Management Questions

May 16th 2007 Knowing Your Customer(s)

Do you know what your customers really value most about your product?
Do you know what irritates them about dealing with your organization … or your competitor?
Do you know what problems they will face in the years ahead? And what future competitive challenges you can help them overcome?

Source:
Partners For Innovation: The Ultimate Competitive Edge
by Katherine Catlin
CEO Exchange

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May 15th 2007 Gallup’s A8 Customer Engagement Questions

Take a moment and imagine that you are one of your company’s customers. Fill in your company’s name in the blank and read each statement.

[ _________ ] is a name I can always trust.
[ _________ ] always delivers on what it promises.
[ _________ ] always treats me fairly.
If a problem arises, I can always count on [ _________ ] to reach a fair and satisfactory resolution.
I feel proud to be a [ _________ ] customer.
[ _________ ] always treats me with respect.
[ _________ ] is the perfect company for people like me.
I can’t imagine a world without [ _________ ].

Source:
Salespeople Who Engage Customers
by Benson Smith
Gallup Management Journal
Note: Excerpted from Discover Your Sales Strengths

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May 14th 2007 Customer Survey Questions

Ask the customer to respond to the following questions with a rating from one (lowest) to 10 (highest):

Are your calls to us answered promptly?
Are our customer reps helpful and knowledgeable?
Are your orders filled correctly?
Are you informed about new products or product changes?
Are we easy to do business with?
Are items you order received in good condition?
Are items you order received promptly?
Is our billing accurate?
Are our credit terms clear?

Source:
All the Right Moves
by Tad Leahy
Business Finance, April 2000

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May 13th 2007 Customer Satisfaction Measurement Framework

Customers

Do you know who your customers are and how many customers you have?
Do you listen effectively to all your customers?
Do you regularly make up an inventory of all the needs and expectations of your customers?
Are complaints replied to within two days and solved within one week?
Do you make recommendations to customers about the products or devices that best suit their needs?
Do you know what the costs are when you lose a customer?
Do you regularly organize meetings with customer groups to learn about their needs, wants, ideas, and complaints?

Leadership

As a manager, do you know how many complaints are received yearly?
Is there commitment at top-management for customer orientation?
Does management set a good example with regard to customer friendly behaviour?
Is management at all times available to the customer?
Does customer satisfaction also belong to the evaluation criteria of management?
Does top management also personally handle complaints of customers?

Policy

Is customer satisfaction part of your organization’s vision?
Is the customer satisfaction policy continuously communicated to all employees?
Do you involve your customers with the execution of improvement processes in your company?
Do you have an up-to-date databank in which all characteristics of your customers are registered?

Products/services and processes

Are products delivered within the period expected by the customer?
Is the phone in your organization answered within three rings in more than 90 per cent of the case?
Did you appoint process owners for controlling processes?
Do supporting departments within your organization guarantee quality of the work they deliver?

Human resource management

Do you have an introduction program in which new employees are also educated concerning the importance of satisfied customers?
Are customer orientation and continuous work towards improvement criteria for promotion?
Do you stimulate your employees to generate ideas about increasing customer satisfaction?
Are the employees’ interest and the interest of the customer related?

Source:
Back to basics: 75 painful questions about your customer satisfaction
by Hubert Rampersad
ManagementFirst.com

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May 12th 2007 Customer Service Performance Progress and Opportunities

Have we reduced our Total cycle time by at least 50 percent over the past three years?
Do 99 percent or more of our orders reach customers on time?
Are we shipping zero defect products to our customers?
Have we reduced our product development cycle time by at least 50 percent over the past three years?
Have we surveyed our customers in the last two years to establish where we rank on customer-defined service factors versus our competitors?
Have we provided our customers with new value-added services to enhance our products during the last two years?
Have we clearly defined the measurable goals we want to achieve and when we want to achieve them?
Are we measuring and improving upon customer-defined service success factors?
Do our performance measures appropriately balance customer service into the total business equation?
Is top management actively engaged in improving customer service?

Source:
Customer Service Improvement: It’s Mission Critical to Your Future
by R. Michael Donovan

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May 11th 2007 Customer Service Nightmares

What are your company’s customer service nightmares?
What customer service move might your competitors make that would be your worst nightmare?
Are the answers to the two questions above similar? If not, investigate the nature of the differences and address them.

Source:
Out-of-the-Box Customer Service
by Jonathan Byrnes
HBS Working Knowledge, July 7, 2003

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May 10th 2007 Customer Orientation Behavior Questions

Have you identified your customers using market research, market segmentation and customer surveys?
Do you differentiate offers, products and services for different customer groups?
Have you identified strategic objectives and critical success factors for service and sales to each of these segments?
Do you regularly collect information on the wishes and needs of individual customers and use this information as the basis of marketing activities?
When you introduce changes, is it in direct response to identified customer needs? If not, are the changes tested against user needs and preferences?
Do you have a precise understanding of the cost-benefit ratio for each product or service by market segment and do you use this knowledge as a basis for introducing, changing or discontinuing products or services?
Have you carried out a thorough analysis of your competitors’ customer services and looked for ways to be more responsive to customer needs?
Are all staff members trained in customer focus and aware of the central role customer orientation plays in your organization?
Do you treat your customers as individuals?
Do you fulfill your promises of quality in products, services and customer communications?

Source:
Customer Orientation: 10 Key Questions for Your Company
by Ana Reyes Pacios Lozano
ManagementFirst.com
Note: Adapted from “A customer orientation checklist: a model” by Ana Reyes Pacios Lozano in Library Review, 14:1 2000

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