Client satisfaction (or lack thereof) plays an important role in the success of modern-day businesses. Satisfied clients are more likely to return for future purchases and dealings, they are easier to market, and they require less work to “maintain.” On the other hand, unsatisfied clients are a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.

Client Satisfaction: Identifying The Cost of New vs Existing Clients

Here’s a statistic that should encourage business owners to focus on client satisfaction: it costs approximately five times more to acquire a new client than to retain an existing one. Under this formula, a business that spends $100 on each new client acquisition could spend just $20 each to retain their clients. That’s a substantial amount of savings that should encourage business to build stronger client relationships.

Measuring Client Satisfaction

Now for the million dollar question: how can I measure my clients’ satisfaction? There are several different ways to approach this, one of which is to use satisfaction surveys and questionnaires. Asking your clients to complete an anonymous satisfaction survey will give you a better understanding of your business relationships and whether or not they need improvement. If a large number of clients rate their experience as “unsatisfactory,” then you should probably work on building stronger relationships.

If you’re going to use surveys and/or questionnaires to measure client satisfaction, remember to keep them short and to the point. No one wants to spend an hour completing an oversized packet of questions. And if a client turns down the offer to complete a survey, politely oblige and let them go on their way. Pushing surveys and questionnaires on clients is a sure-fire way to send them packing in the other direction.

Tips To Improve Client Satisfaction:

We’ve said if before here on our blog, but it’s worth mentioning again that honesty is the best policy when dealing with clients.

• Give engraved crystal gifts to your most valued clients.
• Deliver products/services either on or before the said delivery date.
• Make yourself available to clients via phone, email, cellphone, Skype, etc.
• Follow-up with clients on a regular basis to let them know the status of their order.
• Maintain friendly but professional relationships with clients.
• Ask clients for feedback on how your business can improve its product and/or service.