Building Customer Satisfaction

Companies that have a 100% focus on the consumer will win in this era of fierce competition. Companies must first recognize the value of customer happiness before developing processes around it. A satisfied customer is more likely to return.

Why should a buyer choose a certain company's product when there is a huge offering of products and services accessible in the market? According to different surveys and research, consumers will purchase things that provide them with the most perceived value. This figure is derived from the expense of making emotional decisions such as brand image, company brand, salesperson image, and functional image. By including purchase cost, time-energy in product evaluation, and intuitive cost, this value transforms to total consumer cost.

Consumers will make decisions based on the overall cost of the item, both perceived and actual. If the product operates as promised after purchase, the buyer is considered satisfied. A thoroughly satisfied customer is more inclined to repurchase the product and even recommend it to others. Companies strive for ultimate customer satisfaction, which may be achieved by first knowing the customer's expectations and then delivering on them.

Companies can achieve this state of total customer satisfaction by incorporating good business practices. These practices are constructed around stakeholders, business processes, resources, and organization. The company’s stakeholders consist of employees, suppliers, distributors, and customers. The earlier focus has always solely been on shareholders, but now stakeholders need to be satisfied for shareholders’ profit. Companies need to define boundaries of relationships with stakeholders to get maximum value for every participant. To ensure maximum value, companies need to develop business processes, which understand and fulfill customer expectations. This can be achieved by aligning cross-functional teams across critical processes, to create one smooth flow. Companies need to understand their core competencies and develop them, thereby successfully managing their resources. Organizational structure, design, and policies have to be suitable to facilitate the introduction of total customer satisfaction culture.

Companies may achieve ultimate customer satisfaction by producing and delivering value. The company can be thought of as a value chain with core and secondary activities. Inbound materials, operation, delivering finished products, sales/marketing, and client service are the main tasks. Functional departments such as technology, procurement, human resources, and finance are responsible for secondary tasks. Under the premise of supply chain management, the value created is distributed to the client through the distribution channel.

Customers in the digital era are far more aware of their needs and desires, making them a difficult group to satisfy. Companies execute marketing campaigns that highlight aspects of resemblance and distinction between their products and those of competitors. The trick is in keeping customers and building long-term relationships with them, not in getting them. Customers that do not repurchase are known to have a churning effect on businesses. Companies must work diligently to determine the causes of this churning. Once the causes have been discovered, divide them into manageable and non-manageable concerns, and then work hard to eliminate the manageable ones.

Companies must adopt strategies and metrics aimed at both retaining and gaining new customers. Customer relationship management can help you master the art of retention. The goal of CRM is to build strong consumer-based brand equity by turning first-time buyers into repeat buyers, clients, members, advocates, and finally partners. Companies can look forward to financial rewards in the form of discounts for frequent purchasers or by associating with a social purpose during these courses.

Profit is the reason that businesses exist. As a result, it must locate profitable customers. Retaining profitable clients generates more income than it costs to keep them. And for a company to have a competitive advantage, this revenue stream should be higher. To establish and provide customer satisfaction, an increasing number of firms are implementing a whole quality management approach across the organization.