INTRODUCTION

The modern concepts of marketing realized that measuring consumer needs or behavior was not enough. CONSUMER SATISFICATION should be the core and then the correct perception on which marketing policies of our organization should be built. Management must think of itself not as producing products but as providing customer creating value satisfaction. Customer satisfaction has a vital role in sustaining and improving hold on the market. Brief descriptions about the various measures that are needed to improve customer orientation have also been dealt with. Consider the fact todays customer face a plenitude of products in every category. Customer will be having high and raising expectation of quality and service. In the face of their vast choices, the customer will gravitate to the offering that the best meet their individual needs and expectation. They will buy one of the bases of their perception value. Therefore it is not surprising that todays winning companies are those succeed best in satisfying indeed delighting their target customer. They pay extreme attention to quality and service to meeting and even exceeding customer expectation. They complete vigorously and at the co-operated smartly with their strategy partners in their supply and distribution chain. They pursue efficiently and yet are responsible and flexible. Customer satisfaction is the outcome felt by buyers who have expectation. Customers are satisfied when their expectation are met and delighted when their expectations are exceeded. Satisfied customers remain loyal longer, buy more, and are less sensitive and talk favorable about the company. From this it is clear that the satisfied customer will be less sensitive towards the fluctuating price and offensive marketing typically cost more than defensive marketing, because it requires much effort and cost to induce satisfied customers to switch away from their current suppliers. We should also consider the fact that the cost of attracting a new customer may be five times the cost of keeping the current customer happy. Therefore the companies are intending in developing stronger bones and loyalty with their customers.

DEFINITION OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Customer satisfaction refers to the extent to which customers are happy with the products and services provided by a business. Customer satisfaction levels can be measured using survey techniques and questionnaires

DEFINITIONS:
Definition 1: Customer satisfaction is equivalent to making sure that product and service performance meets customer expectations.

Definition 2: Customer satisfaction is the perception of the customer that the outcome of a business transaction is equal to or greater than his/her expectation.

Definition 3: Customer satisfaction occurs when acquisition of products and/or services provides a minimum negative departure from expectations when compared with other acquisitions. Gaining high levels of customer satisfaction is very important to a business because satisfaction customers are most likely to be loyal and to make repeat orders and to use a wide range of services offered by a business There are many factors which lead in high levels of customer satisfaction including. Products and services which are customer focused and hence provide high levels of value for money. What is clear about customer satisfaction is that customers are most likely to appreciate the goods and services that they buy if they are made to feel special. This occurs when they feel that the products and services that they buy have been specially produced for them or for people like them.

BENEFITS OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

The importance of customer satisfaction and support is increasingly becoming a vital business issue as organization realize the benefits of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) for providing effective customer service. Professionals working within customer focused business or those running call centres or help desks, need to keep informed about the latest customer satisfaction techniques for running a valuable customer service function. From small customer service departments to large call centres, the importance of developing

a valued relationship with customers using CRM is essential to support customer and longterm business growth.

What Do Customers Want?

Before we begin to create tools to measure the level of satisfaction, it is important to develop a clear understanding of what exactly the customer wants. We need to know what our customers expect from the products and services we provide. Customer expectations have two types Expressed Implied

Expressed Customer Expectations are those requirements that are written down in the contract and agreed upon by both parties for example, product specifications and delivery requirements. Suppliers performance against these requirements is most of the items directly measurable. Implied Customer Expectations are not written or spoken but are the ones the customer would expect the supplier to meet nevertheless. For example, a customer would expect the service representative who calls on him to be knowledgeable and competent to solve a problem on the spot. There are many reasons why customer expectations are likely to change overtime. Process improvements, advent of new technology, changes in customers priorities, improved quality of service provided by competitors are just a few examples. The customer is always right. Suppliers job is to provide the customer what he/she wants, when he/she wants it. Customer satisfaction is customers perception that a supplier has met or exceeded their expectations.

3.3 WHAT CONSTITUTES SATISFACTION?

We cannot create customer satisfaction just by meeting customers requirements fully because these have to be met in any case. However failing short is certain to create dissatisfaction Major Attributes of customer satisfaction in banking industry

Can be summarized as: Product quality Premium Outflow Return on Investment Services Responsiveness and ability to resolve complaints and reject reports. Overall communication, accessibility and attitude. WHAT ARE THE TOOLS? Customer expectations can be identified using various methods such as: Periodic contract reviews Market research Telephonic interviews Personal visits Warranty records Informal discussions Satisfaction surveys Depending upon the customer base and available resources, we can choose a method that is most effective in measuring the customers perceptions. The purpose of the exercise is to identify priorities for improvements. We must develop a method or combination of methods that helps to continually improve service.

3.4 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEYS

Formal survey has emerged as by far the best method of periodically the customer satisfaction. The survey are not marketing tools but an informationgaining tool. Enough homework needs to be before embarking on the actual survey. This includes: Defining Objectives of the Survey

Design Survey approach Develop questionnaires and forms Administer Survey (Email, Telephone or Post) Method of compiling data and analysing the findings Format of the report to present the findings There is no point in asking irrelevant questions on a customer satisfaction questionnaire. The basic purpose is to find out what we are doing right or wrong. Where is the scope for improvement, where do we stand vis--vis other suppliers. How we can serve the customer better? A customer satisfaction measurement survey should at least Identify the following objectives: Importance to customers (Customers priorities) Customers perception of suppliers performance Your performance relative to customers priorities. Priorities for improvement Survey forms should be easy to fill out with minimum amount of time and efforts on customers part. They should be designed to actively encourage the customer to complete the questions. Yet they must provide accurate data should also be sufficiently reliable for management decision making. This can be achieved by incorporating objective type questions where customer has to rate on scale of say 1 to 10. For repeated surveys, you could provide the rating that was previously accorded by the customer. This works like a reference point for the customer. Space should always be provided for the customers own opinions this enables them to state any additional requirements or report any shortcomings that are not covered by the objective questions. Normally, we deal various personnel at various levels in the customers organizationthe buyer, user, receiving inspector, finance and purchase person etc. surveying a number of respondents for each customer gives a complete perspective of customer satisfaction. It may be necessary to device a different questionnaire for each of them. Respondents must be provided a way to express the importance they attach to various

survey parameters. Respondents should be asked to give a weighting factor, again on a rating scale of say, 1 to 10, for each requirement. This gives a better indication of relative importance of each parameter towards overall customer satisfaction and makes it easier for suppliers to prioritize their action plans by comparing the performance rating (scores) with importance rating (weighing).