“I am predicting a significant increase in our customer satisfaction index when the last quarter sales are surveyed, and when that happens, I will be attributing much of the improvement to our relationship with Interpersonal Development.” - National Sales Training Manager, Automotive manufacturer

“John is an elder statesmen figure. He is equally adept at handling a senior manager and a new graduate hire. John's knowledge and pedagogic expertise make him a first choice supplier when the need arises. I would not hesitate in recommending John to teach diverse groups or mixed hierarchies equally well as his style is both engaging and challenging in areas that most people already consider themselves experts but rarely are. Raising a learner's awareness is the first step in enabling change and John does this with finesse and ease without raising their defenses.” -Training Manager, Global Financial Services Company

“I would highly recommend the services of John Brennan and Interpersonal Development. The information he has provided is invaluable.” - CEO of small manufacturer

“John Brennan has a relatively quiet but engaging presentation style. This is backed up by a highly incisive understanding of both the people and the subject, so he was able to help each person in the group gain from the course. The follow up work that I did with John Brennan was truly life changing (for the better). John was able to get to the root of an issue that had held me back in both my professional & personal life. He showed great listening, understanding, empathy, analytical ability and coaching. This has left me with a far greater understanding of my own motivation and had a striking effect on my effectiveness at work and at home. This had been noted by my colleagues and family. In my view he has a very rare ability to communicate, listen, understand and resolve issues. I would wholeheartedly recommend him." - Engineering Manager, Global Pharmaceutical Company

“John Brennan has a very broad range of experience. He's helped me become more focused. Working with John as a coach/mentor, strategic advisor and sounding board was incredibly gratifying.” - President, Manufacturer

Click the links below to access these free resources.

* How to Shorten your Sales Cycle 3/16/2009

Does it seem like it takes forever to close new business deals? You're running strong campaigns, generating plenty of leads...

* Create an Account Management Team 8/12/2008

In many companies, once a salesperson has closed a deal with a new customer, the day-to-day responsibilities of managing the account are transferred from a sales rep to an account manager. Using this type of structure offers a number of benefits & challenges...

* Lack of Feedback at the Top 6/10/2009

A study of 400 executives shows that the most effective leaders actively seek negative feedback. They let it be known that they are open to receive critiques either of their ideas or their leadership. The least successful executives most often solicit confirming feedback...

Measure Customer Loyalty

10/12/2006

Why, How and When Do you regularly gauge your customer satisfaction, especially if “customer intimacy” is your primary value proposition? Many large companies have formal customer satisfaction metrics and try to put a number on satisfaction, reporting on the percentage of customers who are satisfied.

“Satisfaction,” however, is a typical measurement term that's not very compelling. A customer who is only “satisfied” rather than “highly loyal” or “thrilled” could easily defect.

It's better to think in terms of loyalty & future intent: Are your customers loyal? Do they intend to continue buying from you? Will they recommend you to other prospects?

There are a number of ways you can measure these intentions; these exercises will help get you started.

DEFINE YOUR GOALS & PROCESS
Before you jump into a survey or mathematical analysis, make sure you have a strategy behind you.

• What exactly do you want to learn?
• What's the best method for getting the information you need? Is it a formal survey, informal feedback, a mathematical analysis?
• How frequently will you update the measurements?

• Whether customers intend to purchase again
• Whether customers will refer other customers
• Who is dissatisfied and why
• Where you can improve
• How you can win their loyalty if you don't have it

• Used when you want completely honest feedback from a group of customers; when set up correctly, you can measure this feedback more precisely than informal, open-ended communications.
• Especially helpful when you want to gather customer feedback on an ongoing basis and track your performance over time.

• Used when you want feedback from a small group of customers --you'll evaluate their responses on a one-by-one basis.
• If your questions are highly detailed and you want to probe for more information when you hear a certain response, you may be better off using this method.

• Used when you have a large number of customers who buy regularly, typically through your website or a call center.
• In this method, you'll estimate the average purchase frequency and money spent by a group of customers, then find those customers who are below the norm. These customers are “at risk,” and you can use their purchasing information to launch retention campaigns.