Customer Satisfaction Research Identifies Strategic Improvements for Food & Beverage Manufacturer

A leading food and beverage ingredient systems manufacturer for consumer goods, foodservice and retail companies had completed a customer satisfaction survey several years ago. The company wanted to conduct another customer satisfaction appraisal. This time, the company identified 114 accounts to be included, with 14 of those being key national accounts.

Because of the time elapsed between the surveys, the client needed the questionnaire changed to address emerging issues. In addition, they wanted to evaluate their brand and competitive brands and look for unmet needs that could lead to new products for the market.

The objectives of the project were:

• Identifying the key strengths of this manufacturer, as well as areas for improvement
• Evaluating whether customer expectations are being met, and determining how to exceed their expectations
• Identifying understanding the client’s brand differentiation against competitors
• Exploring customer needs in potential growth areas for the client

Clear Seas Research conducted a customer satisfaction survey by telephone interviews. While a total of 37 accounts were included (32% response), due to the small sample size, the results are qualitative in nature. As much as possible, answers were compared to the original study to evaluate change.

• The client’s customers are very satisfied on a “Top Two Box” basis, although some vulnerability exists when comparing the top box (completely satisfied) to the second box (satisfied). To address this, the manufacturer should continue improving the quality of products and services.
• Customer’s evaluations of their relationship with the manufacturer do not reflect their satisfaction with its products and service. Focusing on improving customer relationships should bring this metric more in line with customer satisfaction.
• The client is viewed as superior to competitors on relationship levels, but should react more quickly to integrate market trends into products.
• Customers want to be more involved with the manufacturer, especially in areas of sharing information and innovation.