Customer satisfaction surveys enable the company to have periodic, systematic and relatively objective information on how the customers perceive and respond to the services offered by the organization, essentially from the perspective of the customers. We now discuss their role in effective CRM.
Role and Importance of Customer Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction surveys often provide a reality check on the company’s marketing actions aimed at generating satisfaction. Customer satisfaction measurement is a systematic process for collecting customer data (e.g. through surveys, audits, etc.), analyzing the data to convert it into actionable information, driving the results throughout an organization, and implementing satisfaction improvement plan. Thus,Customer Satisfaction Measurement (CSM) is a management information system that continuously captures the voice of the customer through the assessment of performance from the customer’s point of view.Such measurement could be made by using any of the following methods:
• surveys;
• formal and informal feedback from customers;
• use of customer account data; and
• analysis of complaints.
While all the above methods have been in use, surveys continue to be the most widely used method of eliciting customer sponsors.The objective of organizing a customer satisfaction survey is to have a fairly representative idea about what makes the customers happy or unhappy about your own services. It is therefore important to:
• select a sample that is representative of the population that you intend to study;
• design a questionnaire that is easy to follow and does not take a lot of time or effort to fill up;• as far as possible, use attitudinal scales to capture the real extent of customer response on the given issue;
• use simple and understandable language in the questionnaire to ensure that the respondent takes the same meaning of a question that you intended; and
• use analysis techniques that enable you to correlate customer variables with their behaviour and satisfaction/ dissatisfaction responses.
Developing and Using Customer Index
In the past, utilities provided each customer a customer identification number,which enabled them to keep a track of the complete set of consumer transactions, including billing and complaints, as well as the consumption profile of the customer. This system sufficed because the number of customers was fairly limited and a single identification number was deemed to be sufficient in the face of the limited volume of data that the companies had to deal with.
Over a period of time, as the number of customers and their power requirements multiplied, the customer identification number was not able to represent all kinds of transactions and the variety of requirements that consumer now had in respect of their power consumption. In most developed countries, detailed MIS was resorted to in the form of consumer index to facilitate the representation of complete consumer data access at the touch of a button. Indian companies have been a little slow in taking recourse to IT applications to build up their consumer data bases but developments now are taking place in the direction of developing and using consumer indexes.Development of consumer index involves constructing a unified customer data base with linkages to the overall consumption data of the company such that access to the complete consumer profile can be enabled by using a single entry through the consumer index, using the unique identification number ofeach consumer. Ideally a consumer index should be linked to overall database of the DISCOM so that it can provide the following information about the customer:
1. Administrative details, such as
• Name and address
• Telephone
• Category of customer
• Connected load
2. Distribution network location, such as
• Distribution transformer location
• Feeder location
• Sub station location
3. Billing and collection details, such as
•Details of past meter reading
•Bills raised (past and current)
•Collection details (past and current payments made)
•Details of pending bill(s)
4. Customer complaints
•Complaint details including complaint number
•Details of the complaint job assignment
•Indicative date of redressal
•Status of complaint rectification
•Status of updating the customer about his complaint
•Complaint closure details
The customer indexing system with GIS mapping would make the management of power breakdowns faster and quicker, and billing complaint
redressal more systematic.
Role and Importance of Customer Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction surveys often provide a reality check on the company’s marketing actions aimed at generating satisfaction. Customer satisfaction measurement is a systematic process for collecting customer data (e.g. through surveys, audits, etc.), analyzing the data to convert it into actionable information, driving the results throughout an organization, and implementing satisfaction improvement plan. Thus,Customer Satisfaction Measurement (CSM) is a management information system that continuously captures the voice of the customer through the assessment of performance from the customer’s point of view.Such measurement could be made by using any of the following methods:
• surveys;
• formal and informal feedback from customers;
• use of customer account data; and
• analysis of complaints.
While all the above methods have been in use, surveys continue to be the most widely used method of eliciting customer sponsors.The objective of organizing a customer satisfaction survey is to have a fairly representative idea about what makes the customers happy or unhappy about your own services. It is therefore important to:
• select a sample that is representative of the population that you intend to study;
• design a questionnaire that is easy to follow and does not take a lot of time or effort to fill up;• as far as possible, use attitudinal scales to capture the real extent of customer response on the given issue;
• use simple and understandable language in the questionnaire to ensure that the respondent takes the same meaning of a question that you intended; and
• use analysis techniques that enable you to correlate customer variables with their behaviour and satisfaction/ dissatisfaction responses.
Developing and Using Customer Index
In the past, utilities provided each customer a customer identification number,which enabled them to keep a track of the complete set of consumer transactions, including billing and complaints, as well as the consumption profile of the customer. This system sufficed because the number of customers was fairly limited and a single identification number was deemed to be sufficient in the face of the limited volume of data that the companies had to deal with.
Over a period of time, as the number of customers and their power requirements multiplied, the customer identification number was not able to represent all kinds of transactions and the variety of requirements that consumer now had in respect of their power consumption. In most developed countries, detailed MIS was resorted to in the form of consumer index to facilitate the representation of complete consumer data access at the touch of a button. Indian companies have been a little slow in taking recourse to IT applications to build up their consumer data bases but developments now are taking place in the direction of developing and using consumer indexes.Development of consumer index involves constructing a unified customer data base with linkages to the overall consumption data of the company such that access to the complete consumer profile can be enabled by using a single entry through the consumer index, using the unique identification number ofeach consumer. Ideally a consumer index should be linked to overall database of the DISCOM so that it can provide the following information about the customer:
1. Administrative details, such as
• Name and address
• Telephone
• Category of customer
• Connected load
2. Distribution network location, such as
• Distribution transformer location
• Feeder location
• Sub station location
3. Billing and collection details, such as
•Details of past meter reading
•Bills raised (past and current)
•Collection details (past and current payments made)
•Details of pending bill(s)
4. Customer complaints
•Complaint details including complaint number
•Details of the complaint job assignment
•Indicative date of redressal
•Status of complaint rectification
•Status of updating the customer about his complaint
•Complaint closure details
The customer indexing system with GIS mapping would make the management of power breakdowns faster and quicker, and billing complaint
redressal more systematic.
Thank you for sharing wonderful information with us to get some idea about it.
ReplyDelete"Customer Satisfaction Surveys and Customer Index for Effective CRM" emphasizes the significance of gauging customer satisfaction in a robust Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategy. It underlines the importance of collecting valuable feedback through surveys and utilizing customer indices to enhance services. In this context, Flowace, with its automated time tracking and productivity features, plays a pivotal role in optimizing customer interactions. By improving employee efficiency and time management, Flowace contributes to providing better customer experiences, thereby bolstering the effectiveness of CRM efforts.