Case Study No. 3: Customer Satisfaction Work in the Communications Industry
Customer satisfaction measurement is the most important and sensitive work suppliers do for their clients. Specific assignments may require similar customer care and handling, but those assignments typically have short, concentrated time frames. Service measurement plans require attention every day over a sustained period of time, and they require a level of care and integrity unmatched by typical survey work.
We have been heavily involved in the development of new measurement plans, large-scale revisions to existing plans, and administration of ongoing plans. Specifically, for a Fortune 50 company in the communications industry, we've managed a half-dozen customer satisfaction measurement plans, each focusing on a different segment of its customer base.
Our largest study for this client involved 350 annual, in-depth, in-person interviews with the company's largest business customers. This client came to us looking for a process that would allow it to track the satisfaction of these key customers, which were its most important customers—but also the most vulnerable to competition. Our client needed to ensure their needs were being met—and where possible, exceeded—to prevent losing them to its rivals.
We worked together to develop a questionnaire to cover all aspects of a customer's communications experience, including not only an assessment of present performance but plans for the future.
We recruited more than a dozen executive interviewers from around the country to conduct in-person interviews within their regions. Each interviewer had previous experience interviewing communications customers and underwent thorough training specific to the project. We regularly reviewed their performance by providing them with feedback on their interviewing techniques; we also held an annual interviewer's conference, where we assembled the entire group to reinforce key themes, discuss changes to the project, and address any issues with the process.
We developed a set of systems that allowed for immediate delivery of the most important information—information like negative ratings results, urgent customer service situations, and changes in the designated decision-maker—all critically important information for our client's organization.
Following each interview, we prepared a detailed narrative report, averaging 5-7 pages and including insight into each customer's experiences and outlook for the future. We developed a method of coding action items to gain a clearer understanding of the best areas for our client's focus, as well as a Pareto chart display of this information to further facilitate the translation of interview results into action.
Over the years, we worked to streamline every possible step and process to reduce unnecessary costs and stay within our client's budgetary constraints.
This research was used by the very top of our client's organization, where it influenced personnel decisions and compensation packages for account managers. Over the course of the project, we experienced a 90%+ response rate from interviewees, who realized great value from the process. In the end, this work not only helped our client address business issues, but every interview served as a customer service event.
