Client Opinions
Client Opinions

January 2011

Customer Quote:

"I wanted to congratulate you on an awesome project. I think the results of the inter-firm study were excellent. The format was very appealing and the information as invaluable. Great vision and execution."

Anonymous,
CEO of a Manufacturing Firm

Client Insights Newsletter

Can You Answer This Critical Question About Your Customers?

The One Critical Question That Every Firm Should Be Able to Answer...Easily!

 
The volatility of the economic climate today demands closer attention to the care and handling of your customers. Yet, many businesses are focused on cost-cutting and other internal issues, which can often cause them to lose sight of their “customer experience.” This can lead to customer friction, damaged relationships and defections as customers turn elsewhere in a hyper-competitive marketplace.

The answer to one critical question can keep you closer to your customers and help turn economic uncertainty into an enduring competitive advantage.
 
Critical Question:
Are we delivering the highest level of satisfaction - in the areas that are most important to ourcustomers?

To answer this question, you must have a deep understanding of which needs are most important to your customers. Armed with this insight, you can measure the level of satisfaction being delivered to address each need.

 
The ultimate goal is to provide the highest level of satisfaction in addressing those few needs that are most critical to your customers. Unfortunately, firms often do a great job of satisfying the least important customer needs while providing lower satisfaction in addressing the most critical needs.
 

RECOMMENDATION:
Client Opinions recommends conducting a year-end Customer Satisfaction Review to establish baseline metrics, understand what is working and uncover opportunities to improve customer satisfaction. The first step in this process is to create a Customer Satisfaction Gap Analysis.

Constructing a Customer Satisfaction Gap Analysis
A simple year-end customer survey will help you collect data to understand the relative importance of each customer need and measure satisfaction being delivered in addressing each need. The data can be used to construct a Customer Satisfaction Gap Analysis (see chart below) showing "gaps" where you may be falling short in satisfying critical customer needs.
 
http://www.clientopinions.com/download.php?mode=getFile&elementID=1412&type=4&atomID=967

The Competitive Advantage of a Gap Analysis
By analyzing this type of information, your organization can ensure it focuses resources (money, time, technology and human capital) on those specific needs that are most important to customers. In the process you will avoid wasting resources on things that clients deem unimportant.

 
Other Important Customer Satisfaction Questions
Honest answers to these questions can get you going in the right direction.
  • Has Customer Satisfaction increased or decreased in the past year?
  • What is the profile of a highly satisfied customer?
  • What are the key drivers of strong client satisfaction? 
  • Are we delivering the strongest satisfaction to our key customers?
  • Is there a difference in satisfaction by product line or service?
  • Does customer satisfaction vary by region, territory or country?
  • Are senior management contacts more satisfied than lower level contacts?
  • Does satisfaction differ by tenure of a customer?
  • Does customer satisfaction vary by industry or market segment? 
Client Opinions Can Help with a Year-end Customer Satisfaction Review.
If you are interested in measuring Customer Satisfaction to obtain actionable data and insights that will improve customer loyalty, contact: cwahl@clientopinions.com or visit www.clientopinions.com.