Research Objectives

Customer satisfaction is a measure of the ability of a product/service to meet customer expectations. The correct assessment of customer satisfaction will be the foundation to help businesses identify weaknesses that need to improve in the process of providing products/services. Satisfaction is a prerequisite of loyalty, resulting in increased repurchase rates, improving sales and profits for the businesses.

Research content

The customer satisfaction index model was initiated by Fornell in 1992 in the US with the name American Customer Satisfaction Index - ACSI. This model has been applied in many countries around the world to measure satisfaction in both the public and corporate sectors.

When assessing customer satisfaction for businesses, CI Research bases on the reference and inheritance of the customer satisfaction model to design research content and develop suitable questionnaires depending on the characteristics of each type of product, service and meet the needs of the businesses.

The basic and most important factors when conducting research on customer satisfaction for businesses include:

• Customer expectations about products and services

• Perceived quality , including 2 types: 

  • Customer's perceived quality of the product itself (tangible)

  • Customer's perceived quality of related services (intangible) such as warranty, after-sale service, terms and conditions, user manual. 

• Perceived value is the customer's assessment of the quality of a product or service compared to the price paid.

• Satisfaction represents an overall assessment of the level of satisfaction

• Customer complaints 

• Customer loyalty

The arrows in the model show the impact relationship between the variables. In which, customer expectations, perceived quality and perceived value are decisive conditions for customer satisfaction; and customer complaints and loyalty are the results that satisfaction brings. 

Application 

Satisfaction assessment is usually applied to businesses whose customers are end-consumers. After a period of time when a product or service has been launched into the market and has reached a certain number of consumers, businesses need to conduct satisfaction assessment to promptly recognize the limitations, improve training activities, promote strengths to be able to continue to attract customers and expand market share. 

The Food and Beverage, consumer goods industries and services supply chain sectors with distribution channels (such as banks, schools, electronics, telecommunications, supermarkets, etc.) often apply this type of research.