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Did you know that only 85% of IT service providers in a survey listed  customer satisfaction as a high priority metric.

But only 10% of them actually use them. There’s a major disconnect going on there.

Everyone wants their clients to be satisfied. Few know exactly how to measure it. 

91% of dissatisfied customers will never buy from you again. 96% of them won’t even complain. They’ll just leave.  40% of consumers switch to a competitor because of their superior reputation for service.

It’s up to you. No news isn’t necessarily good news. But how do you confirm it? You ask.

A satisfied customer is a happy customer. Customer satisfaction should inform everything you do.

And that goes for content campaigns, too.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is defined by  CMI as a “technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.” 

You want them to sign up, opt-in, download, or buy.

To do that, you need to keep them satisfied. And engaged ( customer engagement is an equal partner in this equation).

The Case for Satisfaction

Consider:

86% will pay more for a better customer experience. Customer experience will replace both product and price as the main brand differentiator by 2020. A satisfied customer will tell a few friends. An unhappy one will tell everyone (thanks internet!).

Your content campaign is your first opportunity to track satisfaction. So track.

A  customer satisfaction framework can be complex, but only if you allow it. You could turn to the  RATER model for insight.

Opt instead to focus on easy-to-use metrics to serve up great content and cultivate satisfied, loyal customers.

And all from the humble survey.

1. Overall Satisfaction

Also known as  CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Index), this metric is simplicity itself. One question. Maybe two.

Ask: How would you rate your satisfaction with [your company, your product, your latest content giveaway]?

Most use a basic five point scale: Very Satisfied-Somewhat Satisfied-Neutral-Somewhat Dissatisfied-Very Dissatisfied.

Some include a space for people to explain their response. That’s it.

Simple, but it gives a clear indication how well you’re performing in the eyes of the people that matter most: your clients and prospects.

Fix the shortcomings. Replicate the successes.

2. Recommendation Factor

Modern business is dependent on referrals. We turn to friends, family, and strangers on review boards when we need to find a quality product or service.

The recommendation factor, or  NPS (Net Promoter Score), measures how likely someone is to recommend you to someone else.

Typically a 1-10 scale, the NPS categorizes as follows:

Promoters (9-10) love you. Passives (7-8) are satisfied but unenthusiastic. Detractors (0-6) are unhappy and dissatisfied.

Your NPS is the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters.

Asking for a brief explanation gives you additional data to crunch.

3. Ease

How easy is it to do whatever they need to do? Whether it’s downloading your latest ebook, signing up for your newsletter, or making an actual purchase, consumers want fast and effortless. Too much, and they’ll bolt for someone easier.

The CES (Customer Effort Score) tracks this with - yet again - one simple question:

“How much effort did you personally have to put in?” on a scale of 1-5 or “It was easy for me to handle my issue/download the ebook/view the infographic” with a corresponding agreement scale.

Some studies suggest CES is  1.8x better than CSAT and 2x better than NPS for predicting loyalty and satisfaction. Customers want easy.

These first three metrics represent your best snapshot of how your content is resonating with people. But you can still go further.

4. Repeat Intention

Ask how likely people are to renew, purchase again, visit again, or continue to subscribe. Have them rate it on a sliding scale. Ask for a brief explanation.

This will indicate loyalty levels. If it’s high, keep doing whatever it is you’re doing. If it’s low, find out why and change it.

5. First Response Time

We live in a world of instant gratification. Communication is lightning fast, and people expect that.

How fast are messages, emails, and posts acknowledged? Most customers expect an email response within  24 hours, and  within the hour for social media.

Good or bad - complaint or praise - they want a fast response from you. Fall short, and so does their satisfaction with you. Track how quickly your team is responding. Improve it.

6. Resolution Time

Track how long it takes to fix a problem. Dead links, download not working, or whatever. People demand fast.

7. Replies Per Ticket/Message

How many interactions does it take to get a problem solved or a question answered? A Forrester survey found  73% receive a first response resolution. Aim for that.

Try to get each down to one or two at the most. First response resolution? Higher satisfaction and loyalty. 

8. Ideal Experience vs Actual Experience

Comparing ideal vs actual experience can be invaluable.

How does the experience of using your product or service – of dealing with your company, of reading or sharing your content – compare to their “ideal” experience?

You’re essentially getting them to describe their fictional best-case scenario. It’s like picking their brains for what makes content, service, or a product great.

9. Expectation vs Perception

Are you meeting expectations? This one is specific to you, your business, and your content. It’s not idealized. It’s real.

It can be nothing more than “Does our service/product/promise/[content] live up to your expectations?” and answered with a sliding scale.

10. Conversion Rate

If they’re satisfied, they’ll convert. They’ll buy, download, click-through, or opt-in. If not, they won’t. It doesn’t get any simpler.

You can look at the download numbers, or opt-ins, or new purchase orders. Or you could  set up a goal in Google Analytics to get it automatically for each campaign.

Satisfaction matters. No one is buying, or downloading, or signing up for a company that leaves them dissatisfied. 

A service like SurveyMonkey provides  useful satisfaction templates, and makes sending them out child’s play.

Just be selective. Don’t inundate people with dozens of requests.

Tracking satisfaction levels can be the difference between a successful campaign - and a successful conversion - and a complete waste of time and money. Track it. Use it. And grow.

What metrics do you find most useful in your content campaigns? How do you track them? Leave your thoughts in the comments below:

Images:  Flickr,  Pixabay,  Pixabay

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