| Businesses that succeed in totally satisfying their | | | | operating in a monopoly situation, a more holistic view |
| customers are ahead of the game in terms of | | | | is needed when conducting a customer satisfaction |
| customer retention and are likely to be far more | | | | survey. The review needs to consider people and |
| profitable than those businesses that don't focus on | | | | processes, the drivers, rather than the quality of the |
| customer satisfaction. Recent trends, however, | | | | product itself. These drivers are, after all, where |
| clearly show that traditional survey methods are | | | | businesses succeed or fail. |
| suffering from falling responses. And when exporters | | | | Since 1990 InfoQuest has included four overall |
| have customers scattered around the globe there is | | | | questions and statements in every one of its 50,000 |
| an obvious problem in how do they find out how | | | | surveys. |
| their customers are feeling? | | | | "On an overall basis, how satisfied are you with our |
| One of Britain's more unusual companies working | | | | company?" is the last card in the deck. The available |
| overseas is TRL Limited (the Transport Research | | | | responses to this question are Totally Satisfied; |
| Laboratory), based on a purpose-built site at | | | | Somewhat Satisfied; Insufficient Information to |
| Crowthorne, Berkshire. TRL, an internationally | | | | Evaluate; Somewhat Dissatisfied; and Totally |
| recognised centre of excellence in all issues relating to | | | | Dissatisfied. The best Totally Satisfied score ever |
| land transport, is the UK's leading provider of | | | | seen was 90% and the worst was just 2%. |
| innovative transport solutions. Well known for its | | | | InfoQuest's own extensive research revealed, "A |
| work relating to road safety, the European New Car | | | | Totally Satisfied customer contributes 2.6 times as |
| Assessment programme (NCAP), pedestrian safety | | | | much revenue to a company as a Somewhat |
| and child restraint systems, TRL has built a global | | | | Satisfied customer". Put another way, the Totally |
| reputation second to none for its knowledge, | | | | Satisfied customer will be fiercely loyal, will recognise |
| technical application and professional integrity. | | | | the value of the relationship over and above the cost |
| Working with consultants, contractors and product | | | | of the product, and will not be tempted by the |
| suppliers worldwide, TRL provides appropriate and | | | | overtures of your competitors. |
| effective solutions to problems of road infrastructure | | | | The three other standard questions are: - |
| and management, road safety, public transport, | | | | "How satisfied are you with the ease of doing |
| undertaking transportation studies and economic | | | | business with our company?" (highest score 93%, |
| analysis, environ-mental assessments and institutional | | | | lowest ever score 3%). |
| strengthening. | | | | "I would purchase products or services from your |
| TRL has worked in over 100 countries throughout | | | | company again" and |
| Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, with a | | | | "I would recommend your company to an associate". |
| dedicated team working exclusively on international | | | | The last two statements are a counter balance. It is |
| projects. In order to maintain its standard of | | | | possible to have a score that reflects the sentiment |
| excellence, TRL decided to survey the opinion of | | | | "I am happy that we have a good working |
| their clients to their business processes. To do this, | | | | relationship but I'm not sure whether I should risk my |
| they engaged the services of InfoQuest Customer | | | | own personal reputation by recommending you to a |
| Relationship Management Limited | | | | friend". |
| InfoQuest uses a unique methodology, which is | | | | The results of TRL's survey were compared with |
| neither paper, web nor interview-based. Instead it | | | | InfoQuest's database of world-class benchmarks and |
| relies on a game-like box and a deck of cards. | | | | then delivered to TRL's executive team, headed by |
| Between 40 and 60 questions and statements | | | | Chief Executive Dr Susan Sharland. |
| appear on the cards, chosen from an extensive | | | | Another exporter of excellence, Airedale International |
| library, which are replaced into particular segments | | | | Air Conditioning Ltd., with offices in the UK, Germany, |
| within the box depending on how the customer | | | | France, North America and South Africa, was keen to |
| wishes to respond. This game-like procedure, which | | | | find out what its international customers really |
| has been applied in more than 50,000 surveys, works | | | | thought about their business processes. Established in |
| in any language in any part of the world. | | | | 1974, Airedale is still run by the two founders, and |
| TRL, whose customers include the World Bank, | | | | has won both the Queen's Award for Export |
| chose to ask questions about their business | | | | Achievement and the CBI Award for Manufacturing |
| processes; management interactions; the quality of | | | | Excellence. |
| their research; their bidding and tendering processes; | | | | Airedale manufactures a wide range of air |
| communication; and flexibility. InfoQuest's special | | | | conditioning products. It also provides service, |
| boxes were packed with the question cards and then | | | | maintenance and training to its customers. The |
