Download the PDF: https://www.demandmetric.com/content/assess-satisfaction-retain-customers Maintaining prices and retaining customers in competitive markets depends heavily on your ability to effectively service your accounts. Proactive organizations work with customers to identify their strengths and weaknesses to better serve their market. What are the Key Areas to Measure? Buying Process — getting customer feedback on your buying process will help you support sales more effectively, and identify any possible issues. Value Proposition — learning how your value proposition is perceived is critical in determining the effectiveness of your branding and communications strategy. Additionally, reduce risk by identifying any customers who are not getting good value for money. Products/Services — gather metrics on the effectiveness and quality of your products to close the Product Development loop. Ask additional qualitative questions that can provide insight into what the market is demanding. Strategic Direction — measure the perception of your customers on your position as a market leader and innovative organization. Use this data to demonstrate how effective you are at communicating corporate strategy. Customer Service and Support — gauge the responsiveness and courtesy of your service department to ensure there are no unhappy customers with outstanding issues who may be at risk. Website/Customer Portal — determine if your website or portal is providing a pleasant experience or if additional resources need to be added. Brand Preference — this area provides an opportunity to bottom-line customers. Find out who are your advocates and who are your dissatisfied customers.

1. ASSESS
SATISFACTION
TO RETAIN
CUSTOMERS
HOW-TO GUIDE

2. 2 Assess Satisfaction to Retain Customers How-to Guide
Assess Satisfaction to
Retain Customers
Maintaining prices and retaining customers in competitive markets depends heavily on your ability
to effectively service your accounts. Proactive organizations work with customers to identify their
strengths and weaknesses to better serve their market.
Use Demand Metric’s downloadable Customer Satisfaction Survey Template to bench-
mark current satisfaction levels and improve these metrics over time.
What are the Key Areas to Measure?
Buying Process — getting customer feedback on your buying process will help you support sales
more effectively, and identify any possible issues.
Value Proposition — learning how your value proposition is perceived is critical in determining the
effectiveness of your branding and communications strategy. Additionally, reduce risk by identi-
fying any customers who are not getting good value for money.
Products/Services — gather metrics on the effectiveness and quality of your products to close the
Product Development loop. Ask additional qualitative questions that can provide insight into what
the market is demanding.
Strategic Direction — measure the perception of your customers on your position as a market
leader and innovative organization. Use this data to demonstrate how effective you are at
communicating corporate strategy.
Customer Service and Support — gauge the responsiveness and courtesy of your service
department to ensure there are no unhappy customers with outstanding issues who may be at risk.
Website/Customer Portal — determine if your website or portal is providing a pleasant experience
or if additional resources need to be added.
Brand Preference — this area provides an opportunity to bottom-line customers. Find out who are
your advocates and who are your dissatisfied customers.
HOW-TO GUIDE
Ignoring the ‘voice of the customer’ is not how world-class companies operate. To keep
retention levels high, define a customer feedback process that provides both quantitative and
qualitative results.
Bottom Line

3. 3 Assess Satisfaction to Retain Customers How-to Guide
1
3
Discuss
with Senior
Management
Customize a
Survey
Action Plan
STEP 1 - Discuss with Senior Management
7
Report to Senior
Management
6 Gather Results
& Analyze
4
Communicate
with Staff
2
Determine
Timing
5
Distribute to
Customers
Integrate Feedback8
Table this idea during a management meeting
to see if there are any other managers who
agree that this type of data would be helpful. In
particular, speak with leaders from the Sales,
Customer Service, or Professional Services
departments.
Meeting Agenda Template
V I E W R E S O U R C E
Impress Management
with the Meeting Agenda
Template

4. 4 Assess Satisfaction to Retain Customers How-to Guide
Action Plan
STEP 2 - Determine Timing
1
2
Discuss with Senior
Management
Determine
Timing
5
Distribute to
Customers
3
Customize a
Survey
4
Communicate
with Staff
6 Gather Results
& Analyze
7
Report to Senior
Management
Integrate Feedback8
Some industries are seasonal, so make sure
that you time your survey initiative appropri-
ately. Another alternative is to integrate this
survey into your renewal or customer exit
processes.
Project Plan Template
V I E W R E S O U R C E
Time to Make It Happen

