The importance of client satisfaction is (or should be) a constant process of reflection and action in business. But sometimes little is done to improve on what is already in place...
So what are the regular measures customers base their satisfaction levels on when dealing with a business?
• Speed
• Quality
• Price
• Trust
These four variables are fairly straight forward, and are used by the majority of customers when assessing their own satisfaction with a service or product – whether it be technology based or otherwise. In certain sectors technology can be denied or even snubbed as a poor alternative to human interaction.
Take the legal profession for example. A recent InTapp-collaborated research proved just as much, when 300 leading global law-firms were canvassed on their opinions about the need for tech within their businesses. Around 80% of those asked, scored consistently in acknowledging the need to implement various technology-led benefits for their clients. However when questioned how far into their plans they were in implementing these ideas, these results were considerably lower.
Technology has a lot of armchair admirers it seems.
It is possible that this lack of implementation stems from a struggle among many firms to identify how technology satisfy needs, and what benefits it can bring to their clients.
A recent PWC report also showed that up to 73% of workers seemed to believe that technology was no substitute for genuine human interaction and input (2)
However, since customer expectations in speed, price and quality are not achievable by a human-only operation, there is a direct need for technology and a certain level of automation within the workplace. As a society we’ve become used to what machines provide, but don’t like to think of us being replaced by the robot at the end of the chain. Because, ultimately, we trust in people, not computers, not machines.
So what is technology’s role in Customer Satisfaction?
Possibly its role is to serve not only the customer, but the user (employee) of the technology too. Only the sum of these two elements can provide true and consistent levels of satisfaction measured by; Speed, Quality, Price, Trust.
To look at how technology provides benefits – you only need to look at your own lifestyle. Purchasing products and services are done in the convenience of your home or on the go, rather than travelling to buy direct – which impacts our life quality.
Reducing the need to actually physically own assets and removing the requirement of maintaining and managing them immediately enhances our price expectations. Think Cloud-Computing for applications or using virtual machines to process business data.
Think speed when you don’t need to go to a cashier in the bank to withdraw your money thanks to the security, and internet data transfer-speeds that gives rise to ATMs. Think even more speed when being able to pay contactless.
But remember, we only trust these because we know that we can, if necessary, refer these transactions to a person. That’s where the trust element comes in.
Technology must, therefore, be relevant and easy to use to succeed against those 4 measures. The Link App, designed by lawyers for the legal sector, achieves this with its ease of use, either as a stand-alone product or integrated into a CMS.
Here at The Link App, we think we’re on the right path to helping you achieve satisfaction through your customer’s eyes.
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