Customer Satisfaction Surveys -- Relationship Versus Transaction Measurement
When you decide to conduct a customer satisfaction survey, one of the first decisions you will need to make is to conduct a relationship-oriented or a transaction oriented survey. A "relationship" survey asks the customer about all or most aspects of the service relationship. A "transaction" survey focuses on satisfaction with a specific transaction. In making the decision of which way to go, you should ask yourself the following questions.
Are my customers' transactions complex and infrequent? If they are, you will want to consider a transaction-oriented approach. Examples of such transactions would involve taking out a mortgage, or the purchase of a house, automobile, or boat.
Do I service my customers frequently with simple transactions? Do I know how to contact my customers? If you can answer both of these questions in the affirmative, you probably want to consider a relationship-oriented approach. Banking is one industry that lends itself to a relationship survey.
Is my ongoing relationship with my customers more important than any individual transaction? Of course, if it is, a relationship approach is in order.
There are instances when you will want to consider taking both approaches. This can be done in the context of a single survey by asking about both the latest transaction and the relationship, or by conducting separate surveys. If separate surveys are conducted and your customers conduct frequent transactions, it is a good idea to ensure that any one customer is not surveyed too frequently. After all, the last thing we want to do in administering a customer satisfaction survey is to aggravate customers.
