Do You Know the Difference Between Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty?

What is the difference between Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty?

customer-satisfaction-loyaltyCustomer Satisfaction is a measurement of customer attitudes toward products, services, and brands. Customer Loyalty on the other hand has two definitions. Customer Loyalty consists of loyalty behavior (i.e. customer retention) which is the act of customers making repeat purchases of current brands rather than choosing competitor brands. Secondly, Customer Loyalty encompasses loyalty attitudes which are opinions and feelings about products, services, brands, or businesses that are associated with repeat purchases. At times, customers display loyalty behavior without having loyalty attitudes.  Conversely, at times, customers show loyalty attitudes without exhibiting any loyalty behavior.

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What is the Value of Customer Retention?

Understand the value of customer retention

customer-retentionMany companies realize that customer retention is extremely important. They recognize that losing valued, loyal customers is bad for the company’s long term revenue potential and overall success. Even though this is understood on a basic level, few companies – especially those companies providing a service – seem to misunderstand what losing a single customer can mean to their business.

Example:  Sandra took her car to an auto maintenance facility for trouble with her oil gauge. Sandra knows very little about cars, so she decided it would be wise to have her car towed to the closest auto maintenance facility to be serviced. The mechanic on duty treated Sandra with absolute condescension.  He acted as if Sandra should know much more about cars and how to check her own oil. Upon completion of service, the mechanic charged Sandra for 2 hours of service even though Sandra had only waited an hour for her oil to be checked and changed.  It was obviously a bad experience for Sandra, and she had no intention of returning to that auto maintenance facility for future services, nor would she recommend their services to friends and family.

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How Are You Celebrating National Customer Service Week?

National Customer Service Week, October 1 – 5, 2012

The first week of October marks National Customer Service Week. National Customer Service Week was established by the International Customer Service Association (ICSA) in 1984 and proclaimed a national event by the U.S. Congress in 1992.

A business built on customer service understands and anticipates the customer’s needs. It designs goods and services to meet those needs and builds products that perform to customer expectations.” – George H. Bush

customer-serviceNational Customer Service Week is a time for everyone to increase awareness of the importance of treating your customers well in order to maintain business relationships and increase business interactions. It is also a way to recognize the people who work in customer service to let them know their efforts are valuable and well respected.

Recently, we ran a free webinar titled, How Customer Experience Can Drive Your Organization. On this week of recognition, we invite you watch this fantastic free webinar. Continue reading

Recap: Webinar on How Customer Experience Can Drive Your Organization

Did you miss our free webinar on how customer experience can drive your organization? This FREE webinar is part of our Snap Summer Camp 2012 series. If you missed this webinar, want to watch it again, or share it with your colleagues, you can access it here!

Free Webinar: How customer experience can drive your organization, with guest Oakleigh Wood, Managing Director of Customer Services Management, Ltd. 

>> Watch this webinar now! 

“The worst thing is for a client to receive 100% positive customer experience results,” says Oakleigh Wood, Managing Director and customer experience expert for Customer Service Management (CSM), Ltd.  “There’s always room for improvement, and if customers don’t feel comfortable to give negative feedback, the organization can’t learn from its mistakes and raise its game.” Continue reading

3 Customer Loyalty Survey Mistakes

As we defined in yesterday’s blog post, Customer Satisfaction vs. Customer Loyalty, customer loyalty consists of two factors – loyalty behavior and loyalty attitudes. Loyalty behavior (or customer retention) is when customers make repeat purchases of current brands, rather than buy from competitor brands. And, loyalty attitudes are opinions and feelings about products, services, brands, or businesses that are associated with repeat purchases.

customer-loyalty-surveysCustomer loyalty is a critical component of maintaining a successful, long-term business. Customers that are vigilant users of your products or services are more likely to be repeat customers and recommend your business to others – keeping the business relationship alive and away from your competition.

Customer loyalty programs can be implemented into your overall business plan and be used to expand your business. Consider using online survey software to create customer loyalty surveys. Many experts believe that online customer loyalty surveys are a strong research method. By allowing customers to provide feedback and be more involved in the company experience, your business is building a stronger loyalty base and bond with your customers. Implementing a regular customer loyalty survey may cause a noticeable positive shift in your company’s overall loyalty. Continue reading

Factors to Consider when Creating Customer Surveys

customer surveyMany, if not all, industries use customer satisfaction surveys to gather customer feedback. Survey data from customers is used to plan, formulate strategic business strategies and solutions, and make informed business decisions, which improve overall performance. At times, it can be a difficult and laborious task to develop and execute an efficient process of surveying large numbers of customers in a way that produces meaningful results. To get the most use out of your survey research, prior to administering a customer satisfaction survey that targets a sample of customers, take the following factors into consideration:  Continue reading

Need Some Ideas on Question Development and Online Survey Design?

Are you stumped for ideas on where to start with your online survey? Are you looking for some inspiration to create logical survey questions and eye-catching survey design ideas?  Take a look at some of our sample surveys

Customer Satisfaction Surveys

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Allow Respondents to Rank or Order Their Preferences

Many questions in customer satisfaction surveys ask respondents to rank certain aspects of their experience. Ranking questions ask respondents to rank or order a set of options. Continue reading

Rating Scales for Satisfaction Survey Questionnaires

When designing a satisfaction survey, it is highly like you will need to implement rating scales in your questionnaire.  Ratings are subjective assessments that use a personal set of standards to evaluate your product or service.  Rating scale questions are used in Satisfaction Surveys of all types such as: Customer Satisfaction Surveys, Employee Satisfaction Surveys, Healthcare or Patient Satisfaction Surveys, and Educational Surveys such as Student Evaluations and Course Evaluations.  Continue reading

Customer Satisfaction Surveys – Defining ‘Survey’ and ‘Census’ for Your Successful Survey

A customer satisfaction survey is designed to gather information from a “sample” of your customer population, as opposed to a “census” which gathers information from all of your customer population. A census is a costly and labor intensive undertaking, giving complete information, while a survey (a sampling of the population) gives you approximate information. A survey is an easier and more cost effective way to gather information. Continue reading