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Follow on Google News | Satisfied customers spread the word, but organisations must do more.- Non-food retail dominates UK Customer Satisfaction Index - Best-performing organisations see increase in recommendation - Customer satisfaction fuelling growth and market share in some sectors
By: Institute of Customer Service The overall UKCSI has levelled out over the last year, achieving 78 out of 100 in July 2012 and 77.9 in July 2013. Yet, this masks considerable movement in organisations’ scores, with consistent high performers racing ahead. The UKCSI is the national measure of customer satisfaction, from the Institute of Customer Service (ICS), which gauges the quality of UK customer service each year. July 2013’s sample includes 30,683 responses from 9,890 customers. Waitrose (88.5) and first direct (87.2) continue to score highly. Meanwhile, M&S (non-food) appears in the top five for the first time with a rating of 86.7 while Sainsbury’ John Lewis is the highest scoring organisation overall and appears in the UKCSI top five for the third consecutive year, achieving 90.8 out of 100. The retail industry continues to dominate the UKCSI, with non-food retail scoring 84.4 out of 100 and food retail 81.6. Jo Causon, Chief Executive of the Institute of Customer Service, comments: “Despite some strong performances over the last six months, the fact that UK customer satisfaction has levelled off suggests that organisations could be doing more to improve their customer service. “In a fast-paced, recessionary world, consumers have become increasingly discerning and more willing to act if they experience poor service. As a result, those dynamic organisations that are adapting to changing customer needs are continuing to out-perform their competitors. “The success of both established brands with a reputation for service, as well as more recent challengers, demonstrates that customer service is a key differentiator that enables organisations to respond in tough economic conditions.” Non-food retail Consistently the best performing sector for customer satisfaction, non-food retail once again topped the overall board with a score of 84.4. John Lewis is the top performer in this sector with 90.8, an improvement on its score of 88.5 in July 2012. John Lewis consistently achieved 90 points or more in all areas (professionalism, quality and efficiency, ease of doing business, problem solving and timeliness), well above the average overall UKCSI score of 77.9. Amazon maintained its 2nd place position, scoring 90.6 in July 2012 and 89 in July 2013. Meanwhile, Argos improved customer satisfaction, leaping from 13th (81.9) to 5th position (83.7) over the same period. Jo Causon, Chief Executive of the Institute of Customer Service, comments: “Successful retailers achieve high customer satisfaction across a wide range of measures. “Top perfomers such as John Lewis and Amazon have created distinct business models with a clear focus on service to differentiate themselves from competitors. Their success shows that in the highly competitive retail sector, customer service is a key ingredient for organisations.” Food retail The top five performing organisations in the food retail sector have all achieved growth in sales and market share (comparing 12 weeks to 26 May 2012 with 12 weeks to 25 May 2013). Across the sector as a whole, organisations with a higher than sector average UKCSI score saw year-on-year sales growth of 9%, compared to 3% for those with lower scores. The top performing organisations also achieved better market share growth than those with below average UKCSI scores; +0.12%, compared to -0.18%. Waitrose maintained its 1st place position in this sector, with a score of 88.5, compared to 87 in July 2012. The top 5 organisations – Waitrose, Marks and Spencer, Aldi, Iceland and Sainsbury’ Jo Causon, Chief Executive of the Institute of Customer Service, comments: “In the retail food sector there is a clear link between high customer satisfaction, sales and market share growth. “Helpful and friendly staff are a key requirement for all retail customers. However, the range of retailers in this UKCSI’ “Not only is their consistency rewarded by high levels of customer satisfaction, but crucially, by sales growth and market share.” Financial Services: Insurance In the insurance sector, there is a strong link between higher satisfaction and recommendation. Thirty per cent of customers of companies that score higher than the UKCSI sector average have recommended their provider, compared to 21% for companies with lower scores. SAGA moved up from 5th place in the insurance sector to 1st between July 2012 (80.2) and July 2013 (83.9). In contrast, AXA has moved down from 3rd (81.2) to 8th position (79.9). Financial Services: Banks and Building Societies First direct tops the banks and building societies table, scoring 87.2. Natwest moved up four places from 8th in July 2012 (scoring 78.3) to 4th in July 2013 (with a score of 79.3). The latest Index finds that more customers (29%) have recommended banks and building societies with higher than average UKCSI scores than those with lower satisfaction scores (24%). First direct scores particularly strongly for customer satisfaction measures such as friendliness and competence of staff as well as ease of getting through to speak to someone. In addition the top three organisations for customer satisfaction – first direct, the Co-operative Bank and Nationwide – all score notably well for reputation and the quality of information they provide their customers. Jo Causon, Chief Executive of the Institute of Customer Service, comments: “Excellent service has a key role to play in creating long-term success, but sustainable performance also depends on an organisation’s ability to protect its reputation through effective management of its business model and operations.” Ends Further information For further information or an interview with Jo Causon, please contact: 01273 716 820 / lauren.greatorex@ For more information about the UKCSI go to: www.ukcsi.com End
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