Reviews, Reputation, and Customer Retention

Social Reviews and Customer Satisfaction Surveys are two distinctly unique ways consumers express themselves after a sale or service experience. This is a closer look at the public creation of social reviews, and the business worlds scientific approach to customer satisfaction. We'll understand why each thrives independently.   

Manufacturer CSI Survey 

Some manufacturers perform customer satisfaction index surveys also known as CSI surveys for short, I'll be switching between the two naming conventions in this piece.  The CSI survey is explicitly intended to give businesses science-based insights across the complete arc of the customer experience.    

These CSI surveys may be prompted by a request from the manufacturer through a phone call, email, or direct mail and are not shared publicly.  In automotive, the survey could be intended to measure the satisfaction of consumers that own a vehicle 1 to 5 years old, and experienced a recall event. Or the manufacture can study the satisfaction of consumers with an average total service spend of $150, in contrast to a service which incorporates additional recommended work performed and totaling greater than $200 of service spend. These examples are intended to identify specific consumer actions and measure their satisfaction levels for these well defined actions. The collected data will be studied and next steps can be performed based upon the findings. In some instances the customer satisfaction measures may be bench-marked against results with firms in other industries.


The University of Michigan's Ross School of Business developed a multi-equation econometric model that looks like figure 1.1 below.  The science of customer satisfaction looks at three main drivers (customer expectations, perceived quality, and perceived value) which point to customer satisfaction and outcomes of satisfaction (customer complaints, and customer loyalty). 


Figure 1.1 

Three Quick Objectives of the CSI: 

1. Establish benchmarks - measure and track to benchmark all aspects of the customer experience with industry peers and best-in-class companies in other industries 
2. Monitor - put the science of the customer service index to work 
3. Diagnostic - Obtain detailed, actionable insights to improve the customer experience and maximize results 

Social Reviews 

In the connected age a consumers review experience can spread to other consumers like wildfire through social media. Businesses with the best reviews shall thrive in this social environment. Some have referred to this as the age of Data Darwinism.

In contrast to the customer satisfaction index survey, consumers write reviews on social sites like Yelp, Google, and Facebook to share their experience with the online social community. Instead of telling Ford Motor Company, or Apple Inc. they're telling the world and the world is listening. These experiences are often emotional and go into greater detail, because reviews aren't always black and white, and reviewers have a desire to give the full breath of their experience. 

According to marketing and communications firm Demandforce, 90% of reviews are written to "help other customers make good decisions," not for personal gain.  However, I would argue there is still room for personal gain as people like to share their opinions. There's something captivating about writing in those social media boxes. People love to share, and sometimes over share on social media. Surly ego plays a small role in driving people to write reviews, even if only to see their review published on a website for all to read. 


Social reviews add another element in the equation.  Businesses must respond to their customers public reviews or risk alienating their consumer base. Its imperative to respond to negative reviews, as studies have shown perceptions can be influenced more positively if consumers see a response to a negative review. If that's not enough, according to a study by the Harvard Business School, a one star increase in Yelp rating leads to a 5% to 9% increase in revenue.   

The three A's of Responding: 

1. Answer all negative reviews and at least half of all positive reviews 
2. Acknowledge the problem or perceived problem publicly
3. Act to correct the problem  

Whether the intent is to give back to the social community, or for personal gain, both of these motivations are out the window for the customer satisfaction survey. The inherent intent here is to educate the business not the social community. Likewise, a social review can not be used in the same scientific nature as the CSI survey because it lacks the well defined structure and conformity required to derive benchmarks and peer comparisons. The next time you write a review or take a survey, I'm sure you'll consider your audience too.