The pan-European customer satisfaction index programme—current work and the way ahead

Abstract

Any organization has to listen to its external customers and clients. In a number of studies it has been shown that the long-term success of a corporation is closely related to its possibility to adapting to customer needs and changing preferences. Satisfying customers should thus be a goal in its own right for all future-oriented organizations. In order to monitor customer satisfaction and to take action to improve it, a number of different methods have been devised and implemented in practice. However, for the purpose of real usefulness, a number of criteria have to be fulfilled on any such measurement system, not least if the ambition is to compare and benchmark. This is the spirit in which the Pan-European intiative to develop, launch and implement a system for comparable aggregate (national) Performance Satisfaction Index studies (the EPSI Rating) has evolved. In the paper the EPSI Rating model for comparable Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) is presented and the fulfilment of the quality criteria are elaborated, based on three years of national studies. In this context, possibilities and limitations for systematic comparisons are highlighted using a combined time-series and cross-section approach. It is also illustrated how the EPSI Rating results may be combined with company specific measures using a similar framework in order to arrive at proposals for strategic and operational improvements. Furthermore, lessons learned so far are discussed and an agenda for future development is presented.