What IS “Customer Satisfaction”?

Fri, 13 Jun 2014, in Business

There are some businesses out there that take customer support a little too seriously. We’ve all gone through this before. Like the time when my friend was taking delivery of a new car.

After finalizing the deal, the service rep asked what my friend thought of their beyond stellar service. My friend nodded and smiled, indicating all was great. The salesman hinted that they take customer service seriously, but my friend thought nothing of it. The next morning, his inbox read “We want to make sure your service was EXCELLENT, and if not, let us know IMMEDIATELY!” in a slightly alarming tone. At which point I’d begin wondering how to squeeze out a free latte or a voucher for a massage session… Why not, right?

photo credit autohistorian

Did they take customer service a bit too far or was there a valid reason behind the follow up? Sometimes, good old follow up methods can indeed translate to repeat business, increased sales and rave reviews. But does the business reach its end goal – that is provide a satisfied customer? If not, what can guarantee customer satisfaction, then? Customers need social collaboration, guided discussion and communication streams that are in line with their emotional needs.

Customer satisfaction is more important than customer service

So there you have it. Customer satisfaction should be your end goal instead of merely delivering great customer service. We all know the definition of customer service. It’s customer assistance during and after purchase of a product. Defining customer satisfaction is not as simple, as the means of provision change due to technological advancements and consumer expectations. Getting satisfied customers is not as simple as sending off satisfaction emails like my car-friend so lovingly got.

The relentless pursuit of customer satisfaction, however is based the belief that satisfied customers are a valued asset to the company. This means they are:

• much more likely to be repeat clients (increasing sales)
• likely to spend more money than other clients (increasing profit per sale)
• more responsive to promotional activities (return on marketing investment)
• cost less to serve (reducing customer service costs)
• more engaged in providing feedback for new products (reducing development costs)
• spread company awareness and refer others (reducing marketing costs)

How do you keep the modern customer satisfied? Engagement.

In the modern world, customers need to be engaged and connected. It’s not enough to simply sit back and watch nature take the (online) course for you. In a world that’s judged by Twitter hashtags, Facebook Likes and Google+ shares, companies have a lot to swallow when it comes to getting customers on the same wavelength as themselves.

It’s possible to build successful customer communities from scratch (that will finally give you a good grasp on customer satisfaction levels) without much investment. Helprace offers a community built for accommodating your user base and guiding customer communication. If you’d like to learn more, we invite you to check out our tour.

Tags: business