A Minor Project On

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
Submitted By

PRIYANKA VERMA (0052101707)

Under The Guidance Of

ANSHIKHA RAJVANSHI

(In The Partial Fulfillment Of BBA Degree)

IDEAL INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY (G. G. S. INDRAPRASTHA UNIVERSITY, DELHI)

PREFACE
Initial in the one module of the project, which is allotted to me, CUSTOMER SATISFACTION is covered in this project report. The report contains very nice and well arranged topics related to the subject CUSTOMER SATISFACTION. The main contents of this project describes that How to handle Complaint from the customer, customer loyalty, measurement of customer satisfaction and many other topics which is countable in the CUSTOMER SATISFACTION. The project report also contains a description to satisfy the angry customer and what are the problems faced during satisfying the angry customer also what are the profit to satisfy an angry customer. This project also contains a case study and a survey report. Overall this report may work like a guide for the subject CUSTOMER SATISFACTION. Priyanka Verma

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Perseverance, inspiration and motivation have always played a key role in the success of any venture. Working on this project was a challenge and made us a bit filtery in the beginning. At this level of understanding, it is often difficult to understand a wide spectrum of knowledge without proper guidance and advice .hence, we take this opportunity to express our heart felt gratitude to MR. XXXXXXXXX, for his round oclock enthusiastic support and commentaries which made this project successful, we are thankful to him for making impossible look easy for us. We also extend our sincere gratitude to MR. XXXXXXXXXXX, for his inspiration, encouragement and for the impetus obtained throughout the course of our project. Finally, we would to like to thanks XXXXXXXXXXX and all of XXXXXXXXXXXXX department, for their motivation and encouragement throughout our endeavor.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

"Working with Wipro across service lines we have optimized our in-house resources. This helped us focus on strategy, commercial sourcing and contract management." Carole A. Connolly IS Programme Director National Grid

INDEX
1. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION 2. BASICS 3. WHAT IS THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION MODEL? DESCRIPTION a. Origin of the customer satisfaction model. History b. Usage of the customer satisfaction model. Applications c. Steps in the customer satisfaction model. Process d. Customer Expectations e. The Canon Production System (CPS) is about: 4. CUSTOMER LOYALTY a. Strategize And Plan For Loyalty! b. Market To Your Own Customers! c. Use Complaints To Build Business! d. Reach Out To Your Customers! e. Loyal Customers and Loyal Workforces 5. Customer Complains a. Why Tackle Customer Complaints? b. Customer Complaints Create Profit i. Individual Employees ii. The Company iii. The Customer iv. Summary 6. MEASURING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION 5

7. METHODOLOGIES 8. PRODUCT AND SERVICE MANAGEMENT a. (recurring activities to manage a product or service) i. Basic Guidelines for Nonprofit Program Design and Marketing ii. Basics Introduction to Product Management iii. To Broaden Your Perspective on Product Management iv. Sources of Ideas v. Protecting Your Ideas 9. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN 7 STEPS a. Encourage Face-to-Face Dealings b. Respond to Messages Promptly & Keep Your Clients Informed c. Be Friendly and Approachable d. Have a Clearly-Defined Customer Service Policy e. Attention to Detail (also known as 'The Little Niceties') f. Anticipate Your Client's Needs & Go Out Of Your Way to Help Them Out g. Honour Your Promises h. Conclusion 10. CASE STUDY: a. Earnhardt Auto Centers Arizona i. Retaining the Right Employees Results in Higher Customer Satisfaction Ratings ii. The Challenge: iii. The Process: iv. The Results: 6

11. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN THE CHANGING GLOBAL ECONOMY a. Accenture 2007 Global Customer Satisfaction Survey b. Executive Summary c. ORIGINAL SURVEY REPORT BY ACCENTURE i. Summary ii. Accenture helps organizations find their most intelligent, efficient path to customer centricity iii. Behind the Research: How the World Is Changing iv. Key Survey Findings v. Undifferentiated service means lost business vi. Our Perspective d. About Accenture

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
Customer satisfaction, a business term, is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. It is seen as a key performance indicator within business and is part of the four perspectives of a Balanced Scorecard. In a competitive marketplace where businesses compete for customers, customer satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key element of business strategy. There is a substantial body of empirical literature that establishes the benefits of customer satisfaction for firms.

BASICS
Basically, you might look at marketing as the wide range of activities involved in making sure that you're continuing to meet the needs of your customers and are getting value in return. Marketing analysis includes finding out what groups of potential customers (or markets) exist, what groups of customers you prefer to serve (target markets), what their needs are, what products or services you might develop to meet their needs, how the customers might prefer to use the products and services, what your competitors are doing, what pricing you should use and how you should distribute products and services to your target markets. Various methods of market research are used to find out information about markets, target markets and their needs, competitors, etc. Marketing also includes ongoing promotions, which can include advertising, public relations, sales and customer service.

