How We Maximize Customer Satisfaction On Web Projects

We strive to design the most functional and beautiful websites / web apps while at the same time delivering a high degree of customer service to our clients. Sometimes this is easier said than done. In order to develop a truly unique website, we have to challenge our clients which can lead to some heated discussions and disagreements.  It’s a risky move at times, but a necessary aspect of our creative process.

We also have many clients to simultaneously please with short deadlines, sudden change orders and differing expectations. It’s important that we treat each client equally, relative to their needs.  In order to keep ourselves aligned with our client’s experience, we perform 3 surveys throughout each project and make the appropriate adjustments, if necessary, based on the feedback we receive.

When we enter into a relationship with a new client, we have 3 goals to accomplish.

1. Deliver the most successful project and customer experience possible
2. Create a lasting relationship with our client and continue to work together in the future
3. Achieve a high degree of customer satisfaction which compels our clients to refer us to colleagues

The surveys listed below ask the appropriate questions and give us the insight to achieve these goals with our clients.

The Sales and Project Intro Survey inquires about the customer experience throughout the sales process, expectations set and confidence moving forward with the project and its deadlines. This is my scorecard.

The Strategy and Design Survey examines our ability to capture our clients’ vision and brand to build the website design. It also measures our project leadership in the strategic process. This is our Creative Director, Bill’s scorecard.

The Project Completion Survey rates the overall management and communication level of the project.  It also reviews client satisfaction with the deliverables and project ROI. This is our Director of Operations, Arnold’s scorecard.

Each survey has one question on common:

“Based on your experience with dt, how likely is it that you would refer a friend or colleague to us?”

There are only a few qualities in business that you can’t buy/hire, fabricate or outsource - you just have to earn them.  I am referring to business integrity and reputation. Our customer service process gives us the ability to take action and grow our reputation with our clients and in the industry as a whole.

We feel that earning a referral is the ultimate validation of the quality and integrity of our work and service over the course of a relationship with a client.  Referrals go above and beyond a reference or testimonial.  Every time a client makes a referral, they put their own reputation on the line.  However, they also stand to gain credibility since being the source of a great service recommendation can grow your reputation with your peers. We utilize the Net Promoter Score (NPS) system as defined in the book “The Ultimate Question” by Fred Reichheld.

We typically implement any adjustments needed on the project within 24 hours of receiving the results of the survey. We have seen great results in growing our relationship with our client and increasing the performance of the project.  We have also learned a lot from our clients and in turn make many changes to the way we work.  Here are some recent examples:

1. Updates to our proposals including more details on our process and deliverables
2. The development of a cheat sheet that provides a road map to the project process with meetings, deliverables, approvals and client interaction - complete with a glossary of terms!
3. The creation of the Client Self Realization document where the client sets the expectations of the project
4. Beer fridge for client meetings on Friday (just kidding - we already had that)