There are several tools that can be used to obtain information directly from its customers: online market surveys, questionnaires, focus groups, business events. These tools can offer interesting feedback, however, they have limited reliability and the analysis is not very in-depth.
In order to gain more in-depth insights, there is a method which assesses the degree of customer satisfaction with regards to the manufacturer’s offer that falls into the customer value analysis category. It is a more structured survey with a high degree of reliability and consistency in its insights on which strategic decisions as well as tactical ones can be taken.
The goal is to collect an extensive amount of empirical data with which strategic decisions can be made that will eliminate areas of perceived low quality and instead offer customers what they really want, thereby improving the quality of the relationship and loyalty.
Through CVA, you are able to identify where you create true value for your customer, that is, the aspect of your offer that meets the expectations of, for example, quality and price that the they require. This information you can then compare with the value offered by your company and your competitors, highlighting therefore the area of dissatisfaction that can be expressed in two ways:
- On the one hand, a surplus of value offered by the company that does not meet the needs of the customer and that therefore can be saved in terms of costs because the customer does not perceive its usefulness;
- On the other hand, there is an area of expected value that the customer fails to satisfy with the company in question, but which he believes useful. If the company does not take into account the expected value of the customer, it essentially leaves the field open for competitors who will try to cover these unfulfilled needs.
Measuring customer value is very simple: you have to talk to your customers. Depending on the size and complexity of the company’s market and especially in the B2B sector, this kind of survey cannot be improvised. The main steps are:
- Plan your survey
- Survey your customer using a f2f method and varying seniority
- Collect and analyze the data
- Prioritize an action plan
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The first message that the customer perceives is that the company cares about their opinion, is ready to intervene to cover its shortcomings and fully meet the expectations of the customer.
Therefore, doing a customer value analysis means listening and making strategic choices that help satisfy the customer and reduce unnecessary costs. The company obtains strategic insights highlighting what is really happening every time the customer is interacting with the supplier and is now in possession of a huge quantity of data that can be used for making strategic choices across the business.
With an external consultant on hand, the client feels ‘free’to express his opinions’ even anonymously about the supplier and will appreciate the professionalism and willingness of the supplier to improve the service or product offered.
If it is the company itself that is conducting the investigation, the risk of a certain bias in the customer’s responses becomes high, which could affect the significance and truthfulness of the responses during the survey.
Start listening to your clients, by contacting a customer value analysis consultant.
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