Customer satisfaction as a function of managing customer expectations

More often than not poor customer satisfaction is a result of mis-managed customer expectations. Most vendors tend to over promise and under deliver. However, by following some guidelines this can be avoided.

Understand customer pain points
Before proposing any solutions the vendor should try to understand the customer’s pain points. These might be issues gating customer progress. While trying to understand these issues you should constantly validate and clarify the issues with the customer. This can be done by asking open-ended questions and letting the customer vent and describe their issues. You should be in careful listening mode at this time.

Be upfront with customers
Customers can see through vendors who are trying to sugar coat things or set wrong expectations with them. The best policy is to be upfront with the customer. Be honest in dates for deliverables and any other commitments that you might have. Setting the right expectations and delivering what you say you will deliver goes a long way in customer satisfaction.

Put a process in place to track issues
Putting a process in place helps have control over the customer deployment/support process.
Ask customers to use your tracking system to log issues if you have one. Assign owners both externally and internally and also put timelines on when those issues will be fixed. If reports can be generated from time to time, they should be circulated to key individuals at the customer and within your organization.

Have regular status meetings
You will be amazed at how things will distort and change if time elapses between regular meetings. Make sure you have regular status meetings to get updates from both sides. Invite key individuals who understand the issues and hold responsibility in getting the task done. Basically, these meetings keep the project on track. Also poll the customer if they are happy with the support in these meetings. Ask them why if they are not.

Put an escalation mechanism in place
For issues that demand special or urgent attention have a clear path for escalation. There should be no ambiguity in the customer's mind as to what this path is. Failure to do so unnecessarily results in escalations to upper management levels which in reality are not needed. This leads to thrashing and lot of wasted time.

Following these guidelines will result in better customer satisfaction.