Ensuring Customer Satisfaction: Three Activities to Increase Success
Successful companies understand the value of their existing customers – whether that business is B2C, B2B or B2G – they understand that satisfied customers are more likely to remain loyal, renew contracts, expand services, share positive feedback and recommend them to others.
This is especially true in the public sector. With large multi-million and even billion-dollar contracts on the line, it’s imperative to have a deep understanding of your customer’s satisfaction level, ensuring that small hiccups do not become larger problems that lead to non-renewal or non-consideration.
How can contractors avoid an unpleasant surprise?
In addition to keeping a close eye on their CPARS ratings, they can access a variety of research tools to help them understand and increase their customer satisfaction. Below are three ideas about what type of research is working:
- Keeping Your Customer: Create a Customer, or Contract, Satisfaction Program
It’s important to get regular, honest feedback from your clients about their satisfaction levels. Measuring customer satisfaction is about more than surveying your clients; it’s about acting immediately on the feedback you get. A customer satisfaction program can help you correct any issues before they become irreparable, and help win the recompete. The key is using third-party research, which is more likely to uncover unbiased information that you can act on. Multiple satisfied customers can add up to a satisfied contract.
Read our client case study: “Importance of Customer Satisfaction Research”
- Understanding and Meeting Your Customer’s Needs: Insights to Support Customer Strategy
Getting needs met — that is perhaps the most basic indicator of a happy customer. Successful contractors do not guess what those needs are; they ask. In fact, through market opportunity assessments, we often find that what the customer needs and wants may not be completely aligned with our client’s expectations. Highly successful contractors use this intelligence to reframe or reposition their offers. The more educated you are about the market you serve, the better equipped you are to respond to customer needs.
- Build Relationships: Become a Trusted Advisor
According to the 2019 Content Marketing Study, public sector audiences, and especially federal audiences are hungry for information from their industry partners. Research reports and white papers were among the top three valuable types of content for federal audiences and data and research to support that content was most valuable feature. To build a stronger relationship with your public sector customer, become a trusted advisor. Highly successful federal contractors invest in research-based thought leadership. This gives them a platform to discuss market trends and establish their expertise while showcasing their understanding of customer concerns and pain points, which ultimately strengthens relationships.
Read a customer Q&A on the value of thought leadership research.