Developing and keeping customers is an important part of the business process. Customers mean business. If we lose customers, we lose business. You might be surprised at the chart on page 40 of your textbook that shows common reasons why companies lose customers. 68% said they feel an "attitude of indifference" (Knapp, 2011). It is important to interject here that customers understand that problems occur and mistakes are made. How these problems and mistakes are handled is the deciding factor in losing or retaining a customer.
Unfortunately, customers don't always let us know when they are displeased or when their needs are not met. These customers just take their business elsewhere, and worse, tell others about their negative experience. As you can well understand, determining if and how customer needs and expectations are being met is critical to a company's overall success.
It is important to have processes to measure how employees relate to customers and how effectively and efficiently customer support and service departments function. Customer Satisfaction Surveys can help determine if these conditions are being met, what improvements are needed and what training should be offered to employees. (Consider the ECPI End of Term Survey that all students take at the end of a course.) Surveys are particularly useful for this purpose.
For this case study assignment, assume the following: You work as a manager for BizTech Industries, a company that develops software and networking packages for small businesses. BizTech provides service and support to their customers' employees via the BizTech website and a 24/7 toll free hot line. You understand that most of these customers are not "technical" people.
You have been tasked with improving the efficiency and the effectiveness of the service and support department. To accomplish this task, your director has asked you to draft a survey to determine whether or not customer needs are being met. BizTech needs to know if their staff is responsive, if they demonstrate a caring attitude and if they have the skill set to manage inquiries.
The president of BizTech Industries is expecting to see a final draft of this survey on his desk by the close of business today. Your case assignment is to prepare this draft for his approval. The president has also noted that he does not want to see a template used or a survey that comes from some website or the Microsoft set of templates. He wants this survey to be specific to BizTech.
Your final draft should include and/or meet the following criteria:
- An introductory paragraph to the President of BizTech that explains:
- The purpose of this survey project.
- How the project will be conducted.
- How the outcomes of the survey will be evaluated and used.
- Survey itemsFirst and foremost, as the president has directed, you may NOT use a template for your survey items. You must create these survey items yourself, based upon the BizTech situation and needs.
- Include an introductory paragraph directed to the customer that explains the purpose of the survey.
- You should have at least 15 survey items but no more than 20 items.
- Your items should be arranged in these three categories and should measure:Responsiveness - 5 items
- A caring, can-do attitude - 5 items
- Skill - 5 items
- Your textbook is an excellent resource. You do not need to use any additional resources for this assignment, but if you do, you must cite these resources using APA format. Do NOT simply find survey items on the Internet and copy/paste.
Tips for Creating the Survey
- Remember that this draft is for the president of the company. You will be graded on how well you communicate in writing.
- Avoid redundancy. Using the three categories will help to prevent duplication.
- Keep your survey items positive. Avoid negativity.
- It's best to use statements instead of questions.
- Use a rating scale. You must have some way to tabulate results.
- Check for clarity and accuracy.