Metrics that Matter to Customers

I was recently asked to elaborate on a previous blog that discussed reducing metrics and reporting on those that matter to customers.

In terms of any metrics, especially those that are important to customers, you should always think about or add the phrase “with quality”. Remember that the term “quality” is defined as “conformance to customer requirements”. So all metrics and measurements should ensure the work or actions you perform remains focused on the customer and their needs. Also in terms of how you phrase a metric it can often be more beneficial to measure in terms of increases and decreases rather than specific quantities.

Given that, here some metrics that you might think about using:

Increased Customer Quality Satisfaction %--perhaps the most important of all metrics
Increase First Line Call Resolution [with quality] %--helps reduce costs but also builds perception of preparedness and knowledge in the eyes of the customer
Decreased Mean Time to Restore Service [with quality]—be careful with this so as not to focus on only your internal capability rather shortening the time customers have to remain on the call while being resolved
Decreased Hold Time—most end users do not like to be kept on hold without recognition and communication so work to reduce time without talking to a live person
Increased Proactive Communication %--people generally do not like to be surprised so work to let customers know about failures, downtime and events as proactively as possible

These are just some examples that could be used. You do not need a large number of measures to get a fairly accurate picture of your customer’s perceptions and expectations. Perhaps even more important than any measure or metric is how much time you are spending in communication and conversation with your customers about their needs, wants, likes and dislikes. To find out if customers are happy, just ask them!

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