Back To Basics: Understanding Customer Satisfaction

As a marketing and sales leader, I consider customer satisfaction a fundamental aspect and a key to running a long-term successful medical company.

Customer satisfaction is not something new. The concept has been central in marketing since the ’50s, with increasing interest and importance. Obviously, if customers are satisfied with the product, they will buy again, and they could show loyalty and spread the message.

Otherwise, they will move to another supplier or may complain and express dissatisfaction with the company and others.

Sam Walton’s short story

The former CEO and founder of Walmart shared this short, personal story which I think is very stimulating.

“I’m the kind of person who goes to a restaurant, sits at the table, and patiently waits whilst the waiter does everything but takes my order.

I’m the kind of person who goes to a shop and waits in silence whilst the employee behind the counter finishes the private conversation with the colleague before taking my payment.

I’m the kind of person who goes to a gas station and never buzzes but waits patiently whilst the employee finishes his newspaper read.

I’m the kind of person who explains to a supplier his urgency in getting a specific product and does not complain after receiving it 3 weeks later.

I’m really the kind of person who enters any commercial establishment and seems to be begging for attention, for a smile, for the employee to do me a favor.

And now you must be thinking that I’m just a nice, calm, relaxed, quiet, patient kind of person. But you are wrong!

Do you know who I am? I’m the customer who will never come back.

And then I have fun. Watching these companies spend millions of dollars, on marketing and advertisement, in order to make me come back to them. When actually I was there already, and all they had to do was a simple, cheap, and easy thing: treat me with a little courtesy.

There is only one boss: THE CLIENT. And he can fire everyone in the company. From the employee to the Chief Executive, simply by taking his money somewhere else.”

I like this short story because it brings customer satisfaction and its importance back to the basics. In my experience, I’ve often seen consistent investment in new trendy marketing techniques and advanced sales tools in our business. And modern CRM strategies to develop the market or invert declining market trends instead of fixing the basics as customer satisfaction.

What is customer satisfaction?

There are several definitions of customer satisfaction, and many marketing gurus have studied and written articles and books about it. I’ve found some definitions that fit our environment very well.

Kotler and Keller say, “satisfaction is a person’s feelings of pleasure or disappointment that result from comparing a product’s perceived performance (or outcome) to expectations.”

According to Jahanshahi et al., “customer satisfaction is the result of a customer’s perception of the value received in a transaction or relationship – where value equals perceived service quality relative to price and customer acquisition costs.”

Basically, customer satisfaction is the feedback comparing the product or service with customer expectations. It is measured by using the customer expectations with the performance of the product or service that can meet or not meet the needs and wants of the customers.

How do the customers form their expectations?

If customer satisfaction is in relation to outcomes and expectations, it is becoming interesting to understand how customers, for example doctors, form their expectations.

Expectations may result from:

Previous products used: it is important to know which product was used in the past and anticipate possible misalignment.

Peers’ suggestions and advice: colleagues’ suggestions simplify the selling process but normally raise expectation.

KOL endorsement: KOL normally sets the bar high in terms of expectations.

Specific customer knowledge: expectations are higher if the customer has deep knowledge of a specific topic. For example, doctors who are expert and specialized in a field have higher expectations than beginners.

Previous interactions with the company: the customer normally expects to have the same level of experience.

Competitors’ information and specifications: Customers usually expect the product to be comparable to the competitor’s offering.

The company must pay attention to communicating the product’s value because if it raises the expectations too high, there is a substantial risk of customer dissatisfaction. However, it will attract fewer customers if it sets expectations too low.

Conclusions

Customer satisfaction is a basic and old concept in medical marketing. For this reason, it is sometimes forgotten and not properly addressed. Whether you are doing a good job for your customers or not will not reflect in your yearly results but in your customer satisfaction data.

Medical device companies that constantly increase customer satisfaction will eventually make gains in sales and profitability.

Do you agree with me that before doing fancy strategies, it is worth fixing the basics as customer satisfaction? Let me know in the comments below, and if you have enjoyed this post, please feel free to share it with friends and please suggest they subscribe or follow me on LinkedIn.