| sent out to key customers as far away as The | | | | company exports to more than seventy countries |
| Philippines and Tanzania. | | | | and regularly supplies air conditioning systems to |
| Within a few weeks 83% of the boxes had been | | | | some of the world's most prestigious high-technology |
| returned. The high response rate that InfoQuest | | | | manufacturers. A recent project involved the |
| normally achieves means that those who use this | | | | installation of air conditioning systems at the VESTAS |
| research method can confidently target whom they | | | | wind turbine factory in Denmark, where Airedale |
| want to survey. | | | | equipment now maintains comfortable conditions in |
| In a business to consumer (b2c) environment most | | | | the areas that produce and assemble the massive |
| organisations have plenty of customers to choose | | | | turbine blades. |
| from if they want to conduct a survey. I have | | | | As part of a continuing strategy for growth through |
| maintained for many years that the best way of | | | | excellence, Airedale needed to determine the opinions |
| listening to the (b2c) customer is for the Chief | | | | of its international customers in countries as diverse |
| Executive and their team to regularly spend time at | | | | as China, Hong Kong, Latvia, Bulgaria, Poland and |
| the point of sale and do literally that. Listen to the | | | | Russia. One very important consideration was the |
| customer. | | | | language to be used in the survey. |
| However, in a business to business (b2b) | | | | Traditionally most communications between Airedale |
| environment many firms have far fewer customers | | | | and its customers have been in English, but the |
| and the relationship is not built on a point of sale | | | | etiquette and public relations aspects of this |
| contact - more likely it will be a complex matrix, with | | | | customer satisfaction survey demanded that, on this |
| a number of people on each side of the customer | | | | occasion, local languages should be used. |
| supplier divide having an input to the smooth running | | | | Using local languages might not be as straightforward |
| (or not) nature of an ongoing relationship. | | | | as it first appears, as the following example clearly |
| Traditional methods for collecting survey data fall into | | | | illustrates. If an English-speaking supplier corresponded |
| two camps: - paper-based and interview-led surveys. | | | | with a Malaysian customer in the Malay language, it |
| Paper-based surveys typically have a response rate | | | | could cause offence; the customer may well think |
| of between 5% and 15%, which means that the | | | | that the supplier believes him incapable of fully |
| vast majority of the people who are asked their | | | | comprehending an English survey. |
| opinion don't join in. | | | | InfoQuest issued the Airedale's customers with |
| There are two types of interview-led surveys: - | | | | special boxes in the appropriate local language, used |
| face-to-face or using the telephone. Employing an | | | | native language speakers to validate the surveys and |
| agency to undertake face-to-face surveys in a b2b | | | | translate the written responses to 'open' questions |
| context is a very expensive undertaking, in that the | | | | back into English. Again the world-class benchmarks |
| agency will be doing exceedingly well if it can arrange | | | | were used as comparators to help Airedale to not |
| to see more than one decision-maker at different | | | | only maintain, but also improve, its high standard of |
| customer locations in one single day. Telephone-based | | | | excellence. In this instance 75% of the surveys were |
| surveys have two serious inherent problems. The | | | | returned. |
| first is that the interview can be led, albeit | | | | Customer satisfaction surveys are playing an |
| unwittingly, by the interviewer's tone of voice and | | | | ever-increasing role in quality-based companies. The |
| flirtatiousness (or gravitas). The second problem is | | | | revised international standard ISO 9000 version 2000 |
| that the integrity of the responses tends to drop | | | | now promotes this practice, and the EFQM (the |
| dramatically after the fourth or fifth question. This | | | | European Federation of Quality Management)'s |
| means that a sound telephone-based survey should | | | | Excellence Model, which is separated into nine |
| ask no more than five questions and the most | | | | business process, promotes Customer Results as the |
| important question should be asked first. | | | | most important single element, giving it a rating of |
| TRL's questions were chosen carefully to reflect | | | | 20%. |
| what the business was trying to achieve and to | | | | As a final thought, Alan Duttine, Joint Managing |
| ensure that the results were actionable. Too many | | | | Director of Airedale, states, "At the end of the day, |
| surveys fail because of poorly designed questions. In | | | | the report itself is not important. What is important is |
| a b2b environment the management team are often | | | | that, as a company, we do something about it." It is |
| passionate about the product. Normally this is no bad | | | | this sort of driving force that makes the difference |
| thing. But as most b2b companies now have some | | | | between a good company and an excellent one. |
| form of quality assurance programme and are not | | | | |