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[T1031]To Measure Customer Service

by Sam Miller, Sam

There are many measurements and choices of what to measure in order to decide whether an adequate guarantee of customer service is being met. However, it is unfortunate that many businesses select the wrong factors to measure or the select the correct elements to measure but make some logic leaps which means the collected data is false or misleading.

A frequent error is to make the assumption that any two or more metrics can separated from the others. As an example, a business call center may measure an employee's performance level by setting maximum average times to complete a customer call. On the corporate level, management may count the number of calls handled during a specific time period and assume that more calls answered means better service.

In fact, a large number of calls handled may reflect poor service quality rather than great service. If the service is so poor that customers don't want to deal with the call center--which unfortunately happens fairly frequently. By the same token, spending longer on each call doesn't mean that the customer is receiving better service. The number of calls has been used as another measure of satisfaction. While fewer calls may mean that fewer customers have complaints about the product or service, it may also mean that the wait times were so extraordinarily long that people simply gave up and hung up the phone.

So, it's important to use enough indicators to make sure you are getting metrics which are measuring different aspects of customer service quality. Another common error which companies make is to use metrics which are easy to track, but that mean little to the satisfaction of the customer. An example would be the amount of non-customer time which the employee spends making notes or acting of the information which the customer has given.

In addition to measure things which are not contributing to customer satisfaction, by choosing the wrong call center performance metrics, the call center management may present a false picture to the employees about what is and is not important to promote customer satisfaction. If the pressure on the employees is only about increasing the number of calls which they can handle during any one period of time, the employee may feel pressured to do almost anything just to get the customer off the line quickly.

When a company is assessing the quality of the customer service which it provides, it's important to first choose enough metrics, so that both scope and number is measured. Second the measurements chosen should rate the things which are important from the customer's point of view. Employees should also understand what is the important factors which they are being rated for their own performance. The employee must always have a clear picture of what is and what is not meant by the term 'quality of customer service.'

In a word, yes. Surveys should be an essential part of every company's interaction with their client base. If designed correctly, they can offer valuable insight into the level of loyalty they feel toward your business. While reviewing your monthly P/L's, balance sheets, and other financial data can reveal how your company has done in the past, measuring loyalty suggests how effective your company is in meeting your clients' current needs.

Below, you'll discover one of the most potent - and disarmingly simple - questions to ask when measuring whether your customers' needs are being met. We'll also explore how to approach their answers objectively. Finally, I'll explain the benefits of this type of survey and provide a couple of tips for conducting one.

The Most Important Question

If you have ever designed a customer satisfaction survey, you already know they can be tedious to fill out. Some are several pages long with lists of questions that require a lot of time to answer. By contrast, you can measure customer loyalty by asking 1 simple question: "Would you recommend this product to a friend?" Then, you would provide the respondents with a 0-5 or 0-10 scale on which they rate their willingness to do so.

Notice the clarity of the question. There's very little ambiguity. As a result, response typically soars and the data is unbiased.

Reviewing The Data

After you've surveyed your client base and have collected their responses, you'll need to analyze the data. Assuming that you have designed the rating scale with clear descriptions of each number, the analysis will be simple. For example, on a 0-10 scale, a 10 might indicate that a person is willing to recommend your product to everyone he meets. A 7 might suggest that he likes your company's product and will recommend it if someone asks, but would not be proactive about doing so.

When you're reviewing the data, this clarity makes categorizing sects of your customer base easier. You may find that 65% of them are happy enough with your product to proactively recommend it to their friends. On the other hand, you'll also be able to identify the percentage who are dissatisfied.

By periodically asking your clients whether they're willing to recommend your product, you can compare the growth or attrition of the categories. That is, you can determine whether the percentage of satisfied or dissatisfied people is growing or declining. This information can be valuable because it tells you whether your business is or isn't meeting your customers' needs.

Advantages Of A Loyalty Survey

As I mentioned above, surveys that measure satisfaction are hampered by their length. But, there are other problems. First, because they're long, they tend to suffer low response rates. Second, the people who aren't satisfied with your product or company are less willing to spend a lot of their time on a survey. Without their participation, the resulting data is biased.

A customer loyalty survey overcomes these challenges by limited the length and time required to participate. That invariably increases response rates and yields data that is less biased. Another advantage is that they can be designed, organized, and executed quickly. The more quickly you can roll it out, the better.

The Rollout

If you're operating from a retail storefront, consider building a website where your customers can fill out the survey. You can print the website's address on receipts, along with small incentives to encourage them to visit. When it's integrated into a POS (point of sale) system, the entire process becomes fluid. Your business will be able to enjoy a continuous stream of data that helps you measure your customers' loyalty. Over time, that data will help guide your decisions about new or existing products and the level of service your company provides.

Article Source : Importance Of Customer Service Training

About Author

Both Sam Miller & Ryan J Bell are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Sam Miller has sinced written about articles on various topics from Debts Loans, Computers and The Internet and Customer Service. If you are interested in , check Sam Miller new web-site.. Sam Miller's top article generates over 550000 views. to your Favourites.

Ryan J Bell has sinced written about articles on various topics from Customer Service, Free Credit Report Score and Asthma. SurveyGizmo is a leading provider of online , check them out on the web for more great ways to use surveys to enhance your business.. Ryan J Bell's top article generates over 49500 views. to your Favourites.