WHAT

IS

THE

CUSTOMER

SATISFACTION

MODEL?

DESCRIPTION
The customer satisfaction model from N. Kano is a quality management and marketing technique that can be used for measuring client happiness. Kano's model of customer satisfaction distinguishes six categories of quality attributes, from which the first three actually influence customer satisfaction: 1. Basic Factors. (Dissatisfiers. Must have.) - The minimum requirements which

will cause dissatisfaction if they are not fulfilled, but do not cause customer satisfaction if they are fulfilled (or are exceeded). The customer regards these as prerequisites and takes these for granted. Basic factors establish a market entry 'threshold'. 2. Excitement Factors. (Satisfiers. Attractive.) - The factors that increase

customer satisfaction if delivered but do not cause dissatisfaction if they are not delivered. These factors surprise the customer and generate 'delight'. Using these factors, a company can really distinguish itself from its competitors in a positive way. 3. Performance Factors. The factors that cause satisfaction if the performance is

high, and they cause dissatisfaction if the performance is low. Here, the attribute performance-overall satisfaction is linear and symmetric. Typically these factors are directly connected to customers' explicit needs and desires and a company should try to be competitive here. The additional three attributes which Kano mentions are: 4. 5. Indifferent attributes. The customer does not care about this feature. Questionable attributes. It is unclear whether this attribute is expected by the

customer. 6. Reverse attributes. The reverse of this product feature was expected by the

customer.

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Origin of the customer satisfaction model. History

The approach towards analyzing customer satisfaction was first published in an article by KANO, N. SERAKU, N., TAKAHASHI, F. & TSUJI, S. (1984) Attractive quality and must-be quality, Hinshitsu (Quality, the Journal of Japanese Society for Quality Control), 14, pp. 39-48.

Usage of the customer satisfaction model. Applications

Besides the obvious quality management and marketing usage, Kurt Matzler, Matthias Fuchs and Astrid Schubert wonder in their article "Employee Satisfaction: Does Kano's Model Apply?" (Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, November-December 2004) whether Kano's model on customer satisfaction factors is also relevant to describe employee satisfaction. Since employees can be perceived as internal customers. They reach the conclusion that Kano's theory is indeed useable for internal customers analysis as well.

Steps in the customer satisfaction model. Process

Kano developed a questionnaire to identify the basic, performance and excitement factors as well as the other three additional factors. 1. For each product feature a pair of questions is formulated to which the customer

can answer in one of five different ways. 2. The first question concerns the reaction of the customer if the product shows

that feature (functional question); 3. The second question concerns the reaction of the customer if the product does

NOT show this feature (dysfunctional question). 4. By combining the answers all attributes can be classified into the six factors.

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Customer Expectations
Customer is defined as anyone who receives that which is produced by the individual or organization that has value. Customer expectations are continuously increasing. Brand loyalty is a thing of the past. Customers seek out products and producers that are best able to satisfy their requirements. A product does not need to be rated highest by customers on all dimensions, only on those they think are important.

Customer-driven strategy for improvement any management activity should

eventually lead to increased customer satisfaction...

The Canon Production System (CPS) is about:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Environmentally-conscious manufacturing and logistics Quality-oriented methods Lower costs Shorter deadlines ... All aim for maximum customer satisfaction...

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CUSTOMER LOYALTY
"It takes a lot less money to increase your retention of current customers than to find new ones-but I know I don't give it as much effort as I should because it does take a lot of energy and effort!"

Strategize And Plan For Loyalty!

Do we even have a specific plan for building customer loyalty? We bet ourselves haven't given it as much thought as we should- because to tell the truth we need to give it more effort also. If we currently retain 70 percent of our customers and we start a program to improve that to 80 percent, we'll add an additional 10 percent to our growth rate. Particularly because of the high cost of landing new customers versus the high profitability of a loyal customer base, you might want to reflect upon your current business strategy. These four factors will greatly affect your ability to build a loyal customer base: 1. 2. 3. Products that are highly differentiated from those of the competition. Higher-end products where price is not the primary buying factor. Products with a high service component.

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4.

Multiple products for the same customer.

Market To Your Own Customers!

Giving a lot of thought to your marketing programs aimed at current customers is one aspect of building customer loyalty. When you buy a new car, many dealers will within minutes try to sell you an extended warranty, an alarm system, and maybe rustproofing. It's often a very easy sale and costs the dealer almost nothing to make. Are there additional products or services you can sell your customers? Three years ago my house was painted, and it's now due for another coat. Why hasn't the painter called or at least sent a card? It would be a lot less expensive than getting new customers through his newspaper ad, and since I was happy with his work I won't get four competing bids this time. Keep all the information you can on your customers and don't hesitate to ask for the next sale.

