Punctuality might be the soul of a business, but patronage is the sustainability of the said business, hence the saying “customer is king’. What guarantees the return of a customer? There are a lot of things that work hand in hand, to ensure that a one-time customer becomes frequent; but above all, the greatest antique that keeps a customer regular is satisfaction.

What is Customer Satisfaction?

This is a method used to determine how people feel when interacting with your company’s product, services, and brand in general. Customer satisfaction is a tool to measure the perception of a customer towards your brand; is the customer satisfied after using products or services from your business?

Why is Customer Satisfaction Important

Some say that customers are essential; others say that they drive the business. Having established that customers keep the doors of a business open, it is wise not to bite the hand that feeds you, or in this case, the hand that keeps the door of your business open. Customer satisfaction is key, in that satisfied customers return. It is way much easier to retain an old customer than to gain a new one. Below are a few reasons customer satisfaction is important

1. It helps retain customers; with the stress involved in advertising and pursuing leads, it would do your business service to spend fewer resources in working to keep your existing customers.
2. It builds organization reputation: the reputation of an organization is very important, in that a good reputation fathers trust. When you satisfy your customers, it helps your company maintain a good reputation, which in turn makes your customers trust you. With this trust come referrals.
3. It helps your business stand out: since there is much competition in the market, people use certain indices to narrow down and pick products and services that satisfy them. If your product satisfies your customers, it means that your product stands out, and your customers would be sticking around for a long while.
4. It builds brand loyalty: have you ever wondered why people favour one brand over the other? Why people prefer Klin to Ariel and vice versa, is a product of the satisfaction they get from such merchandise. Constant use of a certain product builds brand loyalty, thus purchasing a different brand feels like cheating.
5. Improve employee morale: there is a saying that” you can’t sell what you can’t buy. Do your employees believe in your brand? Customer satisfaction improves your employees’ perception of your product and services; this, in turn, boosts their morale and makes them better salespersons, thus increasing patronage and profit.

Factors that lead to Customer Satisfaction

There is a wide range of factors that lead to customer satisfaction, this article would categorize them under 3 major points and break them down further.

1. Service: your product or service is one of the factors, if not the major factor that leads to customer satisfaction. How does your product or service fit the need of your customer, how convenient is it for your customer to use your service or product, how accessible is the said service or product, etc
2. Customer perceived value: this involves brand intuition. Do you know what your customer wants, if yes, it is reflected in your product or service? How simple is your said product, is it easy to understand and use? Is your product effective and efficient, does it accomplish what it claims to accomplish?
3. Value: this refers to the standing of your brand amongst its competition, is your brand one of the best in the game? What is the price of your product or service, and what is your USP (unique selling proposition)?

How to Measure Customer Satisfaction

The most popular method of measuring customer satisfaction is a survey, (with the use of rating scales, questionnaires, etc). Almost everyone has at a point seen a prompt to rate an app, this is the use of a rating scale to determine user opinion about the app in question. Most rating scales are either 1-5 or 1-10. Customer satisfaction scores can be calculated by adding the sum of all scores and dividing the sum by the number of respondents.

Feedback

It is impossible to measure customer satisfaction, without feedback, direct or indirect. How do you know if your customers are satisfied with your products or services, without feedback? Feedback simply refers to information about one's reaction to a product or person’s performance of a task, which is then used as a basis for improvement.

Why Is Feedback Important?

For communication to be effective it needs to have a two-way flow. Communication involves the sharing of information, and feedback is communication. If feedback is absent, the product or service provider would not be able to access the strength and weaknesses of what he is providing. Feedback is essential, in that it serves as a compass or guide in decision making. It influences brand improvement, product and service improvement and in some cases, rebranding. By receiving information on how your customers view your products and services, you are in a better position to give your customers what they want. Thus, the importance of customer feedback includes;

1. Customer involvement: by constantly requesting feedback from your customers, you make them part of your decision process, and this creates a sense of belonging in the minds of your customers.
2. Improves brand credibility and reputation: getting feedback from customers can help a brand improve its reputation, in that its customers feel closer to them and this, in turn, builds trust and credibility.
3. Improves organization decision making: with feedback, it is possible to know what your customers want you to improve on, what new product they want, etc. this will better inform the decision making of any company, as they will make decisions according to the will of their customers, thereby satisfying them.

Furthermore, feedback also helps to improve customer experience, and brand loyalty, helps in identifying unhappy customers, and last but not the least, brings about customer satisfaction.

How Can SMS be Used to Provide Feedback?

There are numerous ways to get feedback from customers, but this article would focus on SMS as a means of getting feedback. People read SMSs, in fact, SMS has a 96% per cent chance of being read, this is why SMS is a good and timely feedback tool. The wording of an SMS is as important as the SMS itself, therefore SMSs that are used as a feedback mechanism are written in certain ways. The following are forms of SMS that can be used to receive feedback; transaction-based messages, periodic messages, campaign messages and churn analysis. 

Why You Need SmartSMSSolutions

SmartSMSSolutions is a business that aims to improve communication between businesses and their customers, through the use of communication tools, such as; Emails, voice OTP, and SMS. As a bulk SMS service provider, SmartSMSSolutions can pull you closer to your customers, thus, enhancing and ultimately improving patronage and profit for your business. To use SMS as means to receive feedback, visit our webpage or call us on 08035515868.