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!

What Customers Want... But Won't Tell You

We all know the "customer is always right." But did you also know that the "customer is always lying?" Maybe not so much as lying as not telling you what they're really thinking. Yes, you can put out the occasional survey to get impressions of your business but by then it might be too late to fix things.

What a customer won't tell you might end up hurting your business especially if it is keeping that customer from coming back for repeat business. Here are five things that customers wants but won't tell you up front.

They want your staff to look good.

This doesn't mean you have to hire runway models as your sales staff. However, appearances do matter. How your employees dress and groom themselves sets the tone for your business. If you're running a sports bar then tattoos, piercings and wild hair will fit right in. However, if you're selling carpet you don't want a motley crew being the face of your business. Set the dress code that is appropriate for your business and make your new hires aware of those codes before they agree to the job.

They want to matter.

When a customer walks into a store they should be greeted by a friendly staff member and asked, "How can I help you?" This lets them know that their business is appreciated. That same kind of relationship can be built through an online store. If a customer sends an email query, try to answer that right away. Hopefully, it will be a personal answer. Whenever possible, provide your customers with the opportunity to comment on your business. This can happen through social media, email survey or even directly on your website. When they feel that their business is appreciated, they'll come back for more.

They want contact.

Like it or not, we're living in a 24/7/365 type of society. Our news is around the clock. Same for our TV watching. Many big grocery and convenience stores are open 24 hours. The same can be said for gas stations, diners and doughnut shops. In other words, we're getting used to getting what we want whenever we want it. Your business needs to make the effort to appeal to that same desire of immediate satisfaction. This doesn't mean you need to keep your doors open around the clock. However, having a voice mail system where a customer can leave a message will go a long way towards providing that feeling of being open 24/7.

They want consistency.

It's difficult to image a business that won't have some level of staff turnaround. From a customer's perspective, they might have grown accustomed to working with a specific salesperson or staff member. They've built up a relationship. That's important for a loyal customer. When a change in staff occurs, try to reach out to your loyal customers and let them know what is going on and assure them they're needs will continue to be met. 

Top 5 Ways Email Marketing Can Help Small Businesses

The success of any business is built on the strength of its customer relationships. While loyal return buyers are always a goal, a business can’t thrive unless they continue to expand their customer base. Using an email marketing campaign is a direct and cost effective way to accomplish both of those goals. The following are the top five ways that an email marketing campaign can help a small business.

1.      Direct Sales

In the world of e-commerce, the mailing list is gold. Before email came along, direct mail campaigns were used to entice customers. Businesses were happy with a 1% or 2% return rate. But even that measure of success was hard to track. Today, an email marketing campaign can invite customers directly to your website where they can instantly make purchases. You’ll be able to track a spike in sales to the delivery of those marketing emails as a way of judging the success rate.

2.      Increase Brand Awareness

The internet version of “junk mail” is referred to as “spam.” These are the email messages that are unsolicited and are often quickly deleted. With a small business email campaign, you could be sending directly to customers who have requested information about your business. This makes them a more attentive audience. It also helps promote your brand. Not every email needs to be about a hard sale. You could include a newsletter which promotes part of your company history or tells the personal stories of your staff. It’s all about making a positive connection between your business and your customers.

3.      Special Promotions

Every savvy shopper is always on the prowl for a good coupon or special sale. An email marketing campaign can incorporate those special promotions to generate significant sales. While you’ll want to promote holiday bargains, there is no reason why you can’t have ongoing discounts throughout the year. When a customer opens an email with a special offer, they might be inclined to act immediately especially if you put a “ticking clock” on that offer.

4.      Customer Surveys

A marketing email could include a customer survey. This will help you determine what your customers might be looking for in terms of products. It can also give you a glimpse into their thinking about how your staff handles customer service. Everyone likes to give their opinion especially if it can be done on their own time and if there is an incentive for it (as opposed to a phone survey).

5.      Introduce New Products

If you have millions to spend on television advertising you could reach a wide audience to introduce a new product. However, most small business don’t have those kinds of disposable marketing funds. An email blast can literally reach those same millions of potential customers in a fraction of the cost. Keep in mind this will be a captive audience that won’t be able to “zap” through the email like they would a TV commercial!