How to Measure Customer Satisfaction

How happy are your customers? If you don't know the answer to that question then it might be time for some additional research. The best way to expand your company is to make sure you're giving your customers what they want.

The only way to find that out is to gauge their level of satisfaction. Professor Scott Smith, the co-founder of Qualtrics, has come up with a simple and direct approach to determining customer satisfaction.

Here are the four fundamental measurements he suggests you apply to your business:

Perceived Quality

You can ask your customers to fill out a survey card and leave it at your store or answer a quick online survey. Either way, the first question to ask is a variation on the theme of "How was your experience with our company?" Right off the bat you're going to know how the customer feels especially if you ascribe some sort of rating like a scale of 1 to 10 or adverbs like "great, good, so-so or bad." This will become your baseline for customer satisfaction.

The Loyalty Measurement

Every business depends on loyal customers coming back to make additional purchases. The hope is that those customers will take the next step and recommend that company to someone else. With the loyalty measurement you'll be asking, "Would you recommend our company?" It's a yes or no question that you can break down to degrees such as "very likely, somewhat likely, etc." It's a terrific snapshot to judge how many referrals your customers can bring in. That might inspire you to take it a step further with some sort of incentive program.

Attribution Satisfaction

These are the survey questions you'll be asking that get into the specific of a particular product. In other words, you want to find out what attracted a customer to that product. Was it the price? Availability of sizes? Ease of shipping? Colour? There could be many factors that went into the purchase. Finding those out will help support future product launches and sales campaigns.

Intention to Repurchase

There are some products that are geared to be bought only once while others require frequent repurchasing. Either way, you want to know if your customer was happy enough with your business that they would do it all over again. A customer with a positive shopping experience is more likely to buy that product again, perhaps as a gift. At the very least they'll be recommending your company to others.

Take note that all the positive information you gather in these types of surveys can be used in your own marketing campaigns. If you can have a 100% customer approval rating why wouldn't you share that with the world?

Of course, you won't know any of this unless you ask!

Less is More - Online User Experience Design

The adage "less is more" can apply to many things. It holds true in cooking, gardening, academics and especially business. It revolves around the idea that you don’t want your customers to think more than they have to.

The fewer decisions to make during the shopping process, the better.

This becomes easier when we consider all of our customer touch points throughout the decision making process. With how connected most people are now, an important part of this is recognizing what platform they’re using and what specific information they’re looking for.

Ask yourself the following questions when approaching your customer’s user experience:

What can you take out of the online shopping experience to make it easier for your users to make purchasing decisions?

 Are you presenting them with too many options too soon in the shopping process

Can you keep your customers engaged while minimizing the decision making experience?

Amazon has perfected the one click approach to online shopping but not without a lot of trial and error. Take a look at these websites to see how they are utilizing the "less is more" principle to web design:

Apple: If there is one company who has mastered the simplified approach to web design it is Apple. Even with the vast array of products that are part of the company's catalog you'll find that their home page consists of just three things: a navigation bar, a single product featured on the page and formational links below the fold.  The focus is on finding what you want, quickly and easily. When you click over to a specific product page you'll find sidebars featuring links to related products and support but that single product still dominates the attention of the user. You're not going to find dense copy, ads or clutter.  

 Shoeguru: Shoeguru is a terrific example of combing user-centric ideas with product-centric solutions. There also exemplify the proverbial "Grandma Rule." If the site is so easy to use that your grandma can shop there then you've achieved the ultimate in minimalistic design.

Etsy: Like Amazon, Etsy is an e-commerce site which has an expansive catalog. However, that doesn't mean you should crowd your page with tons of information to get your point across. Let strong and vibrant product shots do the selling work. In other words, you need only show what you need to make the sale. Specs and reviews matter but they should be part of the clickthrough.

After identifying the platform or device your customers will be on at any given point during their shopping process, remove all unnecessary obstacles, and give them exactly what they need.

The end result will be smaller bounce rates, more sales, customers who feel like you understand their needs.

How to Make Yourself Invaluable to the Customers

Let's face the facts. If you ever believed that attracting new customers was your biggest business challenge, you were sorely mistaken. Winning customers is less than half the battle. The bigger challenge, most business owners would agree, is how to keep them. After all, if you devoted most of your energy in trying to attract a customer to you, logic dictates that someone else is also trying. Therefore, you have to work extra hard to retain that customer, rather than their moving to the competition.

But, how do you put that theory into actual practice? If you have developed a successful service or product, chances are very good that your competitor is working on an improved version. And, the improved version just may sway the customer from you to the competition.

The human aspect is a vital component of success. You have to create an environment that a customer will regret leaving. Certainly, business is about sales and strategies, finance and finesse. It's also all about people. Becoming more than a supplier of goods and services is the secret link. Learn to appreciate that your customer has needs outside of normal office hours. Be ready to go the distance for your customers and they will remember. Make their concerns your concerns, even at the risk of having a major headache. Also, think outside the box. How can you help your client's business, above and beyond what you already supply? Work hard to make yourself an extension of your client's enterprise. The customer should know and feel that you can always be counted on, no matter what or when, even if they only need advice. True, talk is cheap but it can be an investment with a fantastic return.

From the first time a new customer comes through your door, approach the moment as the start of a long term relationship. If you proceed along those lines, you will have laid the foundation for a bright future.

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