Use Complaints To Build Business!

When customers aren't happy with your business they usually won't complain to you instead, they'll probably complain to just about everyone else they know - and take their business to your competition next time. That's why an increasing number of businesses are making follow-up calls or mailing satisfaction questionnaires after the sale is made. They find that if they promptly follow up and resolve a customer's complaint, the customer might be even more likely to do business than the average customer who didn't have a complaint. In many business situations, the customer will have many more interactions after the sale with technical, service, or customer support people than they did with the sales people. So if you're serious about retaining customers or getting referrals, these interactions are the ones that are really going to matter. They really should be handled with the same attention and focus that sales calls get because in a way they are sales calls for repeat business.

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Reach Out To Your Customers!

Contact . . . contact . . . contact with current customers is a good way to build their loyalty. The more the customer sees someone from your firm, the more likely you'll get the next order. Send Christmas cards, see them at trade shows, stop by to make sure everything's okay. Send a simple newsletter to your customers-tell them about the great things that are happening at your firm and include some useful information for them. Send them copies of any media clippings about your firm. Invite them to free seminars. The more they know about you, the more they see you as someone out to help them, the more they know about your accomplishments-the more loyal a customer they will be.

Loyal Customers and Loyal Workforces

Building customer loyalty will be a lot easier if you have a loyal workforce-not at all a given these days. It is especially important for you to retain those employees who interact with customers such as sales people, technical support, and customer-service people. Many companies give a lot of attention to retaining sales people but little to support people. I've been fortunate to have the same great people in customer service for yearsand the compliments from customers make it clear that they really appreciate specific people in our service function. The increasing trend today is to send customer-service and technical-support calls into queue for the next available person. This builds no personal loyalty and probably less loyalty for the firm. Before you go this route, be sure this is what your customers prefer. Otherwise I'd assign a specific support person to every significant customer. One last thing-don't tell your customers your 800 line phone number is for orders only!

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CUSTOMER COMPLAINS Why Tackle Customer Complaints?

Companies find that effectively handling customers with problems is critical to their reputations as well as their bottom lines. When customers complain and they are satisfied with the way their complaint is handled, they are more likely to purchase another product or service from the same company. Companies that resolve complaints on the first contact increase customer satisfaction and product loyalty, improve employee satisfaction, and reduce costs. Companies even encourage complaints. Most dissatisfied customers do not complain. By making it easy for customers to complain, more customers will come to you with their problems, giving you greater opportunity to correct your service delivery or production processes. Customers who get their problems satisfactorily and quickly solved tell their friends and neighbors, and they are not easily won over by the competition. There is a bottom-line concern for government as well. As noted above, complaints can be costly. Repeated hand-offs increase costs and waste precious resources. When complaints are not promptly resolved, frustrated customers seek redress in different agencies or at different parts or levels of the same agency, resulting in duplicate effort and compounding costs. Just as costs compound when there is a poor complaint system, trust also erodes as citizens become frustrated with a non-responsive bureaucracy. Indeed, there has been a cumulative erosion of public confidence in government. Thirty years ago, 70 percent of Americans trusted the federal government to do the right thing most of the time. In 1993, only 17 percent of Americans said that they trusted the government.(2) There are many factors contributing to this decline in trust and confidence, particularly the huge volume of regulations that did not make sense to the public and the high cost of government. However, we learned from our benchmarking partners that an effective approach to resolving complaints is invaluable in winning the trust and loyalty of our customers--the public. There are costs associated with a poor complaint system and there are benefits associated with a good one. Studies have shown that handling customer complaints well 16

can be a critical part of a turnaround strategy. If a complaint is handled well, it sustains and strengthens customer loyalty and the company's image as a leader. It also tells the customer that the company cares and can improve because of their contact. In government agencies, it promotes public confidence in government services. Customer complaints also represent valuable information about recurrent problems. They can point the way to understanding the root causes of customer problems and help an organization target core processes that need improvement. If acted upon to improve core processes, customer complaints can be a source of information that can reduce costs as well as improve services.

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Customer Complaints Create Profit

Customer complaints are like medicine. Nobody likes them, but they make us better. Actually, they are probably more like preventative medicine because they provide advanced warning about problems. Financial statements, in contrast, provide a historical perspective. By the time problems manifest in the financial statements, forget the medicine. Its time for emergency surgery. Studies from the Technical Assistance Research Program* in Arlington, VA suggest that the root cause of customer complaints can be traced back to one of three areas: individual employees, the company, or the customer, with 80% of complaints traceable to the last two categories. customers. By listening carefully, we can identify opportunities for training employees, improving products and services, and educating

Individual Employees Business is becoming increasingly complex and fast-paced. Customer service professionals have to know their product or service, their company information, the technology that supports it, and how to communicate all of this to savvy, demanding customers. Even a small gap in knowledge or skill could cause huge repercussions in terms of lost business. When I first started my seminar business, I received a few complaints about my individual skills as a speaker. Some customers complained that they didnt like my Philadelphia accent, my hairstyle, the way I moved around the room, or the pace of my delivery. After I cried for a few hours, I decided to invest in voice lessons, an image consultant, and a video camera. These have been some of the best investments I have ever made. I never want to get in the way of my own success. Companies should not let their employees lack of knowledge or skill get in the way of their success.

