Customer Satisfaction Equals Success!

The other day I went to the doctor. As usual, I was a few minutes late. This was my first visit to this particular doctor and when I checked in the receptionist told me that I would have to reschedule and come back another time. At first I was somewhat confused, since it was an early appointment and it was not my fault that I got stuck in traffic! I asked her why I could not be seen now and she responded, “Why should the other patients be told to wait an additional 15-20 minutes for their scheduled appointment when they were on time and you were late?”

The explanation was reasonable but I threw the flag and asked for further review.  Taking a step back, I observed something that I truly had not witnessed in a long time; every patient was seen at the appointed time and I suddenly felt a surge of appreciation for how they were providing timely service. Each patient was happy to be seen on time, an unusually uncharacteristic action for a doctor’s office. So I will be going back another day, and this time I will be on time and enjoy the same type of service.

Can you say that your organization’s customer service policy allows you to truly deliver on your promises to your clients? Do you have a method to receive feedback from your customers?

It costs approximately six-times more to attract a new client than to retain an old one. Many times organizations fail to realize how important customer retention is and fail to explore customer satisfaction metrics. Development of these programs can help ensure your organization receives valuable feedback, allowing you to change your internal processes for sales and fulfillment services.

Consider this; a typical dissatisfied customer will tell 8-10 people about their problem. Seven of the ten will do business with you again if you resolve the complaint in their favor and 95% will if your people are empowered to make decision on the spot. The clients that do leave typically blame indifference by the company or an individual.

So where do we start? It is quite simple; begin a small survey of five questions to your clients. Let them know how important their feedback is and consider providing them with a small service credit for responses that you incorporate into your company policies. Think of how valuable they will feel, especially if you provide them with an incentive. That will draw them closer to your organization and help build customer loyalty.

Instilling a program like this in your organization requires a cultural shift, and it may require some outside assistance or coaching. Seek the advice of professionals from groups such as the CompTIA IT Business Growth Professionals Community. Groups like ITBGP are available to guide solution providers through the development and execution of organizational and cultural changes and programs.

Here are a few more statistics that support this topic: 90% of customers who are satisfied with their provider will recommend them to their peers. They will provide you with more value (including referral business) than the incentives you provide them.

So in summary, all these facts support the ideal that customer satisfaction equals success...and hopefully reminds you to be on time for your appointments, too!

Pete Busam is the Chief Balancer for Equilibrium Consulting, an independent firm that consults with technology vendors, distributors, and solution providers on business process, channel management, sales and marketing activities. He can be reached at pete@equilibriumconsult.com.