Customer satisfaction indicates the fulfillment that customers derive from doing business with a firm. In other words, it’s how happy the customers are with their transaction and overall experience with the company.
Customers derive satisfaction from a product, or a service based on whether their need is met effortlessly, in a convenient way that makes them loyal to the firm. Hence, customer satisfaction is an important step to gain customer loyalty.
Organizations calculate the customer satisfaction score (CSAT), which is the average rating of a customer’s responses, the net promoter score (NPS), which indicates the probability that a customer refers a brand to another person, and the customer effort score (CES), which indicates how easy it is for a customer to do business with a firm. The customer satisfaction metrics are then used to estimate consumer behavior.
Customer satisfaction is a part of customer’s experience that exposes a supplier’s behavior on customer’s expectation. It also depends on how efficiently it is managed and how promptly services are provided. This satisfaction could be related to various business aspects like marketing, product manufacturing, engineering, quality of products and services, responses customer’s problems and queries, completion of project, post delivery services, complaint management etc.
Customer satisfaction is the overall essence of the impression about the supplier by the customers. This impression which a customer makes regarding supplier is the sum total of all the process he goes through, right from communicating supplier before doing any marketing to post delivery options and services and managing queries or complaints post delivery. During this process the customer comes across working environment of various departments and the type of strategies involved in the organization. This helps the customer to make strong opinion about the supplier which finally results in satisfaction or dissatisfaction.
Customer satisfaction is the measure of how the needs and responses are collaborated and delivered to excel customer expectation. It can only be attained if the customer has an overall good relationship with the supplier. In today’s competitive business marketplace, customer satisfaction is an important performance exponent and basic differentiator of business strategies. Hence, the more is customer satisfaction; more is the business and the bonding with customer.
Customer’s perception on supplier helps the customer choose among the supplier on basis of money value and how well the delivered products suit all the requirements. The supplier’s services never diminish after the delivery as customer seeks high values post marketing services which could help them use and customize the delivered product more efficiently. If he is satisfied with the post marketing services, then there are good chances for supplier to retain the customers to enhance repeated purchases and make good business profits.
It is necessarily required for an organization to interact and communicate with customers on a regular basis to increase customer satisfaction. In these interactions and communications, it is required to learn and determine all individual customer needs and respond accordingly. Even if the products are identical in competing markets, satisfaction provides high retention rates. For example, shoppers and retailers are engaged with frequent shopping and credit cards to gain customer satisfaction, many high-end retailers also provide membership cards and discount benefits on those cards so that the customer remain loyal to them.
Higher the satisfaction level, higher is the sentimental attachment of customers with the specific brand of product and also with the supplier. This helps in making a strong and healthy customer-supplier bonding. This bonding forces the customer to be tied up with that particular supplier and chances of defection very less. Hence customer satisfaction is very important panorama that every supplier should focus on to establish a renounced position in the global market and enhance business and profit.
Benefits:
Support During Corporate Crisis
The second major benefit of Customer Satisfaction, which is connected to revenues, is in the area of corporate crisis. Satisfied consumers want the company to survive at the time of crisis, and also, they will support till the end. Customer Satisfaction is most likely the best source of insulation against the corporate crisis.
Greater Customer Loyalty
It’s obvious that satisfied customers will come back and likely to spend more money, which is good for business and will become loyal customers in the future.
Consider a business as a bucket. Consumers flow in and fill the bucket up. A successful business will have a full bucket of customers (and profits). If there is a hole in the bucket, consumers who flowed into will start coming out from the hole.
Growth in Sales Revenue
Companies that make Customer Satisfaction a priority will result in increased sales revenue. There is a direct connection between customer satisfaction and increased revenue.
Satisfied consumers will not look at your competitor’s offers they would interact with your brand, make a purchase, and recommend the products and services to friends and family.
Increases Brand awarness
The importance of Customer Satisfaction should never be ignored. Plan your marketing strategies and campaigns which can capture the level of customer satisfaction. The probability is high that satisfied consumers are more likely to share your content across numerous social media channels.
Stand Out from the Competition
Kate Zabriskie, a renowned author, once said that “Although your consumers won’t love you if you give bad services, your competitors will.” and we couldn’t agree more.
Bain & Company found that businesses providing excellent customer experience generate 4% to 8% more revenue than their direct competitors.
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