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The Company More often, the culprit is the actual product or service we provide. There may be an inherent flaw in the design. There could be a glitch in the distribution channel that causes dissatisfaction. Even if everything is perfect, marketing pieces, advertising campaigns, and salespeople could inflate value and create customer expectations that are impossible to satisfy. Recently, I was providing a service that involved a series of facilitated sessions. I allowed the customer to choose the dates of our sessions. Even though there were very few sessions, they occurred over a long period of time and the customer complained that the project took too long to complete. I made reparations to the client and decided to restructure the service and the pricing so that in the future I would control the timing of sessions. Now sessions always happen over a shorter period of time and the service has a higher value and is more profitable. I have fixed the delivery process of my service.

The Customer As many of us have always suspected, customers actually cause most of the problems they complain about. Its not our fault. Its not our employees fault. Its the customers fault. Yet even here there is profit to be mined. Customer education and innovation are the possible solutions. I always send out a preprogram questionnaire to customers in order to tailor their seminars. If customers have email, I send the questionnaire via email. Recently, I had a customer who did not know how to return the email questionnaire to me with responses filled in. I sent back brief instructions on how to work the email, which could be classified here as customer education. Afterwards, I started wondering if there could be a better, easier, cleaner way to collect information, in other words, innovate. From that complaint, I decided to create hidden web pages on my website, customized to each customer with their company logo and questionnaire. Customers just click a link from an email, type their

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responses into a form on the web page that appears, and hit a submit button. This approach is much simpler and more impressive. I do this with all of my customers now and advertise it in my marketing.

Summary Customer complaints are never easy to hear. If we shift from being defensive to opportunistic, complaints can be our best friend. If we do not listen, rest assured, the financial statement will communicate the news eventually.

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MEASURING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Organizations are increasingly interested in retaining existing customers while targeting non-customers;[2] measuring customer satisfaction provides an indication of how successful the organization is at providing products and/or services to the marketplace. Customer satisfaction is an ambiguous and abstract concept and the actual manifestation of the state of satisfaction will vary from person to person and product/service to product/service. The state of satisfaction depends on a number of both psychological and physical variables which correlate with satisfaction behaviors such as return and recommend rate. The level of satisfaction can also vary depending on other options the customer may have and other products against which the customer can compare the organization's products. Because satisfaction is basically a psychological state, care should be taken in the effort of quantitative measurement, although a large quantity of research in this area has recently been developed. Work done by Berry, Brodeur between 1990 and 1998[3] defined ten 'Quality Values' which influence satisfaction behavior, further expanded by Berry in 2002 and known as the ten domains of satisfaction. These ten domains of satisfaction include: Quality, Value, Timeliness, Efficiency, Ease of Access, Environment, Inter-departmental Teamwork, Front line Service Behaviors, Commitment to the Customer and Innovation. These factors are emphasized for continuous improvement and organizational change measurement and are most often utilized to develop the architecture for satisfaction measurement as an integrated model. Work done by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry between 1985 and 1988 provides the basis for the measurement of customer satisfaction with a service by using the gap between the customer's expectation of performance and their perceived experience of performance. This provides the measurer with a satisfaction "gap" which is objective and quantitative in nature. Work done by Cronin and Taylor propose the "confirmation/disconfirmation" theory of combining the "gap" described by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry as two different measures (perception and expectation of performance) into a single measurement of performance according to 21

expectation. According to Garbrand, customer satisfaction equals perception of performance divided by expectation of performance. The usual measures of customer satisfaction involve a survey
[4]

with a set of

statements using a Likert Technique or scale. The customer is asked to evaluate each statement and in term of their perception and expectation of performance of the organization being measured.

