Customer Satisfaction Evaluation
What the customer thinks and not what the business thinks they think
Customer satisfaction is defined as the number of customers, or percentage of total customers, whose reported experience with a business, its products, or its services exceeds specified satisfaction goals. Over 71% of business owners and managers believe a customer satisfaction metric is very useful in managing and monitoring their business.
It is seen as a key performance indicator (see Strategy 2) and as customer satisfaction is a key differentiator it is also a key element of business strategy (see Strategy1).
Customer satisfaction feedback is critical to improve the weaknesses in customer servicing, while continuing to build-on strengths. Customer service is about what the customer actually thinks of the business’s products and service levels, not what the business perceives this to be. What the customers actually think is critically important, because without them business declines.
Customer satisfaction data are among the most frequently collected indicators of market perceptions. Their principal use is twofold:
- Within companies they focus employees on the importance of customer satisfaction in the delivery of the company’s goods and services.
- Satisfaction is the best indicator of how likely it is that the company’s customers will make further purchases in the future, or recommend friends to make purchases.
Customer satisfaction feedback can be easily and cheaply gathered by directing customers to the business’s online 10 question customer satisfaction evaluation form (which the company has previously set up at www.surveymonkey.com).
Customers should be encouraged to provide feedback on the products and services, as this is the fastest way to improve business, increase client satisfaction and retention, and grow the business.
