The Numbers Are In
The numbers are in. The American Customer Satisfaction Index has just reported it's latest quarterly findings. The Wall Street Journal story declares, "Travelers get satisfaction from Airlines and Hotels." Seems that the score for airlines is now 67 (out of 100) UP from 66 the year before." Hotels rose from 71 to 73. Wow. Big story. Pardon me if I don't applaud.
WSJ says the prevailing theory is that airlines and hotels are finding it easier to cope with customer demands since bookings are lower due to the economy. Yeah. It's easy to get room service to me on time when the hotel is not actually full. The real challenge is to keep your promises when you have a conference hotel full up with attendees all trying to get to the keynote at 8:30.
Now, you know I don't usually take this cynical posture, but I couldn't help it after reading the dismal scores that most industries report. As I read over the numbers in the 60's and the 70's it feels like a report card of mediocrity at best. I guess that is an accurate reflection of the state of service in this county, but it sure saddens me.
While I appreciate the intention and the hard work of the ACSI and fully acknowledge that they do a great job of including customer expectations, perceived quality, perceived value, customer complaints and customer loyalty in their scoring, I do wish they would stop calling it a "Customer Satisfaction" survey. I think the title is very misleading.
When a customer is satisfied, they may stick around long enough for you to have the opportunity to understand what they need and value, but it does not mean that they will come back and buy from you or recommend your services to others. What drives customers to consistently come back, buy more and bring their friends is delight, not satisfaction.
According to the experts, satisfaction is NOT a measure of loyalty or future repurchase behavior. Seems to me like there is a lot of effort put forth to determine satisfaction levels, when satisfaction is only the ENTRY point in what we call the "Customer Appreciation Cycle."
Terry Vavra author of Aftermarketing and co-author of The Customer Delight Principle taught me years ago that 60-80% of the customers who defect from a company reported on their last survey that they were "satisfied." As he says, "Satisfied customers can put you out of business." If you only focus on satisfaction, you are off the mark. He makes the distinction between those attributes that you must have to prevent dissatisfaction, and those that you add to create delight. He says that delight-creating attributes tend to be soft, relationship-building factors. Like we keep telling you - it's the "squishy" stuff - the emotional stuff that builds the emotional attachment called loyalty. It may look like soft stuff, but it has hard results - like profit!
Recently we interviewed Michael Lowenstein for our Customer Care Coach™ issue on Creating and Adding Value, Michael is Managing Director of Customer Retention Associates and author of Customer Retention: Keeping Your Best Customers and The Customer Loyalty Pyramid.
He says, "Customers want value. Value is directly linked to customer beliefs, which are deep-seated and both emotionally and logically rooted. Beliefs directly influence behaviors. Satisfaction, on the other hand, is linked to attitudes and opinions, which easily change. So true loyalty is when customers believe that one or more elements of what a company offers creates value - and consistently act accordingly by sticking with that company."
We agree. That's why we emphasize the importance of knowing both your customers' business and personal needs. The more you know about your customers and your industry, the better you can determine what value looks like to your customers.
Clearly, focusing on satisfaction is not enough. In fact we believe it is counter-productive. Teach your team that satisfaction is only the beginning, only the entry point. It is the door through which a customer must walk on their way to retention and loyalty. Set your sights high - much higher than satisfaction (a "C" on the report card, if you recall.) Set your sights, and theirs, on getting an "A+" with your customers. That's what will keep 'em happy, keep 'em loyal and keep 'em coming back.
Here's to YOUR success!
