Immutable Rules for Customer Satisfaction

As the focus of contemporary discussion on management issues moves into ever new fields, I am increasingly asked by potential clients “Why is customer satisfaction important?” Well, in case we forget, “it’s the repeat business, stupid!”  It’s about providing customers with a quality good or service that is so outstanding that it sends their customer satisfaction sky high and ensures that they return time and time again.

Are there some immutable laws of customer satisfaction that can help the practitoner is putting together a good customer care process, perhaps under the aegis of a Key Account Management approach?  I think that there are some basics that are applicable to every situation and I outline them below in note form:

• Profile all of your customers.  Such a profile may include demographic information, but should also list personal likes and dislikes, details of past correspondence as well as account ordering habits.  Such information is essential when reviewing market direction and in assisting with the formulation of marketing campaigns.  This data should be updated regularly because stale customer information will negatively impact the service level you provide to your clients and reduce customer satisfaction.
• Appraise your products and services from your customers’ perspective.  What is it your offering that will ensure complete customer satisfaction?  How will the product be used?  What is the benefit that your service delivers?  How do customers perceive quality?   If you were the customer what would be your expectations of the transaction?
• Ensure that the customer has a clear set of expectations.  If you exaggerated any claims for what you are about to deliver then you run the very real risk of reducing customer satisfaction straight after delivery of your product.  The performance standards of your product or service that you communicate to your customers must be ambitious enough to attract them but also must be sufficiently realistic so as to be met or exceed with every transaction.  Customer satisfaction is fickle.  The ‘Disconfirmation of Expectations Theory’ seeks to explain perceived quality as a function of the difference between customer expectation and the actual performance of the service (Oliver 1980; Grönroos 1982; Churchill and Surprenant 1982).  The theory also argues that customer loyalty, as manifest by repurchase decisions or willingness to praise the supplier by word of mouth, is a function of customer satisfaction.  As customer satisfaction increases so will the level of your customers’ expectations – continually refine your product or service with a view to maintaining and increasing levels of customer satisfaction.  
• Have a programme of clear communication with the customer.  Work with both active and inactive clients by trying to establish a continuing dialogue with them by using alternate forms of communication.  Customer satisfaction grows once the client feels special.  Some effective techniques for maximising customer satisfaction in this way are letters, postcards or e-mails, opinion surveys, product or company newsletters, special promotional campaigns, telephone calls, customer visits and client conferences.  See my next post on e-mail marketing due on 15^th March 2007

Useful References on the Immutable Rules for Customer Satisfaction

Oliver, R. L., 1980, A cognitive model of the antecedence and consequences of customer satisfaction decisions, Journal of Marketing Research, 17 (September), pp 46-49

Grönroos, C., 1982, Strategic management and marketing in the service sector, Research Report No. 8, Helsinki, Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration.

Churchill, G. A. and Surprenant, C., 1982, An investigation into the determinants of customer satisfaction, Journal of Marketing Research, 9 (November), pp 491-504

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