Customers

How can I measure customer satisfaction?

Knowing how satisfied or dissatisfied your customers are with your performance can make the difference between keeping and losing them. But the problem with customer satisfaction is that customers define it, not you! So how do you go about measuring it?

For a start it is important to be proactive rather than reactive. Many companies operate customer complaint handling processes under their ISO 9000 quality registration. However, that may not be enough. Many customers do not complain, they simply walk. And once they have walked it is more difficult to get them back.

Here's how to get started:

• Decide what benefits you are delivering to your customers
• Rank the benefits in the order of importance to the customer - you may have to go and talk to your customers to find out how they see you
• Starting at the top of the list, identify how and when to measure the benefits without inconveniencing your customer
• Identify how you are going to collect the data you require from the customer - at the point of sale? point of delivery? post-sale follow-up? occasional questionnaire?
• Set up a process for collating and monitoring performance and taking action where needed