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METHODOLOGIES
The University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is the scientific standard of customer satisfaction. Academic research has shown that the national ACSI score is a strong predictor of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, and an even stronger predictor of Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) growth. On the microeconomic level, research has shown that ACSI data predicts stock market performance, both for market indices and for individually traded companies. Increasing ACSI scores has been shown to predict loyalty, word-of-mouth recommendations, and purchase behavior. The ACSI measures customer satisfaction annually for more than 200 companies in 43 industries and 10 economic sectors. In addition to quarterly reports, the ACSI methodology can be applied to private sector companies and government agencies in order to improve loyalty and purchase intent. Two companies have been licensed to apply the methodology of the ACSI for both the private and public sector: CFI Group, Inc.applies the methodology of the ACSI offline, and Foresee Results applies the ACSI to websites and other online initiatives. The Net PromoterR score is a management tool that can be used to gauge the loyalty of a firm's customer relationships. It serves as an alternative to traditional customer satisfaction research. Companies obtain their Net Promoter Score by asking customers a single question (usually, "How likely is it that you would recommend us to a friend or colleague?"). Based on their responses, customers can be categorized into one of three groups: Promoters, Passives, and Detractors. In the net promoter framework, Promoters are viewed as valuable assets that drive profitable growth because of their repeat/increased purchases, longevity and referrals, while Detractors are seen as liabilities that destroy profitable growth because of their complaints, reduced purchases/defection and negative word-of-mouth. Companies calculate their Net Promote Score by subtracting their % Detractors from their % Promoters. The Kano model is a theory of product development and customer satisfaction developed in the 1980's by Professor Noriaki Kano that classifies customer preferences into five categories: Attractive, One-Dimensional, Must-Be, Indifferent, Reverse. The Kano model offers some insight into the product attributes which are 23

perceived to be important to customers. Kano also produced a methodology for mapping consumer responses to questionnaires onto his model. SERVQUAL or RATER is a service-quality framework that has been incorporated into customer-satisfaction surveys (e.g., the revised Norwegian Customer Satisfaction Barometer) to indicate the gap between customer expectations and experience. J.D. Power and Associates is another measure of customer satisfaction, known for its top-box approach and automotive industry rankings. J.D. Power and Associates' marketing research consists primarily of consumer surveys and is publicly known for the value of its product awards. Other research and consulting firms have customer satisfaction solutions as well. These include A.T. Kearney's Customer Satisfaction Audit process, which incorporates the Stages of Excellence framework and which helps define a companys status against eight critically identified dimensions.

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PRODUCT AND SERVICE MANAGEMENT (recurring activities to manage a product or service)

Product (or service) management includes a wide range of management activities, ranging from the time that there's a new idea for a product to eventually providing ongoing support to customers who have purchased the new product. Every organization conducts product management, whether it's done intentionally or unintentionally. This module provides a wide overview of considerations in developing and managing a product. How a product is developed or managed is depends very much on the nature of the organization and its products, for example, retail, manufacturing, wholesale, etc. Note that different people might even have different categorizations for the activities described below. NOTE: Nonprofit organizations often provide services in the form of "programs", rather than "products" -- although the services from the programs are certainly "products" to groups of clients.

Basic Guidelines for Nonprofit Program Design and Marketing Basics Introduction to Product Management
Businesses can generate revenue from selling more of the current products to more of the current customers (customer maximization), more of the current products to new customers (customer development), new products to current customers (product development), or new products to new customers (diversification). To Broaden Your Perspective on Product Management Many of the activities in product management are also activities in the overall process of marketing. Basics of Marketing (from idea to evaluating to developing to producing) Life Cycle Planning (everything has a life cycle, including products)

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Broaden Your Perspective Even More?( Or If You Need an Investor or Funder)

Sources of Ideas
At this stage, someone has an idea for a new product or service. Ideas can come from many sources, for example: 1. Complaints from current customers 2. Requests for Proposals from large businesses, government agencies, etc. 3. Modifications to current products 4. Suggestions from employees, customers, suppliers, etc.

Protecting Your Ideas

It's likely that someone else will think your idea is a good one, too! Therefore, it's important to protect your idea as much as possible, for example, by getting copyrights, trademarks or patents.

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CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN 7 STEPS

It's a well known fact that no business can exist without customers. In the business of Website design, it's important to work closely with your customers to make sure the site or system you create for them is as close to their requirements as you can manage. Because it's critical that you form a close working relationship with your client, customer service is of vital importance. What follows are a selection of tips that will make your clients feel valued, wanted and loved.

1. Encourage Face-to-Face Dealings This is the most daunting and downright scary part of interacting with a customer. If you're not used to this sort of thing it can be a pretty nerve-wracking experience. Rest assured, though, it does get easier over time. It's important to meet your customers face to face at least once or even twice during the course of a project. My experience has shown that a client finds it easier to relate to and work with someone they've actually met in person, rather than a voice on the phone or someone typing into an email or messenger program. When you do meet them, be calm, confident and above all, take time to ask them what they need. I believe that if a potential client spends over half the meeting doing the talking, you're well on your way to a sale. 2. Respond to Messages Promptly & Keep Your Clients Informed This goes without saying really. We all know how annoying it is to wait days for a response to an email or phone call. It might not always be practical to deal with all customers' queries within the space of a few hours, but at least email or call them back and let them know you've received their message and you'll contact 27

