Good customers are hard to come by...How do you keep them?

Measuring customer satisfaction is a good start; many companies do it - including the Loyalty Research Center. In fact, Aldy Keene and Al Paison, co-founders of the Loyalty Research Center, were among the pioneers in the specialized marketing research field of customer satisfaction measurement. However, the science behind customer satisfaction measurement has evolved with customer loyalty measurement proving to be a better predictor of future behavior than customer satisfaction.

Is there a place for both customer satisfaction measurement and customer loyalty measurement?

Absolutely! How often are you asked to "please stay on the line" after talking with a customer service representative or you are handed a register receipt with a number to call to participate in a survey? In both of these scenarios, the company is interested in learning how satisfied you were with the service you just received.

Measuring your customers' satisfaction related to specific transactions is very appropriate to understand specific experiences. It can reveal training issues or even expose a product or process issue that was previously undetected.

However, if your company's goal is to minimize customer defections, strengthen its relationship with customers, and increase customer spend or share of wallet, the Loyalty Research Center recommends adding customer loyalty measurement into your customer retention strategy. Customer loyalty measurement will give you a better understanding of the relationship you have with your customers and how to improve it. Our scientifically validated model will show how your products and services, employees and processes as well as your company image impact customer loyalty and ultimately customer retention.

Loyal customers will recommend you, stay with you and buy more from you. Behind every loyal customer is a team of loyal, engaged employees -- and we can measure their loyalty too! Measuring and managing customer satisfaction, employee loyalty and customer loyalty will improve your profitability.

The Loyalty Research Center is a proud member of CASRO. As a CASRO member, we subscribe to the Code of Standards and Ethics for Survey Research established by the Council of American Survey Research Organizations.