Who Cares About Customer Satisfaction?

The following is an excerpt from Call Center IQ's comprehensive--and totally free--Executive Report on the Customer Experience: Driving Customer Satisfaction from the Call Center. Download your free copy of the exclusive research report here!

Unsatisfying Divide

Given their belief that it plays a pivotal role in determining success, organizations unsurprisingly build their performance management strategies around customer satisfaction. Essential to the call center performance assessments in 86% of organizations, satisfaction contributes more than any other objective to the construction of performance management criteria.

With support from 65%, 64% and 51% of respective organizations, voice of the customer, operational efficiency and agent productivity are the only elements that advise performance strategy in even half of organizations.

But its universally accepted role in determining success—and prominent role in advising metrics—should not be mistaken as proof that all departments within all organizations agree on its significance.

According to the survey, only those in the customer service/call center function recognize customer satisfaction as the business’ most important objective.

Customer satisfaction is paramount for only 10% of IT departments; operational efficiency (54%) and cost containment (27%) are seen as far more important objectives.

It reigns supreme in only 20% of marketing departments; customer loyalty (36%) and revenue generation (26%) are considered more relevant to the performance management picture.

Satisfaction is the primary focus for 13% of sales teams; revenue generation (64%) is a drastically more significant focus of performance management strategy.

It represents the Holy Grail for 12% of C-suites; revenue generation (28%) and cost containment (25%) are considered more significant focuses.

Still, as a top three focus for all departments—and the most relevant performance management objective for 86% of organizations—customer satisfaction is an undeniably important goal for businesses.

The overwhelming majority of organizations believe it must play a role in determining which metrics they measure. Businesses’ marks against those metrics—and their strategies for improvements—will determine how successful the business is now and how successful it will be in the future.