The Customer Satisfaction Audit

An 8-step audit to ensure that your organisation stays focused on customer needs
The only sustainable competitive advantage is based on satisfying customers thoroughly. Yet research shows that less than one third of all companies have a well developed and coherent customer satisfaction process linked to operating strategies and plans.



This audit is the ideal business tool for any company seeking to analyse and improve customer satisfaction levels. It first explains the customer satisfaction process in detail, then analyses why companies fail to satisfy their customers and sets out a framework - the Stages of Excellence Framework - within which to implement an effective customer service programme.



The audit sets out questions that you will ask at each of these eight stages:

Understand customer requirements
Analyse current capabilities
Assess competitors' capabilities
Identify gaps
Identify options to gain strategic service advantage
Analyse trade-offs
Select service dimensions
Structure service offerings and set goals
Overall, the audit will help you to:

Understand and define customers' needs and requirements
Analyse your current capabilities
Assess your competitors' capabilities
Measure gaps between your capabilities and your customers' requirements
Compare the options for gaining a strategic service advantage
Analyse costs, benefits, risks and trade-offs
Develop new strategies, prioritise initiatives and apportion resources.