them about it as soon as possible. Even if you're not able to solve a problem right away, let the customer know you're working on it. 3. Be Friendly and Approachable A fellow SitePointer once told me that you can hear a smile through the phone. This is very true. It's very important to be friendly, courteous and to make your clients feel like you're their friend and you're there to help them out. There will be times when you want to beat your clients over the head repeatedly with a blunt object - it happens to all of us. It's vital that you keep a clear head, respond to your clients' wishes as best you can, and at all times remain polite and courteous. 4. Have a Clearly-Defined Customer Service Policy This may not be too important when you're just starting out, but a clearly defined customer service policy is going to save you a lot of time and effort in the long run. If a customer has a problem, what should they do? If the first option doesn't work, then what? Should they contact different people for billing and technical enquiries? If they're not satisfied with any aspect of your customer service, who should they tell? There's nothing more annoying for a client than being passed from person to person, or not knowing who to turn to. Making sure they know exactly what to do at each stage of their enquiry should be of utmost importance. So make sure your customer service policy is present on your site -- and anywhere else it may be useful. 5. Attention to Detail (also known as 'The Little Niceties') Have you ever received a Happy Birthday email or card from a company you were a client of? Have you ever had a personalised sign-up confirmation email for a service that you could tell was typed from scratch? These little niceties can be time consuming and aren't always cost effective, but remember to do them.

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Even if it's as small as sending a Happy Holidays email to all your customers, it's something. It shows you care; it shows there are real people on the other end of that screen or telephone; and most importantly, it makes the customer feel welcomed, wanted and valued. 6. Anticipate Your Client's Needs & Go Out Of Your Way to Help Them

Out
Sometimes this is easier said than done! However, achieving this supreme level of understanding with your clients will do wonders for your working relationship. Take this as an example: you're working on the front-end for your client's exciting new ecommerce Endeavour. You have all the images, originals and files backed up on your desktop computer and the site is going really well. During a meeting with your client he/she happens to mention a hard-copy brochure their internal marketing people are developing. As if by magic, a couple of weeks later a CDROM arrives on their doorstep complete with high resolution versions of all the images you've used on the site. A note accompanies it which reads:

"Hi, you mentioned a hard-copy brochure you were working on and I wanted to provide you with large-scale copies of the graphics I've used on the site. Hopefully you'll be able to make use of some in your brochure."

Your client is heartily impressed, and remarks to his colleagues and friends how very helpful and considerate his Web designers are. Meanwhile, in your office, you lay back in your chair drinking your 7th cup of coffee that morning, safe in the knowledge this happy customer will send several referrals your way. 7. Honour Your Promises It's possible this is the most important point in this article. The simple message: when you promise something, deliver. The most common example here is project delivery dates.

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Clients don't like to be disappointed. Sometimes, something may not get done, or you might miss a deadline through no fault of your own. Projects can be late, technology can fail and sub-contractors don't always deliver on time. In this case a quick apology and assurance it'll be ready ASAP wouldn't go amiss.

Conclusion
Customer service, like any aspect of business, is a practiced art that takes time and effort to master. All you need to do to achieve this is to stop and switch roles with the customer. What would you want from your business if you were the client? How would you want to be treated? Treat your customers like your friends and they'll always come back.

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CASE STUDY: Earnhardt Auto Centers Arizona Retaining the Right Employees Results in Higher Customer Satisfaction Ratings
Earnhardt Auto Centers based in Arizona sells more vehicles per dealership than any other in the country. Tex Earnhardt started his first Ford dealership in Chandler, Arizona in September of 1951. From its humble beginnings selling a few Fords a month, Earnhardt Auto Centers has grown to ten dealerships generating over one billion dollars in annual retail sales, selling over 27,000 cars in 2003, and employing over 2000 people.

The Challenge:
In the auto industry, a dealership's customer service index (CSI) determines their delivery quota and manufacturer incentives. The CSI is based on satisfaction surveys that customers complete after purchasing a vehicle or receiving service. The higher the index, the better incentives the dealer receives which translates into better values for the consumers and higher sales and profits for the auto dealership. Since quality customer service is directly related to the caliber of the employees, dealerships strive to retain the best people in every part of their business: sales, service and financing. In an industry in which turnover is normally over 150%, the significance of this challenge can't be overstated.