5. 5 Assess Satisfaction to Retain Customers How-to Guide
Action Plan
STEP 3 - Customize a Survey
3 Customize a
Survey
1 Discuss with Senior
Management
2
Determine
Timing
4
Communicate
with Staff
5
Distribute to
Customers
6 Gather Results
& Analyze
7
Report to Senior
Management
Integrate Feedback8
Use Demand Metric’s downloadable
Customer Satisfaction Survey
Template as a starting point.
V I E W R E S O U R C E
Customer Satisfaction Survey Template
Introducing the Customer
Satisfaction Survey
Template

6. 6 Assess Satisfaction to Retain Customers How-to Guide
Action Plan
STEP 4 - Communicate with Staff
4 Communicate
with Staff
1 Discuss with Senior
Management
2
Determine
Timing
3
Customize a
Survey
5
Distribute to
Customers
6 Gather Results
& Analyze
7
Report to Senior
Management
Integrate Feedback8
Discuss how this initiative will help the busi-
ness grow and retain customers. Be sure
to communicate how the results of these
surveys will be measured and used to iden-
tify any performance issues.
V I E W R E S O U R C E
Calculating Customer Lifetime
Value How-To Guide
Calculating the Value of
Your Customers

7. 7 Assess Satisfaction to Retain Customers How-to Guide
Action Plan
STEP 5 - Distribute to Customers
5 Distribute to
Customers
1 Discuss with Senior
Management
2
Determine
Timing
3
Customize a
Survey
4
Communicate
with Staff
6 Gather Results
& Analyze
7
Report to Senior
Management
Integrate Feedback8
Once you have decided what the most
appropriate timing is for a customer survey,
distribute them accordingly. When sending out
your survey, speak to the benefits that your
customers will see, including better service
and support, more valued products, etc.
Customer Satisfaction Survey Template
V I E W R E S O U R C E
Communicate With Your
Customers for Ultimate
Results

8. 8 Assess Satisfaction to Retain Customers How-to Guide
Action Plan
STEP 6 - Gather Results & Analyze
6
Gather
Results &
Analyze
1 Discuss with Senior
Management
2
Determine
Timing
3
Customize a
Survey
4
Communicate
with Staff
5
Distribute to
Customers
7
Report to Senior
Management
Integrate Feedback8
After you have collected the survey results,
analyze them to find any flight risk accounts,
or other potential issues. Aggregate the data
into averages to benchmark your current
level of performance, which you can use as a
measuring stick for next time.
Customer Satisfaction Survey Template
V I E W R E S O U R C E
Benchmark Your Product/
Service Performance

9. 9 Assess Satisfaction to Retain Customers How-to Guide
Action Plan
STEP 7 - Report to Senior Management
7
8
Report to Senior
Management
Integrate Feedback88
1 Discuss with Senior
Management
2
Determine
Timing
3
Customize a
Survey
4
Communicate
with Staff
5
Distribute to
Customers
6 Gather Results
& Analyze
Compile a report that can be delivered to Senior
Management highlighting the key strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
SWOT Analysis Tool
V I E W R E S O U R C E
Report to Management
with a SWOT Analysis

10. 10 Assess Satisfaction to Retain Customers How-to Guide
Action Plan
STEP 8 - Integrate Feedback
8 Integrate
Feedback
2
Determine
Timing
1 Discuss with Senior
Management
3
Customize a
Survey
4
Communicate
with Staff
5
Distribute to
Customers
6 Gather Results
& Analyze
7
Report to Senior
Management
Based on your report, have a discussion
to prioritize the action items that need be
addressed first, and who will take them on.
Project Prioritization Tool
V I E W R E S O U R C E
Organize Actionable Items
and Assign Them Out

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