Satisfied

Satisfaction comes from product experience matching customer expectations. It doesn’t really matter to the business if the needs have been overly met unless that will invoke passion or expand the market segments attracted to the product. Be careful! More features do not necessarily mean more satisfaction, let alone passion.

We’ve discussed at length the functionality required to minimally provide satisfaction. What specific mouse clicks, reports, results? What shape, color, visual layout? Does satisfaction depend on someone else’s use of the product? What customer experience represents a successful encounter or use of the product? In software and mobile products, you can actually instrument your product to know exactly how your customer interacts with the product. Their usage should match your expectations for how the product helps them solve their problem or addresses their passion.

A satisfied experience at a restaurant might mean a rating of four stars or above on Yelp. It might result in a large tip. It might mean that a specific customer returns once a month or once a week.

It’s often the marketer’s role to measure the satisfaction. Where possible, nontech businesses should think of ways to automate their measure of satisfaction. Registration cards are an attempt at measuring satisfaction. If you want the warranty that comes with a product, it likely means you’re satisfied. If you sell a product once that requires ongoing accessories, measure the purchase of the accessories over time.

The most obvious tactic is to measure satisfaction through surveys. Providing an incentive to fill out a survey will get you a higher response rate, but you will get higher reviews when the customer is so motivated. Better yet, incentivize people to share the product in a way you can measure. Attach free consumables to the product that only have value if the product itself is used.

Talk to customers. Call them up on the phone. Bring them into the business. Conduct usability testing whereby you watch customers use your product with influence by you.

Pro tip: Conduct usability testing using your competitor’s products.

This is still the best way to learn how your customers truly feel. Beware of focus groups in which individual personalities affect how others think.

Satisfaction will also be affected by business partners, channels, packaging, customer support, shipping—anything else that is part of the value stream. You must control the entire experience.

How you message and position the product affects satisfaction. The story you tell about the product forms the promise you are making to your customer. You must tell them the product is for them, it addresses their specific desire. If your product strays from the promise, your customer will not be satisfied. Sell benefits, not just features.

Tell a story. What’s their life like after experiencing your product? How has it changed for the better? Experiment with different stories. Different segments require different stories. Learn from your customers how they describe your product to friends and colleagues.