The Process:
Dave O'Brien, Corporate Performance Coach of Earnhardt states, "One of the greatest challenges any auto dealer faces is not just hiring the right salesperson but then matching them to the sales manager and the right dealership location. The key is to understand the person's natural behavioral strengths." It was not until 2003 that

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Earnhardt found a tool that provided the behavioral insight they were looking for. That tool was the Predictive Index (PI). Understanding your customer is critical to the success of any business, and Earnhardt has built the success of their dealerships on identifying the typical customer at each of their seven locations. For instance, a person who buys a Honda is generally quite different from the person who buys a Ford. Dave O'Brien provides a comparison: "Our Ford stores do a tremendous amount of special finance business and therefore have a much different customer base. I can hire a take-charge type of sales person for this dealership and a creative finance professional to support this customer. A Honda customer wants to know everything about the product and does not want to be hurried or pressured. This sales person needs to be factual and highly detailed. The Honda customer is insulted if you cannot speak to all the features of the vehicle and will leave the dealership immediately." Once the customer is defined in behavioral terms, the Predictive Index gives Earnhardt the insight and ability to match not only the sales team to that customer profile, but also the sales manager to the team. Earnhardt applies the sales team selection process to their service and finance teams. Earnhardt has everyone in the service department, from the mechanic teams to lateral support groups (team leaders and dispatchers) complete the Predictive Index survey. The operations team lays all the PI profiles on the table and puts together people they know will work well together based on their PI. The same process is applied to the Finance department. The Predictive Index allows Earnhardt to form a cohesive team at each dealership that works well together, and is focused on the needs of that specific consumer.

The Results:
The process works! Hiring and retaining the right employees has allowed Earnhardt Auto Centers to achieve a consistently high level of customer satisfaction resulting in increased volume and profits. Earnhardt has achieved Daimler Chrysler's Five Star Dealer certification since its inception. Both of Earnhardt's Ford dealerships Retaining the Right Employees Results in Higher Customer Satisfaction Ratings Case 32

Study: Earnhardt Auto Centers Arizona "PI provides us the tools we need to match the right person to a position. When we do that, we keep those people longer and we treat our customers better. When you have happier customers, you are selling more and making more." Dave O'Brien Corporate Performance Coach continue to rank in the top five percent in the nation for their high customer satisfaction scores. The Honda dealership leads their rankings as well. According to Mr. O'Brien, "We've used PI as our tool to put those service teams together and those teams work better together; they finish cars faster. Our customer satisfaction scores at those dealerships have gone up AND stabilized." He continues that the Predictive Index has been very effective in the area of retention. "If you go back some years, our retention of employees for more than one year was in the 20% range. Currently about 62% of our sales department has been with us longer than one year."

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CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN THE CHANGING GLOBAL ECONOMY Accenture 2007 Global Customer Satisfaction Survey Executive Summary ORIGINAL SURVEY REPORT BY ACCENTURE

Summary
The findings from Accentures third annual Global Customer Satisfaction Survey offer compelling evidence of the vital role played by the customer service experience when it comes to growth strategies. In a world where feature and price advantages can be quickly matched if not bettered by competitors from virtually anywhere in the world, a companys best source of sustainable competitive advantage may be the customer experience it delivers. Our survey of more than 3,500 consumers in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China and France finds that, although customer service has more influence on customer behavior than ever, few companies are distinguishing themselves for service quality. In emerging marketssuch as Brazil and China, which place even greater importance on service quality this finding has profound implications for companies planning to expand into these geographies. High Performance and the Customer Experience In a world where feature and price advantages can be quickly matched if not bettered, a companys one remaining source of sustainable competitive advantage may be the quality of the customer experience it delivers. Accentures ongoing research on High Performance Business has shown, in fact, that a consistent, differentiated customer experience has a greater impact on customer loyaltyand, by extension, on growth, profitability and shareholder valuethan any other factor related to managing customer relationships. Now, Accentures third annual Customer Satisfaction Survey further illuminates the relationship between the customer experience and business performance. Our research 34

finds that, around the world, consumers expect better service quality. It confirms that consumers are more likely to leave a provider because of poor service than for any other reason. It also reveals that service quality is the most powerful factormore influential than pricein choosing providers or choosing to do more business with them.

Accenture helps organizations find their most intelligent, efficient path to customer centricity
Our surveywhich sampled more than 3,500 consumers in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China and Francealso found that while consumers everywhere value customer serviceand in some countries, such as Brazil and China, they value it very highlythe factors that determine whether they find a service experience satisfying or frustrating vary significantly by countrya finding with profound implications for companies seeking to drive growth by expanding into new geographies.

