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CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY |
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| Customer Satisfaction Defined |
| Customer satisfaction is "the state of mind that customers have about a company and its products or services when their expectations have been met or exceeded. This state reflects the lifetime of the product or service experience." |
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| The "Best" Approach For Building Customer Satisfaction Surveys |
| The best approach to measuring customer satisfaction and building customer satisfaction surveys depends on the kind of product or service provided, the kinds of customers served, how many customers are served, the longevity and frequency of customer/supplier interactions, and what you intend to do with the results. |
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| Three very different approaches both produce meaningful and useful findings: |
- Post Purchase Evaluation - Satisfaction feedback is obtained from the individual customer at the time of product or service delivery (or shortly afterwards). This type of satisfaction survey is typically used as part of a CRM (Customer Relationship Management System) and focuses on having a long term relationship with the individual customer
- Periodic Satisfaction Surveys - Satisfaction feedback from groups of customers at periodic intervals to provide an occasional snapshot of customer experiences and expectations.
- Continuous Satisfaction Tracking - Satisfaction feedback is obtained from the individual customer at the time of product or service delivery (or shortly afterwards). Satisfaction tracking surveys are often part of a management initiative to assure quality is at high levels over time.
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Satisfaction surveys are developed to provide an understanding of customers' expectations and satisfaction. Satisfaction surveys typically require multiple questions that address different dimensions of the satisfaction concept. Satisfaction measurement includes measures of overall satisfaction, satisfaction with individual product and service attributes, and satisfaction with the benefits of purchase. Satisfaction measurement is like peeling away layers of an onion-each layer reveals yet another deeper layer, closer to the core.
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All three methods of conducting satisfaction surveys are helpful methods to obtain customer feedback for assessing overall accomplishments, degree of success, and areas for improvement
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| General Satisfaction Measures |
| Customer satisfaction usually leads to customer loyalty and product repurchase. But measuring satisfaction is not measuring loyalty. |
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| The following are typical satisfaction questions asked: |
| 1. Overall, how satisfied are you with (brand name)? |
| 2. Would you recommend (brand name)? |
| 3. Do you intend to repurchase (brand name)? |
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| These satisfaction survey questions can be asked in a number of different ways, focusing on different reference points focus on: |
- Expectations and their Confirmation or Disconfirmation (was worse, better than expected)
- Performance of the product or service
- Emotional measures of satisfaction (good feelings, bad feelings, happy, sad)
- Willingness to repeat behavior (assumes satisfaction)
- Direct measures of overall satisfaction
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In addition, the scales used in customer satisfaction surveys vary from a simple 5 point "Very Satisfied to Not at all Satisfied" scale to graphical scales targeted at special groups such as children (smiling faces scale).
Some of these satisfaction scales are demonstrated in the following page. Note that there are many, many variations of each of these scales that might reflect slight wording changes or different numbers of scale items.
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