Measuring customer satisfaction and understanding customer effort in a B2B context

Our members asked us to investigate a number of aspects of Customer Satisfaction measurement in a Business-to-Business (B2B) context. Specific questions were:- What are the different metrics of customer satisfaction that are measured in a BTB relationship? Which are used the most? Which are the most effective? Do they vary by type of company? Are there new ways to measure customer satisfaction that more closely reflects their customer experience? What does customer effort mean in a B2B relationship? How do we identify where we are not easy to do business with? What do we have to do differently? Our approach to the subject was to review existing literature and previous research and then to conduct an exploratory qualitative review into the subject by conducting interviews with a range of B2B companies and a sample of their customers. The purpose behind the interviews was to try to answer the above questions and to identify if there were opportunities for more in-depth research in the future. The project demonstrates that the B2B companies compile and use a customer satisfaction rating for their business-to-business relationships but that there is little commonality between companies in both the full range of questions asked and the scales used for the individual questions. All of the companies use a mixture of global and dimensional measures (see literature review in section 2). There is some scope for manipulation of the customer satisfaction process in most companies so the results have to be treated with a degree of caution. However, the companies believe that they are getting good positive and negative feedback from the process so they see significant value from it. Where the customer satisfaction rating falls below an acceptable level, which differs by company, responses are shared with the customer as part of the regular relationship meeting and a monitored action plan is the normal result. In addition, in most cases, common issues are identified at company level and considered for improvement programs. The questions about customer effort showed that companies in general consider themselves more difficult to do business with than their customers do. Analysis of both company and customer views of what was ‘easy’ and what was ‘difficult’ about the relationship identified a number of interactions that could potentially be the subject of process improvement initiatives. It appears from this research that the inclusion of customer effort questions would benefit the customer satisfaction process for B2B companies and a number of best practise approaches were identified from this and previous research

B2B customer experience factors: understanding the relationship with SME customers – interim report

As part of the 2014 programme, our members asked us to extend the research done in 2013 (“Measuring Customer Satisfaction And Understanding Customer Effort In A B2B Context” - Tony Harrington and Andrew Bryan) to incorporate the SME customer sector. This project was set up to explore customer experience factors in the SME segment and to address a number of questions:- What are the most important factors that contribute to the customer experience from both the supplier’s and the SME customer’s perspectives? From the customer’s perspective, what about the relationship with the supplier requires the ‘most’ or ‘least’ effort and what changes do customers suggest? Where a customer has both a personal and a business relationship with the supplier, how does this impact their views? The approach was to develop an online survey for completion by SME customers and their supplier. Initially, seven companies and the Henley SME Forum volunteered to participate in the research. However, it proved to be extremely difficult to go from agreement to be involved to actually getting survey responses and, in the event, the survey achieved the following result:- A good response was achieved from 2 companies with around 40 SME responses for each company. A poor response was achieved from 1 company and from the SME Group so their data is currently of limited value. There were other companies that would still like to participate and there are 3 offers to participate at a later date. Analysis of the responses showed that useful conclusions could be made from the data collected so far but that it would be more valuable if more companies were persuaded to participate in the future. As a result, this report has been prepared as an interim statement of what has been learnt and to provide specific feedback to the participating companies. With member’s permission, further responses will be sought at a later date to refine the learning and provide feedback to more companies. This report presents the results of analysis from the survey on a company-by-company basis. Most of the data is only relevant at company level but consolidated results are shown where possible. The results from the analysis of responses lead to a number of initial conclusions. SME companies look to their suppliers to deliver against their promises in a responsive, consistent and proactive manner. Their priority is to have their problems solved in a timely manner. Relationship factors are more important in the B2B relationships between large companies than for SME’s. The SME customer is much more interested in just having the service performed with a minimum of fuss and doesn’t really want to develop a relationship. Questions about customer effort (or the ease of doing business) are as valuable in the SME segment as in any other in terms of identifying opportunities for improvement. Businesses should consider whether their SME customers might also be a customer in their personal home life. If so, they should be aware that this will have an effect on their satisfaction – and could be either positive or negative

Addition of a gamma ray spectrometer to the alpha scattering experiment as designed for the Surveyor mission

Gamma ray spectroscopy and alpha scattering techniques for compositional analysis of lunar and planetary surface

Contributions to workload of rotational optical transformations

An investigation of visuomotor adaptation to optical rotation and optical inversion was conducted. Experiment 1 examined the visuomotor adaptability of subjects to an optically rotating visual world with a univariate repeated measures design. Experiment 1A tested one major prediction of a model of adaptation put forth by Welch who predicted that the aversive drive state that triggers adaptation would be habituated to fairly rapidly. Experiment 2 was conducted to investigate the role of motor activity in adaptation to optical rotation. Specifically, this experiment contrasted the reafference hypothesis and the proprioceptive change hypothesis. Experiment 3 examined the role of cognition, error-corrective feedback, and proprioceptive and/or reafferent feedback in visuomotor adaptation to optical inversion. Implications for research and implications for practice were suggested for all experiments

Waveguide mode imaging and dispersion analysis with terahertz near-field microscopy

Propagation of terahertz waves in hollow metallic waveguides depends on the waveguide mode. Near-field scanning probe terahertz microscopy is applied to identify the mode structure and composition in dielectric-lined hollow metallic waveguides. Spatial profiles, relative amplitudes, and group velocities of three main waveguide modes are experimentally measured and matched to the HE11, HE12, and TE11 modes. The combination of near-field microscopy with terahertz time-resolved spectroscopy opens the possibility of waveguide mode characterization in the terahertz band

Lattice QCD at finite temperature: Evidence for calorons from the eigenvectors of the Dirac operator

We analyze the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the staggered Dirac operator in quenched lattice QCD in the vicinity of the deconfinement phase transition using the L\"uscher-Weisz gauge action. The spectral and localization properties of the low-lying eigenmodes show characteristic differences between the Z_3 sectors above the critical temperature T_c. These findings can be interpreted in terms of calorons.Comment: Lattice2001(hightemp), 3 pages, 2 figure

Teaching at a Distance with the Merging Technologies: An Instructional Systems Approach

A review of Teaching at a Distance with the Merging Technologies: An Instructional Systems Approach, by Thomas E. Cyrs with Eugenia D. Conway