Behind the Research: How the World Is Changing

Buyers are exposed to more of the world than ever beforethrough cable and satellite television, the Internet and increased traveland as a result, their tastes and interests have broadened dramatically. Moreover, the long economic dominance of the United States, Europe and Japan is giving way, and economic power is increasingly shared with developing economies. This new multi-polar environment comprising multiple centers of economic power and activityis rewriting the rules of competition. Competition can now come anywhere in the world and more competition means more product options and, often, lower prices for customers, undermining traditional growth strategies based on innovation and pricing. The multi-polar world presents opportunities, however, as well as challenges. Unprecedented growth opportunities await companies in emerging economies such as India and China. Consumers in these markets, however, can be vastly different from those in more

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developed marketsand their needs, values and behaviors as customers can vary dramatically from region to region. To capitalize on these opportunities, companies will need deep insight into whats relevant to local consumersand the ability to operationalize these insights through their marketing, sales, distribution and product development efforts. Companies must also find new ways to attract and retain customers that cannot be easily duplicated or offered at a lower price by more efficient competitors. In short: organizations will not succeed in todays economy if they do not react to the changing marketplace around them.

Key Survey Findings

Service quality is the leading reason why consumers leave a provider or choose a new one For the third straight year, service quality is the leading reason why consumers decide to leave a provider not only in developed economies such as the United States and United Kingdom but globally. Overall, service outweighs price by 20 percent as a reason for switching. In some countriesAustralia, Brazil, China, for exampleit has even more influence. In addition, more than three-quarters (77 percent) say they are much more inclined to continue doing business with a company that delivers a positive service experience. Consumers also expect more when it comes to service. One-third (33 percent) of the consumers in our global sample have higher expectations for customer service today compared to one year ago. Slightly more than one-half (52 percent) say their expectations are higher today than they were five years ago. Many respondents also believe the amount of business they do with a company should determine the quality of the service they receive. In fact, 45 percent say they expect much better service when they purchase more from the company; about onefourth say they expect somewhat better service. For most, better means a representative taking more time to answer their questions and a faster response to their inquiries, followed closely by live access to a service representative. Bottom line: any company not working to tailor the customer experience to customer preferencesor any company that still serves customers the same way it did five years agois extremely vulnerable to competition. Service expectations are rising, but service

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quality is not Our findings also show a gap between customers expectations and what they actually experience. Generally, companies are failing to differentiate themselves based on serviceor to satisfy the rising expectations of consumers. Few respondents consider themselves very satisfied or rate their experiences as excellentand excellence is whats called for in this time of heightened global competition. In fact, 41 percent of our global respondents describe service quality as fair, poor or terrible and only 5 percent describe it as excellent. In Brazil, for example, more than half (54 percent) describe customer service as fair, poor or terriblein China, 56 percent feel the same. Whats more, although customer expectations have risen over the last few years, the percentage of very satisfied customers has remained flat for every service channel over the three years we have conducted this survey.

Undifferentiated service means lost business

The shortfall in service quality is more than a mere annoyanceit has genuine business impact: lost customers as well as missed opportunities to gain new business. Most respondents (59 percent) report having switched at least one provider in the past year due to poor service. Switching occurs across industries, with geographic variations. In Brazil, for example, wireless/cell phone companies suffered the greatest frequency of witching (41 percent); in France that distinction belongs to Internet service providers. In countries we have surveyed previouslythe United States and the United Kingdomthe percentage of consumers leaving due to poor service has increased over time. The United Kingdom, for instance, has risen 8 points from 50 percent to 58 percent during the last three years. Poor service may also be preventing companies from attracting new customers: nearly 60 percent of our respondents say customer service is the key differentiating factor when choosing a new providereven ahead of price (55 percent), product (34 percent) and convenience (34 percent). This finding offers the clearest evidence yet that companies known for delivering a substandard service experience have a steep challenge ahead when it comes to growth.

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Our Perspective
We believe that, in our increasingly multi-polar world, the ability to deliver a satisfying service experience is the most powerful source of sustainable competitive edgenothing else compares. To deliver the kind of differentiated experience that drives high performance, successful organizations must become truly customercentric, incorporating the customers perspective, value and actions into their business and operations strategy, capability development and execution. For many organizations, this may prove to be a hard transition to make. Accenture helps organizations find their most intelligent, efficient path to customer centricity. Our knowledge of customer centricitygained through extensive market researchand our deep experienceaccumulated through years of client workcombine to create a powerful resource for transformation. As a result, we are able to help our clients quickly develop new growth strategies in response to changing consumer demands and new market opportunities. We help them operationalize new approaches to customer segmentation, producing more relevant offerings and better differentiated service experiences. And we help them execute these models, quickly and flawlessly, across the supply chain.

About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Combining unparalleled experience, omprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the worlds most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. With more than 175,000 people in 49 countries, the company generated net revenues of US$19.70 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2007. Its home page is www.accenture.com. Accentures Customer Relationship Management service line helps organizations achieve high performance by transforming their marketing, sales and customer service functions to support accelerated growth, increased profitability and greater operating efficiency. Our research, insight and innovation, global reach and delivery experience have made us a 38

worldwide leader, serving thousands of clients every year, including most Fortune 100 companies, across virtually all industries.

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