The document discusses ways for companies to improve customer satisfaction and retention. It provides an overview of a presentation on the topic, including definitions of customer satisfaction, why it is important, and ways to impact satisfaction such as encouraging face-to-face interactions, understanding customers, making it easy to do business, and gathering feedback. Specific tactics recommended are customer advisory boards, surveys, seminars, easy website access, and following up with customers. The presentation aims to help companies adopt a "customer first" mentality.

1. Catherine Derkosh, Marketing Communications Manager Don Mack, Sr. Marketing Specialist Bring Back That Loving Feeling Customer Satisfaction & Retention

2. Your Presenters – Who are We? Don Mack Sr. Marketing Specialist, Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc. Spring House, PA [email_address] Catherine Derkosh Marketing Communications Manager, Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc. Spring House, PA [email_address] Together we have 34 years in the process automation industry and have worked for companies like Leeds + Northrup, Honeywell, Moore Products, and Siemens.

3. What we do for fun? This is where the similarities end! Pitt vs. Penn State Golf vs. Softball Engineer vs. Non-engineer

4. Bring Back That Loving Feeling According to a study in the US News and World Report, the top four reasons "Why Customers Leave You" are… 1. Perceived indifference by a representative of your firm (68%) 2. Product dissatisfaction (14%) 3. Competitive reasons (ex. price) (9%) 4. Develop other relationships (or act on recommendations from friends) (5%) Other studies have shown the cost of acquiring a new customer is an average of 5-7 times the cost of retaining an existing customer

5. Agenda What is customer satisfaction Why customer satisfaction is important Ways to keep your customers happy Bring back that loving feeling Summary of key takeaways Q&A including best practice sharing There will be prizes!

6. What is Customer Satisfaction - From Wikipedia Customer satisfaction, a business term, is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. It is seen as a key performance indicator within business and is part of the four perspectives of a Balanced Scorecard. In a competitive marketplace where businesses compete for customers, customer satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key element of business strategy.

7. Why Customer Satisfaction Is Important It is an impact on your bottom line It leads to repeat business, customer loyalty, and increased profitability No business can exist without customers Customers are becoming increasingly more demanding, less tolerant and very critical when they are not having their exceptions met Customer have lots of choices on where and with who to deal with The power has shifted to the customer. If they feel you can not satisfy their expectations they will simply go to someone who will. Failure to seek and address customer complaints can hurt your bottom line

8. Ways to Impact Customer Satisfaction Encourage face-to face dealings Tradeshows User group meetings Keep your customers informed Newsletters & magazines Events & training Understand your customers User Advisory Boards/User Community: Ability to influence product development/direction Surveys & feedback Make it easy to do business with you We have all fought our way through the productivity wars of the past years Moving form coordination to collaboration – you can be your customer’s customer Service & support, a critical area to focus on

9. “Think Customer” Program Siemens has a program called “Think Customer” designed to instill the “Customer is First” philosophy throughout the company

10. Encourage Face-to Face Dealings Tradeshows and special events – make the most of them and make it worth your customer’s time Sometimes thinking outside the box starts inside one – exiderdome Make it a double Add a hospitality event or sales visit to your next show ISA and Oktoberfest Make it worth your customer’s time Technical seminars Information on new standards Frequency is key

11. Encourage Face-to Face Dealings User Group Meetings Networking Best practice sharing Technical innovations Training Local or National user group meetings work 2008 Siemens Automation Summit 165 companies from 36 industries from 41 states and 9 countries were represented 114 breakout sessions, general sessions, the exiderdome solutions showcase, networking opportunities, roadmap sessions and feedback forums

12. Keep Your Customers Informed Electronic newsletters New products and services Tips & tricks Seminars Keep them short and interactive Segment and frequency – customize if at all possible Ask for feedback Analyze results

13. Keep Your Customers Informed Customer magazines – longer articles and high impact graphics Case histories Applications stories White papers New product updates Events Take advantage of PR opportunities with the trade publications

14. Understand Your Customers Empowering your customers If you don’t listen to your customers needs and desires you simply don’t know what it is that they need. Indicate that you are seriousness about improving quality of products and services

15. Understand Your Customers Customer Advisory Councils User Advisory Boards/User Community: Ability to influence product development/direction Customer Product Focus Groups Organized by geography and industry, drive feedback on specific products and services On-line customer communities – tips from Communispace whitepaper Invite the right people, keep it small and private View members as advisors Find the social glue, make it member-centric Work at building the community Be genuine, encourage candor Just plain ask Pay even more attention to what members initiate Don’t squelch the negative Don’t ask too much, too often Use the right mix of technologies and methodologies, and keep experiment

16. Make It Easy for Your Customers to Do Business with You Account management Collaboration Accessibility 800 number One number for everything Web based collaboration tools SiteScape SharePoint

17. Create an invitation targeted to customers for local and regional events in which your company is participating Trade shows Seminars Hospitality events Invitations can be hard copy and/or electronic Better to hand deliver hard copies Include benefits to customer PDH’s are particularly useful Personal Invitations to Industry Events

18. Make it extensive, make it easy Website can include… Manuals Service news FAQ’s Online access to experts Phone number… not hidden at the bottom RSS feeds/Newsletters What else? Phone support Always able to reach a person Defined response time Call log so that different support personnel can pick up where the previous tech left off Customer Service and Support

19. Customer Satisfaction Call Follow-up Surveys “ How did we do?” surveys on a regular basis following support calls (but not “too regular”) Phone or electronic Calculate results and report them to the customer support team Publicly display results Incentivize team for positive results Promote positive customer feedback to the team

20. Collect Customer Satisfaction Information Formal survey Existing customers Former customers Anecdotal information from sales personnel Anecdotal information from customers

21. In addition to standard training course options… Offer local marketing seminars covering non-commercial topics (ex. Asset Management, Wireless, Fieldbus Communications, etc.) Or save the travel and conduct the seminar as a webinar Promote seminars/webinars that are typically targeted at new opportunities to your existing customer base Good chance to keep customers current In many cases these events might qualify for Professional Development Hours Training Seminars

22. What else can Sales do to maintain customers? Use the previously mentioned tools Return phone calls Engage in regular face-to-face meetings with customers Confirm path forward including next communication Follow meetings with a brief e-mail summarizing the actions Ensures that everyone is on the same page Demonstrates that you were listening Confirms follow-up path Keep your promises Help them do their job better

23. References Jeffrey Gitomer’s Sales Caffeine Newsletter Subscribe for free at: www.salescaffeine.com Book: “Creating Customer Evangelists: How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force” by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba

24. Top 10 Ways to “Bring Back That Loving Feeling” 10.”Think Customer” mentality must permeate your organization 9. Create regular opportunities for you to listen to your customers 8. Keep your customers informed through regular communications 7. Develop a user/customer community 6. Teach your customers about things other than your products… help them do their job better 5. Build a strong post sale customer support organization… make sure your customers can easily get help 4. Find out what your customers think about you and track the results 3. Make it easy for your customers to do business with you 2. Keep your promises to your customers 1. “Think Customer” mentality must permeate your organization (Have I said that before?)