The relationship between customer satisfaction and success of a service business is a direct one. Customer satisfaction measurement, however, is a much more complex matter. Customer satisfaction is a qualitative assessment of the services you provide, and therefore it is a surrogate measure of the value of your services to your customers.

The measurement method you choose can make makes a difference to the results obtained. Your motivation for measuring customer satisfaction will drive both your methodology for collecting the data, and what you do with it.

Client satisfaction data can be collected for:

• Accountability

• To use to influence or justify

• Continuous improvement

Be clear about why you are collecting satisfaction data; to deliver a good report card (a primary motivation of units in a large corporation or public sector entity, or for businesses which are required to meet certain standards), or to diagnose and manage continuous improvement.

For a good report card, measure general satisfaction using a once-a-year survey. Every business wants a good report card, but that will not help you improve your performance. To obtain useful data you need to measure client satisfaction with specific attributes of your service at the time of the transaction.

Some tips:

• As a psychological construct satisfaction is peculiar - results are always negatively skewed. The good news is that more people report being satisfied than dissatisfied. The bad news is that if you