What is Customer Satisfaction?
Mary Elizabeth
Mary Elizabeth
Customer service is the ability of an organization to satisfy its customers. Customer satisfaction is the measure of how satisfied the customers are. This term refers strictly to those who purchase a good or service. An analysis of the satisfaction of those who, for example, use an ecommerce site without making a purchase, would be an analysis of user satisfaction. The term user satisfaction is also used for other services that are not purchased, such as government service and specifically for the operating efficiency of a purchased product, that is, what it is like to use it. Obtaining a measure of its customer satisfaction is useful in helping businesses secure repeat business and larger purchases.
To measure customer satisfaction, businesses can conduct customer surveys, hold focus groups, and sign up advisory groups. A survey can cover elements of the customer experience, including their ratings of the quality and speed of delivery of the product or service and the pricing, problems they’ve experienced or complaints they have, other types of service or products that they require, and the degree to which they trust the business. Focus groups allow for more in-depth discussion, and can facilitate the presentation of new product or service concepts for reaction on a one-time basis. Client advisory groups have an ongoing relationship with a business. In addition, comment cards offer customers an opportunity to sound off whenever they have something on their minds, and this may allow for positive responses to be recorded that would otherwise be lost.
To ensure customer satisfaction, experts recommend prompt response to customer communications, whether by phone, mail, email, or Twitter®. They suggest that employees maintain a friendly and approachable air and demeanor. It is important to have a clear and detailed customer service policy that is publicly available and to offer the customer an apology and correction when something goes wrong. Clear and straightforward shipping and return policies are also helpful, as is carrying out all promises and implied promises of those policies. In addition, performing over and above promises to help consumers who are in need of further assistance can help turn customers into company evangelists.
Mary Elizabeth
Mary Elizabeth is passionate about reading, writing, and research, and has a penchant for correcting misinformation on the Internet. In addition to contributing articles to about art, literature, and music, Mary Elizabeth is a teacher, composer, and author. She has a B.A. from the University of Chicago’s writing program and an M.A. from the University of Vermont, and she has written books, study guides, and teacher materials on language and literature, as well as music composition content for Sibelius Software.
Mary Elizabeth
Mary Elizabeth is passionate about reading, writing, and research, and has a penchant for correcting misinformation on the Internet. In addition to contributing articles to about art, literature, and music, Mary Elizabeth is a teacher, composer, and author. She has a B.A. from the University of Chicago’s writing program and an M.A. from the University of Vermont, and she has written books, study guides, and teacher materials on language and literature, as well as music composition content for Sibelius Software.
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![Customer satisfaction may be measured through customer surveys.]()
By: BattrickCustomer satisfaction may be measured through customer surveys. -
![Surveys are sometimes used to measure customer satisfaction.]()
By: Andres RodriguezSurveys are sometimes used to measure customer satisfaction. -
![Customer satisfaction may be received at call centers by employees using headsets.]()
By: japoliaCustomer satisfaction may be received at call centers by employees using headsets. -
![Customer satisfaction experts recommend that employees maintain a friendly demeanor.]()
By: CandyBox ImagesCustomer satisfaction experts recommend that employees maintain a friendly demeanor. -
![In order to attract and retain customers, it's essential that a business assesses consumer needs and expectations.]()
By: takaIn order to attract and retain customers, it's essential that a business assesses consumer needs and expectations. -
![Being able to deal with customer complaints effectively can help customer satisfaction.]()
By: Tyler OlsonBeing able to deal with customer complaints effectively can help customer satisfaction. -
![Promptly responding to customers is important to overall customer satisfaction.]()
By: Tyler OlsonPromptly responding to customers is important to overall customer satisfaction.
Discussion Comments
Latte31-I know that when I buy a car there is always a customer satisfaction questionnaire. It asks a lot of customer satisfaction questions regarding the entire car buying process.
It seems most people really dislike the whole car buying process and car companies want to ensure that their car dealerships offer their clientele the best possible service available.
Sometimes JD Power and Associates will outsource a series of evaluations of a car buying experience to a mystery shopping company who will then send a covert representatives to judge the car buying experience.
Many dealerships look for these types of awards to build prestige for their dealership and hope that this customer satisfaction measurement benchmark adds additional value to their brand.
Sunny27-Customer satisfaction feedback is important because when a customer has a bad experience they tend to tell eight to twenty people about it. This is why customer service is important and many loyalty reward programs are offered to reward repeat customers.
For example, Staples offers a rewards card that offers rebates back on paper and ink cartridge purchases. Smoothie King offers a stamp on every purchase and when a customer reaches his tenth purchase he will be rewarded with a free smoothie.
Also many credit card companies offer rewards for a percentage of the overall purchases. Rewards such as airline miles, gift certificates, and cash rebates are really popular and studies show that people spend a lot more when they use a credit card so this is a natural customer satisfaction loyalty tool.
Comfyshoes- Companies understand that customer satisfaction loyalty is the gold standard that businesses live by.
Therefore finding out how customers feel about every aspect of the business helps to improve their service and increase their revenue.
A retailer for example, might seek a focus group in order to determine what the target markets attitudes are toward its competitors.
They may ask questions regarding their purchasing and return experiences. This valuable feedback can change how the retailer services their customers. For example, if the focus group indicated that they were often frustrated with the lack of available qualified sales people on the floor, the retailer might revamp their product training sessions and provide additional staffing.
Customer satisfaction research in a focus group is more valuable than a survey because the percentages of respondents that reply to surveys are very low.
Focus groups are sought out because they meet the target market demographics and are the most likely to buy the product or service. In addition, focus groups allow the panelist to offer unlimited feedback that may fall outside of customer satisfaction survey parameters.
Anon88910-I respectfully have to say that the writer illustrated the basics of customer service satisfaction. While there are instances in which a customer could be satisfied with product but have some form of dissatisfaction with the purchasing process it is not the norm.
For example, a person could go to their favorite restaurant because they love the food, but they leave dissatisfied with the service because the food took too long to be served.
Although these are repeat customers that have no problems with the food they do have problems with the service. This customer will eventually seek a more compatible restaurant that meets all of their needs.
So in a sense I feel that satisfaction of a product or service depends on many factors and it is difficult to have satisfaction of a product while hating the service.
This is why companies use customer satisfaction questionnaires in order to review the customer satisfaction metrics.
Your definition of customer satisfaction is naive. Can a customer be satisfied with a product but be dissatisfied with the service? Does a customer have to be satisfied with every aspect of the encounter to be satisfied? Do some homework.
Dr. B
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