For
most businesses, retaining existing customers is
cheaper than acquiring new
customers. Customers become repeat purchasers usually because they believe that
the products or services they buy are good value for money and the service they
receive when contacting the firm is at the very least satisfactory.
So
the question is: how do you measure if
the service a customer receives is of an acceptable standard?
With a limited budget there
are a number of actions that a company can take to obtain data about how
satisfied their customers are with the company's products and services. These
include:
• Examining recent correspondence customers have
sent to the company. What you are looking for here is the frequency with which
certain topics are being raised and the language customers use in their
correspondence:
Items relating to regulatory matters that are usually
out of your control (but if they arise frequently it suggests there is a need
to provide better communication on the subject and how limited one is to be
able to influence it); items relating to policy decisions (which being under
your control you may choose to change) or items relating to operating
procedures (again which are under your control).
If they use a lot of emotive words then it reveals the
depth of their concern with this matter.
If customers mention that they are writing/emailing
because they have been unsuccessful in getting through to you on the telephone
or in person, or that they have not yet had a reply to an earlier call or
letter, then you can be fairly certain that these customers are not 'satisfied'
with the service from your company.
• If you have a call centre, or have outsourced
customer service to another company, then you should ask for statistics about
the number of calls received, the topics and the frequency with which each of
the topics are being raised. It is also worth finding out the average amount of
time a customer spends talking with an agent and if this varies by topic.
• Contacting a random selection of customers and asking
them what they think of the products and services they have bought, or to
follow up on a recent call they may have had from a sales rep to find out how
happy they were with the call and the matters discussed. If your business
involves subscription purchases, then contacting a sample of customers who have not renewed their subscription to
find out why may provide useful information.
• The internet can also provide access to useful
information about not only your customers but also about customer opinions
about the industry or profession in which your firm operates. You must check
that any data is relatively up to date. There are many different sources
available, ranging from blogs by individuals about the service they have
received (or from employees about their working conditions) through to reports
and other materials provided by individual companies, trade associations, etc.
• It is also possible to conduct your own surveys
but it may be more cost efficient to outsource this to a market research
agency. However, if you do decide to conduct your own survey then consider not
only the content of the questionnaire but also its structure and design. In
addition, do not underestimate how much time and effort will be involved not
only in the pre-fieldwork stages but also afterwards when it comes to analysing
and interpreting the date customers have provided.
I hope this helps your
business be outstanding.
One more thing before
you go...I would like you to do one important thing for me - spread the word
about this article.
That is all -
David
No comments:
Post a Comment