Keith McGregor

ISO 9001 – Measuring Customer Satisfaction – Using Surveys – Do they work?

This Articles is related with the Consumer expectations,benefits and their satisfaction. Well you must judge for yourself, but I think the real issue is "are these companies meeting customer's expectations?

Are you a loyal customer? What do you expect in return for your loyalty?

Have you seen the special introductory offer? £50 cash back from your first order? 20% off introductory offer? What is the thinking behind these slogans? The company wants your business so much that they are prepared to pay for it, hoping that you will become a loyal customer for many years to come.

Do these offers come from organisations that value customer loyalty, well sometimes but it is not always apparent that they do, especially when you find that after the initial offer period, the price rises to a less than competitive sum.

At a time when consumers spending power is adversely affected by government austerity measures, aren't these types of offers just encouraging customers to continuously shop around? Household commodity prices are once again in the news as gas and electricity prices rise faster for consumers than wholesale prices on the international market. The response from watchdogs is to advise consumers to 'shop around' for a better deal.

What are the benefits of 'shopping around' for the customer. More competitive prices in the short-term obviously, but also the uncertainty of starting a new trading relationship with a different supplier. Changing account details, cancelling standing orders and direct debits and re-raising them all takes time and adds risk to the relationship if things do not go according to plan.

Are these deals good for the customer in the long term? Do they contribute to customer loyalty? Are they "marketing led" or "customer focused?"

Well you must judge for yourself, but I think the real issue is "are these companies meeting customer's expectations?"

ISO9001 requires organisations to determine customer's needs and expectations and to ensure that their offerings meet those expectations. This should also be followed-up with determination of whether the customer perceives if their requirements have been met or not. (ISO 9001 clause 8.2.1) "As one of the measures of the performance of the quality management system, the organisation shall monitor information relating to customer perception as to whether the organisation has met customer requirements."

The cost of advertising and promoting special offers is considerable and whilst it will bring in new customers, if these customers make only one purchase it rather defeats the object; far better to analyse customer's perception of service over the long term. Suppliers should assess the potential business from a new customer over the expected lifetime of the supplier/customer relationship. ISO9001 requires top management to retain a "customer focus" to meet customer requirements and enhance customer satisfaction. To "enhance customer satisfaction" we need to consider the supplier/customer relationship over the long term, and focus on developing customer loyalty.

Article Tags: Customer Satisfaction

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