News flash: Customer satisfaction is not the key measure of success you should be looking for. It just isn't enough.
The problem with looking only at customer service satisfaction scores is that they may not be tied to the strength of the customer relationship.
According to Gallup Organization researchers William J. McEwen, Ph.D., and John Fleming, Ph.D., the connection that companies have with their clients and customers is obviously very important, but traditional customer service measures fail to give us a clear picture of the strength of that connection.
According to McEwen and Fleming, customer satisfaction scores do not necessarily link to sustainable growth. While they do give some indication of the quality of the company-customer relationship, it takes much more to ensure long-term, profitable business growth.
Every home care company I know of confirms that research. HMEs are quick to share their high customer service satisfaction scores, but satisfying customers without creating an emotional connection with them has no real value.
After many case studies, the Gallup researchers found that customers who were extremely satisfied were just as likely to stop doing business with a company, bank or service provider as were customers who were less satisfied. In a study of a supermarket chain, for example, extremely satisfied customers spent no more money than those customers who were less satisfied.
So what does affect the financial incomes we are expecting? McEwen and Fleming say there was a big difference in financial outcomes for companies whose customers felt emotionally connected. These customers felt “engaged by the company;” they felt a real connection with the company with which they were doing business.
What does this mean for our home care sales teams and our sales managers? First, let's work with the premise that emotional connections improve financial outcomes. The goal would be to create customers who are “engaged.” These would be customers who would be willing to refer others to your company or service.
Let me help clarify how the concept works. Many of us are frequent users of a local ATM machine. We visit the machine often, find it convenient and always working properly. The machines are there when we need them, and we appreciate the service.
The question is, have you recommended this convenient ATM machine to one of your friends or colleagues? You may make frequent visits to the bank, but you have no emotional relationship and never recommended that bank to anyone.
Gallup continues to study what makes world-class sales organizations and continues to find that customer engagement is becoming increasingly important. When “engagement” is carefully measured and analyzed, it can help you predict the growth of your company.
Home care sales representatives and sales managers too often look only at what is selling or what the new revenue numbers are without looking at how well the company actually knows its customers. Look at your account records, at what information you know about the referral source and what relationship you have with them. Regardless of the system you use to obtain the order, never negate the power of the personal business relationship.
Are your company's customers “engaged?” Ask yourself these questions about your referral source relationships:
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Do I know how long the referral source has worked at the hospital, physician's office, etc.?
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Do I know anything about the family of the referral source?
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Has the referral source been willing to refer me/our company to a colleague?
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Do I know exactly what the referral source does in his/her work?
The Gallup Organization also offers some final advice to sales managers, advice that encourages strengthening the emotional attachment the customer feels towards the company. That may come both through the company and its customers learning more about each other.
So, engage your referral sources, talk to them, get to know them — and they, in turn, will be more likely to play a more important role in your financial growth.
Louis Feuer is president of Dynamic Seminars & Consulting Inc. and the founder and director of the DSC Teleconference Series, a teleconference training program. He can be reached at www.DynamicSeminars.com or by phone at 954/435-8182.
