New University Of Michigan Customer Satisfaction Survey Released
A report released from the University of Michigan, The American Customer Satisfaction Index, puts a few numbers behind the belief that satisfying customers is good for business. This quarter, the scores were calculated for the personal computer, electronics, major appliance, automobile and light vehicle industries, as well as online services such as news and information, portals, and search engines.
One particularly interesting tidbit is worth an excerpt, comparing the scores and financial results in the PC industry. From the commentary here:
“Apple’s sales are up 33%, net income has grown 300% and its stock price has nearly tripled over the past year. A slew of product innovations and an emphasis on digital technologies and customer service have been very successful for Apple with a high degree of customer loyalty as a result.
Dell is a different story. Based on a strategy of mass customization, the #1 PC maker worldwide has been a leader in customer satisfaction for several years. This quarter, it suffers a sharp drop in [American Customer Satisfaction Index], down 6% to 74. Customer service in particular has become a problem, and service quality lags not only Apple but also the rest of the industry. Customer complaints are up significantly with long wait-times and difficulties with Dell’s call-center abound….ACSI history has shown that changes in customer satisfaction often signal similar changes in future financial performance. Apple’s stock price is up 35% for the year-to-date, whereas Dell’s is flat.”
Another key point of note: The Long Tail definitely appears to be thrashing the traditional major news organizations. Again, from the commentary:
“In the news and information industry, there is, as usual, not much news. There is little difference between ABCNews.com (74) at the top and NYTimes.com (72) at the bottom. However, there is something going on with respect to the competitive situation in the industry. Smaller players are gaining: the “all others” category is up 4% to a score of 78 and is now higher than any of the name brands.
While there is a wide variety of websites included in this category (such as FOXNews.com, CBSNews.com and an array of local news providers), it is clear that their visitors are more satisfied than those of the measured websites. Indeed, this result mirrors much of what has occurred in the media – including newspapers and television – over the last few years: more fragmentation. As consumers have been offered a larger number of alternatives, once-dominant news sources have begun to lose disaffected customers to smaller competitors.” (emphasis added)