Think your organisation delivers great customer service? How do you know? Do you have a reliable way of measuring customer satisfaction, or are you going on anecdotal evidence from your team?
According to some studies, there’s a sizeable gap between what companies think is fantastic service – and what their customers think. In fact, research by customer service software company Helpscout found that 80% of businesses thought their customer service was excellent, while only 8% of their customers agreed.
This is a worryingly large discrepancy, and it could be relevant to your brand without you even being aware of it. So, it’s time to find a better approach for measuring customer satisfaction. Let’s run through a few of the most effective methods…
Customer satisfaction scores
User satisfaction surveys are an essential part of any customer feedback strategy. As well as gaining useful feedback about your levels of service, you can also get your hands on a very useful metric, the Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT).
The CSAT is derived from customer answers to the question – ‘how would you rate your experience with X company today?’. The multiple-choice answers (very good, good, neutral and so on) are each assigned a score based on how positive the answer is. The higher the score, the happier the customer. You can use the CSAT for virtually every part of the customer experience, and you get valuable insights almost immediately.
Direct customer feedback
If you ask the right questions in the right way, you can provide essential customer support and find out what your customers really think about your service. There are many approaches you can use, so it’s important to pick the right one for your customer demographics. Crucially, think about what results you want to see.
Here are a few different types of direct feedback surveys:
- In-app customer surveys. These appear during the customer experience, rather than after it. This kind of survey must be presented subtly and be quick to respond to, otherwise, it could detract from the user experience or even annoy the customer.
- Email surveys. These are usually sent post-service and are useful in gathering immediate feedback. They work best when presented alongside something of value to the customer, such as a new feature or the solution to a problem.
- Volunteered feedback. You’ll get the most honest feedback from customers when they feel motivated to volunteer it themselves. Make the tools available, such as comment boxes and dedicated customer service email addresses, and find ways to incentivise honest customer engagement.
Website traffic analytics
Understanding what visitors do on your website can provide useful information on the customer experience. Take a look at the following:
- Time spent on your website – and individual pages in particular
- Bounce rates – high rates could indicate your content is lacking relevance or isn’t meeting your customer’s needs
- Shares of your content – high numbers are a good sign, as it demonstrates customers acting as advocates and promoters of your brand.
Need help building customer loyalty, expanding your customer base or running meaningful marketing campaigns? Get in touch with the experts at IT Focus.