Satisfaction Surveys Mask Customers' Reasons for Defecting

I see it all the time -- companies using the terms "customer
experience" and "customer satisfaction" as if they are synonymous.
They're not. The former is based on emotion that is derived from a
process. The latter is based on an outcome at a particular moment in
time.



Study after study has shown that more than three-quarters of customers
consider themselves as being satisfied with their vendors just before
they defect to others. Shaun Smith and Joe Wheeler suggest in their
book "Managing the Customer Experience" that the number is as high as
80%. Yet marketers continue to use satisfaction ratings when gauging
how well their companies are interacting with their customers.



What baffles me is the lack of recognition for the obvious. Even if
high satisfaction ratings did equate to meaningful and memorable
customers experiences (when viewed from the customers' points of view),
they do little to predict the probability of satisfied customers
initiating positive word-of-mouth.



Look at it this way. If you were to be surveyed after going to an
average restaurant and having a decent dinner, you very well may say
that you were satisfied. But how likely would you be to go home, call a
few friends and suggest to them that they should also go to the average
restaurant and have a decent meal? Not very. However, if you had a
great time and exceptional food, you would be much more likely to tell
others about your experience and suggest that they visit that
restaurant.



The other drawback with satisfaction surveys is that each individual
survey is based on the customer's particular expectations. Let's refer
back to that restaurant. If you had heard great things about it and the
food turned out to be mediocre, your satisfaction rating might be
rather low. However, let's say you heard uninspired things but then
found that your time there was better than you had anticipated. Odds
are that your satisfaction rating might be higher. All this indicates,
however, is that the restaurant jumped higher than the low bar that you
had set for it. That is one of the major flaws with satisfaction
ratings, you just don't know how high (or how low) individuals set
their bars.



This brings us to customer experience and how it effectively differs
from customer satisfaction. The customer experience considers the
customers' emotions that are the direct results of their interactions
with companies. The goal of questions in such surveys include whether
or not the customer believes that the company has the customer's
interest in mind or if the customers feel that they are just a means
for the company to make money. The ironic aspect of this is that,
because companies so readily resort to satisfaction surveys, they do
not realize how their customers actually feel about them. The results
of a recent survey by Bain & Company backs this theory. It
indicates that eighty percent of companies believe they deliver a
superior customer experience, but only eight percent of their customers
agree with that sentiment. Eye-opening, isn't it?



If you are conducting satisfaction surveys, I strongly suggest that you
ask your customers about their experiences instead. Your overall
ratings may not be as high as they were when you were asking about
satisfaction, but the results more accurately reflect where you are and
how far you have to go to reach your goals.

About The Author

Peter George, The Customer Experience Guy,
is the president of TouchPoints, the Rhode Island-based customer
experience management firm. As a consultant, speaker, trainer, and
coach known for his engaging speaking style and his notable approach to
customer experience management. For more information about TouchPoints
and Peter, visit http://www.ThinkTouchPoints.com or call 1-800-959-1614.


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Distributed by Hasan Shrek, independence blogger. Also run online business , matrix, internet marketing solution , online store script .
Beside he is writing some others blogs for notebook computer , computer training , computer software and personal computer
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