What is the biggest challenge to exceeding customer expectations?

Why would you want to exceed customer expectations? Think about it from another perspective.

1. If one of your suppliers doesn’t give you what you want you will stop using them.
2. If a supplier just gives you what you want you will carry on using them but if something better comes along you will switch at the drop of a hat.
3. If one of your suppliers exceeds your expectations you will become loyal to them and a competitor would have to offer a lot for you to even think of switching.

Now which type of supplier do you want to be to your customers? 1. Someone not meeting expectations? 2. Only just meeting them? 3. Exceeding them? Can you see the financial implications of each of the three examples?

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO HAVE AN INDEPENDENT COMPANY INTERVIEW YOUR CUSTOMERS?

Companies often ask why they can’t do customer satisfaction surveys themselves. In an ideal world you should be doing this yourself on a continual basis. Unfortunately there are many obstacles to conducting a customer satisfaction survey in-house. Some are: the nature of the salesperson, the ability to conduct an unbiased assessment, lack of resources, and ensuring you are using the best theory base.

DO YOUR CUSTOMERS LIKE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEYS?

It is a question I always get asked by prospective clients: “How will our customers react to a customer survey?” And it is an important question too. The last thing you should do is antagonise your customers by doing something they don't like.

HOW TO INCREASE CUSTOMER LOYALTY & SALES BY USING A CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY

I am sure you have participated in many surveys, either online, telephonic, or face to face. When was the last time anyone contacted you to thank you for your input or to comment on what you said? I am willing to bet never. And if they did I bet you still remember which company it was because it made such an impression. With this knowledge next time you do a survey make sure your customers remember you many years later.

GOOD AND BAD PROFITS – DO YOUR CUSTOMERS THINK YOU MAKE BAD PROFITS?

Any profit is a good profit not so? Wrong. A bad profit makes as your long term viability questionable whereas a good profit boosts sales and decreases costs.

THE PROBLEMS WITH A CUSTOMER SATISFACTION INDEX AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM

Much has been written about the dangers of having a Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) and although we create and use a CSI, Customer Relationship Auditing wholeheartedly endorses some of these concerns.

IN A CUSTOMER SURVEY HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHICH CUSTOMERS TO INTERVIEW?

Right off the bat, let me state I do not believe in random sampling when choosing customers to interview. (Nor do I believe that customers should be anonymous. Customers participate in surveys because they want to see improvements, so how can you improve service to a specific customer if you don't know who they are?) 

Do you know the factors involved in your customers buying process, and have they changed since you first signed them on?

A client thought they were solution providers until we analysed their customers’ needs. It turned out their customers wanted a solution provider and thought their supplier (my client) was a box dropper; a very nice friendly crowd, but still a box dropper.

Customer Relationship Auditing launches new website

With technology advances made in the last few years since we last overhauled it, we thought it a good idea to review and refresh our website (www.cra.co.za ). We have aimed at creating a new cleaner image and have used newer technologies to make it faster and easier to download – less onerous on your bandwidth.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IS NOT A POINT BUT A CONTINUUM

A lot of buzz is going around about how you shouldn’t measure customer satisfaction and how you should instead be more interested in customer loyalty as that is the better predictor of repeat purchases. This implies customer satisfaction and customer loyalty are two unique and different things; that you mustn’t measure one and must aspire for the other. Well I disagree. As far as I am concerned, they are two points on the same continuum. Should you aim for one rather than the other? That depends on your business model.