policy of not using (or not being allowed to use) a company which does\nnot meet the standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nrequirements of ISO 9001:2015, for example, call for a performance measurement\nsystem to be in place to record, monitor and measure everything from customers’\ncomplaints and rejections, through to trends for on-time delivery, customer\nsurveys and scorecards. Not only must firms collect this data, but they have an\nobligation to analyse the results and effectiveness of the system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This may\nseem somewhat onerous, but companies already used to the quality system find\nthat maintaining it brings the added advantage of habitual good housekeeping.\nThis ensures an almost guaranteed level of quality in the context of products\nand services and helps to quickly identify the source of a complaint or fault\nwhen it does arise. Thousands of new businesses of all sizes apply for\naccreditation every year, especially if they are hoping to gain lucrative\nlong-term work, particularly in the public sector. You may even wish to do the\nsame yourself at some stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, you\nalready know that many of your customers return with repeat business. That must\nmean they love what they\u2019re getting, right? Not necessarily. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are a\nvariety of reasons why customers return, not all of them positive. Could it be\nthat there are no alternatives in your location? If so, they may begin to look\nelsewhere or move to a competitor new to the area. Could it be that the person\nmaking the purse-string decisions is lazy and hasn\u2019t bothered to look for\nalternatives? If that\u2019s the reason, then a change in staff could well bring\nwith it a search for another supplier. Finally, could it be that you are the\ncheapest? It may surprise you to learn that many companies are actually\nprepared to pay a little more for better service and it may only be a matter of\ntime before your clients chose to do precisely that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One way to\nknow for sure how satisfied your customers are is to have a satisfaction\nprocess in place, to monitor it, analyse it and then act on the results. You\nwill be repaid in more ways than you might imagine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"