3 September, 2023 2 minute read
Richard Wright
Managing Director at ASPIRE Account Management
CLIENT SATISFACTION SURVEYS
Client Satisfaction Surveys are a crucial component when evaluating performance. They require significant thought and preparation, sometimes by specialist third parties. Ideally, you will survey the same areas at least once a year so that you can monitor trends as well as receiving a snapshot of Client satisfaction, although it may take a few attempts to refine survey content.
However, there is a great potential danger in surveys being too long and putting recipients off or people leaving it until they have more time and then never getting round to it!
So, you really need to focus on those aspects which will enable you to measure satisfaction against your key criteria for Client Account Management. When looking at the Definition & Scope of Account Management, there are some key areas which are ideal for receiving Client feedback on and which will be particularly relevant to your Company in the pursuit of continuous improvement. They are:
Business Relationship: co-operation, trust, personal integrity
Deliverables/Outputs/Services/People/Products: appropriate & practical, on time, required level of quality
Teamwork:: working together, commitment, pride
In addition, other key areas may include: performance of the Account Manager, whether the Client culture is understood & respected, whether your own Company's values & ethos are compatible with the Client.
An early decision is required to determine whether there will be one survey for everyone, divided into different parts to accommodate different levels/responsibilities of Client personnel, or separate surveys.
The issue with the one-survey-fits-all is that it will be a lengthy document and, although individuals will only be completing specific parts, it will be off-putting for some people which will adversely affect the percentage of your survey returns. Conversely, Client staff at a particular level may want to know what is being asked of others at different levels - it's a difficult one.
It may help to think of your Client as having three basic levels of people - Users, Managers & Board. While each level will have some very different criteria for evaluating your Company's performance and the working relationship, they will also have areas of common interest which overlap. That's why such very careful thought and consideration need to go into the preparation of Client surveys - Client staff & senior people must feel they are being asked the right questions while your Company seeks to receive as many responses as possible (which will be invaluable in performance monitoring & trend analysis as you strive for continuous improvement).
Also, some recipients of a survey will be Users who have not had direct contact with any of your Company's representatives. Conversely, other recipients will have had frequent contact & developed close business relationships or been involved in difficult situations where the relationship has been strained or volatile.
Some Client contacts will also have very different responsibilities and had different types of exposure to your Company (eg. Purchasing, Legal, HR/Personnel, etc.).
If you have a difficult or sensitive relationship with the Client or you think intended participants may be reluctant to take part, would it be better to use an independent organisation to administer the survey and process results? You're likely to get a higher percentage of survey returns if you do.
So yes, it's probably best to have different survey 'documents' tailored to specific recipient levels/responsibilities ......... but explain what you're asking other recipients in the same area of the organisation in your explanatory notes.
Finally, the most senior person known in the Client organisation must always be surveyed as well.
A sample of checks, tips and questions is given below:
Areas Of Interest
Feedback on your Company’s performance, knowledge and standing may be sought in the following areas:
Users
· practical/workable solutions
· working relationships/teamwork
· responsiveness
· quality (process, deliverables, services, people, products)
· integrity, reliability
Managers
· as for Users plus:
· understand Client's business overall & position in the market
· understand Client's business needs & issues in specific area(s)
· understand Client's culture, protocols & working practices
· proactive, initiative
· value added
· value for money
· skills capability & service/product knowledge
· reputation/standing in your Company's marketplace
Board
· image
· understand Client's culture
· business relationship
· benefits achieved
· value for money
Satisfaction Surveys can also be used to obtain key information on the Client's future needs, appetite for selected sales propositions and where your Company stands compared to the Competition (survey questions being tailored according to what information has already been gleaned about the Client).
Click here for 80+ survey questions & tips
Results
As soon as the deadline for responses has been reached, the analysis must begin. You'll need to provide feedback to the Client, everyone working for your Client (including any third parties used) and anyone else who needs to know within your own organisation as soon as possible. However, Survey results may be presented in different ways/formats to different groups/individuals.
In addition to providing a snapshot of how your own Company is regarded by the Client, Surveys will enable you to monitor trends. This is so important, particularly if the Survey results are not good but show an improving trend which then allows you to put a positive spin on things overall!
You will also need to compile an Improvements Action Plan which will not only focus on areas such as the business relationship, deliverables/output and teamwork but also making the Client aware of your Company’s services, people skills & product capability where a 'non-awareness' was registered.
If the Survey results are (very) positive, ask if the Client can act as a Reference Site if not already doing so.
BEST PRACTICE QUOTE 11 OF 12
"Client feedback is a crucial external component when evaluating performance"
Another 20+ components of account management can be found at ASPIRE Account Management together with over 300 free checks & tips - all of which aim to significantly improve supplier performance and block the competition.
NEXT POST: Risk Management
Account Management Blogs - the full set:
Introduction to Account Management
Understanding Your Clients
Supplier Values, Ethos & Image
The Account Manager
Client Relationship Management
Client Contact Management
Sales Propositions & Opportunities
Sales Opportunity Qualification
Balanced Scorecard
Client Account Performance Reviews
Client Satisfaction Surveys (‘today’)
Risk Management
As these blogs will be geared to anyone engaged in developing new business with clients or prospects, and for ease of context, I’ll regard all readers as account managers as everyone has the same endgame, no offence!
I really hope you, your colleagues & business associates find value in these blogs; please let me know either way. Please also get in touch if you think there might be potential for our businesses to collaborate.
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