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Voice of the Customer: The Impact on Customer Satisfaction
Author(s) -
Stank Theodore P.,
Daugherty Patricia J.,
Ellinger Alexander E.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
international journal of purchasing and materials management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.75
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1745-493X
pISSN - 1055-6001
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-493x.1997.tb00031.x
Subject(s) - customer satisfaction , business , active listening , customer advocacy , customer to customer , marketing , customer retention , customer delight , voice of the customer , service (business) , service quality , customer intelligence , psychology , communication
IN BRIEF A recent survey of buyers in the personal products industry focused on their level of satisfaction with distribution service. Further research examined the role of voice of the customer, i.e., input provided by the buyers, in the buyer‐seller relationship. It was hypothesized that listening to the voice of the customer would be related to greater customer satisfaction. Information provided by customers should offer sellers guidance for improving their overall service. Only limited support was found. However, the use of personal meetings with customers was found to impact customer satisfaction to a greater extent than the use of formal feedback mechanisms (surveys or telephone calls). Based upon this survey, it appears as though firms are not fully exploiting the potential to be gained from listening to customers.