3.1. Function, benefits and reasons for a survey

Customer satisfaction surveys can disclose information about a number of different problems that a company might be facing. For example, a company may need to find out why the sales or profit of particular products are plummeting. The company can ask customers about the different functions of the product to find out if the customers are dissatisfied due to the product's function or if the product does not meet the expectations of the customers.

The customer satisfaction survey paybacks the customer and the company. The customer benefits because it is a medium for him to communicate his opinion about a product or service. The customer can leave a detailed complaint or a detailed compliment about the company’s products and services. The company benefits with the valuable information received on the products, services, employees and customers’ perception of the company. This information can then be translated to actionable items for change leading to more customer satisfaction, higher sales and profit and therefore growth for the company.

Information procurement is the key for solving problems and is a basic requirement for analytic work. Main objective of information procurement is to find significant facts and to evaluate opinions efficiently and effectively. It provides valuable insights for better diagnosis and helps to evaluate the current and future potential.³⁷

So the reason for launching a customer satisfaction survey seems quite obvious and can help to get information e. g. on:

• Figuring out how service-delivery could be improved
• Understanding why your customers seem to be dissatisfied
• Finding out, if your activities and efforts on special programs are seen and perceived as being valuable to your customers
• Making a strong case for continuing a certain campaign or program

It is important to find out what customers think about what a company does and how, this will revert in improvements of products and services. These are the kinds of changes customers will notice and value.

³⁷ Andler, N. (2008), p. 67