Customer satisfaction is the most crucial metric that decides the success of a project. According to a SuperOffice report, 86% of the buyers are willing to pay more for better customer experience, therefore, the importance of customer satisfaction is justifiable.
Let’s take the example of the “New Coca-Cola” project that was introduced sometime in the 1980s. A serious lack of customer satisfaction ultimately lead to shelving the project down in 2002. The project was initiated since Pepsi and other soft-drink competitors were gaining popularity, whereas Coca-Cola took a step back. The company saw a 34% decrease in its sales, and that’s when they decided to launch a new, “improved” Coca-Cola - but that didn’t last long!
With a lack of market research and not paying heed to customer remarks and suggestions, the new Coca-Cola made things worse for the brand and, therefore, was discontinued in 2002.
For a project to succeed, it is not only important to have a robust project management software in place, but it is also essential to understand the importance of customer satisfaction. In this blog post, we explain the relationship between project management and customer satisfaction.
Customer Satisfaction and Project Management
Every successful project has one thing common – delighted customers.
Although the success of a project is measured on the basis of various metrics, the ultimate aim of a project is to cater to its target customers.
While other metrics such as profits tell more about the short-term benefits of the project, customer satisfaction represents a project’s worthiness in the long run.
Therefore, the level of customer satisfaction measures a project’s longevity and its future scalability.
Regardless of the number of short-term profits, it will be considered a failure if the project doesn’t satisfy its target audience.
A project that fails to cater to its customers will be unable to garner any future investments from stakeholders.
This also makes it ineligible for any future iterations.
The significance of customer satisfaction within project management is the driving force behind its progression.
Even if a project exceeds the allotted resources but is able to provide its customers with a respectable experience, it is regarded as a success.
Customer Satisfaction: What Does it Bring?
Assuming that a project succeeds in providing its customers with a good experience, the project will be witnessing several longterm benefits, including:
Brand Loyalty
The one thing customers expect from any brand is exceptional service. If they are provided with delightful customer experience, they’ll rarely shift to another brand that offers similar service.
Imagine this: you have signed off on a project of revamping an office floor of an international corporation. Now, having so many ideas to make that office space beautiful, you take notes from your customers, but don’t really pay heed to them since you are the expert. You do your thing, so would that make them happy?
Although your team’s intentions were good, giving customers what they want is important. Only when they believe your service or work offered is exceptional, they will choose your brand again, and also recommend you to others too.
Brand Buzz
It is said that the ideal form of publicity is word of mouth. According to a top influencer, Neil Patel, 92% of consumers trust the word of recommendations from their family and friends.
When a customer hears or reads good reviews about your business, service, or brand, it inevitably leads them to you. This ultimately gives you an opportunity to convert another customer and add to your loyalty base.
Considering the example of the office revamp project, instead of the approach mentioned above, if you took detailed notes of what the customer wanted, asked questions, and discussed possible alternatives to office furniture, the company would definitely be in awe of your service. Ultimately, the revamped office will be exactly what the customer wanted, leaving them happy and delighted.
With this experience, in case a friend or an acquaintance looks for an interior designer, the first name that will come to their mind is you! So, a happy customer can really do wonders to your brand value.
Brand Trust
Did you know that 93% of the audience turns to online reviews to make their decision? Providing good customer support will inevitably increase the customer’s trust in your services, leading to positive reviews across the market. This, in turn, will bring in many more prospects your way.
Building and maintaining customer trust also works to somehow expand your consumer base. This essentially means that you will be able to provide new products at potentially increased prices without having an effect on your customers.
Providing delightful customer support holds the potential of transforming a startup into a dominant player in the market.
How to optimize a project for better customer satisfaction?
Here are a few tips that can optimize your project to provide an increased customer satisfaction rate:
Consistent Updates
Clients desire to get a consistent stream of updates that keep them abreast with the progress of a project. Therefore, it is important to optimize your project in such a way that you’re able to provide your clients with the desired updates.
The most efficient way to do so is to adopt the agile approach and choose a robust software for project managers such as ProProfs. The ‘Agile Approach’ divides your project into smaller iterations referred to as ‘Sprints’. After completion of each sprint, there is a specific procedure that instructs the team to provide details to the stakeholders.
Listen
This tip is simple to understand – just listen to your stakeholders and to your customers. The end-users of a product are the ones who can tell the most about its flaws and strengths.
Listen to their feedback and build upon it. This will enable you to plan your future iterations for the project. It’ll also allow you to know about your strengths so you can maintain those aspects within your next project.
Fulfill Your Promises
You’ve already pitched your idea to your stakeholders, and they have already built a certain image of the end result in their head. It is, ultimately, your responsibility to deliver on that image. Your top priority should be meeting the expectations of your customers, though it may mean delaying your project or putting in extra resources.
The Takeaway
Customer satisfaction and optimal project management basically go hand-in-hand. If you are progressing through your project according to the priorly planned schedule, you’ll be experiencing a respectable customer satisfaction rate in the end.
The best way to make sure your customers are happy with your service or business is by understanding the importance of project management software in business. Right from defining project goals and objective to generating well-structured reports, the software helps you do it all on the go.
Author Bio
David is a technical writer, his works are regularly published in various papers and top-notch portals. His rich experience in Project management domain helps him offer latest and fresh perspective on improved efficiency in workflows across organizations.