Customer satisfaction is the cornerstone of GTK’s customer operations development
Satisfied customers are what makes an organisation succeed. Strong customer relationships are key to the growth. This is why modern organisations see customer satisfaction as one of the most important measures of their operations. GTK is no exception.
During autumn 2019 we conducted an interview-based customer satisfaction survey which was designed to gather comprehensive information on GTK´s customer relationships.
The survey focused on the different steps of our customer cooperation which we recognized as “critical points” of the customer journey. The survey measured customers´ satisfaction on following areas: 1) customer service, 2) delivery of services, 3) reporting during and after projects, 4) after-sales and 5) communications and marketing. In addition, we asked our customers to provide insights on GTK’s ability to produce solutions that have direct effect on the development of our customers’ business operations.
GTK is seen as an honest and reliable partner
What made us most happy with the results was the fact that our customers see GTK as a valued partner. We are especially seen as an honest and reliable organisation with great reputation. GTK’s customers were most satisfied with our customer service and final reports. Our customer satisfaction index (CSI) score was 82, which is an excellent result (target level being 65). The CSI score describes the percentage of completely and very satisfied customers. We were also delighted about the fact that each of GTK’s corporate image factors had improved since the last wide-scale customer satisfaction survey in 2017. GTK’s NPS, net promoter score, describing the probability of our customers recommending us, was at excellent level of +58 (target level being +40).
Even though GTK was not described as a highly innovative and dynamic organisation by our customers, as many as 62% of the respondents reported that GTK had helped their organisation to develop new innovations that benefitted their organisation’s business operations. The solutions GTK produces had helped our customers to improve their processes, lower costs, implement new technologies, find environmentally sustainable options and to produce new information for improving sales processes. Just to name a few.
GTK’s communications and marketing were given the lowest scores in the survey. Our customers called for more solution-oriented and active customer interaction and stronger communication on the variety of services GTK can provide to our customers.
Keeping good results requires constant development
Positive feedback and a couple of clear areas for development. Now what?
More important than the indexes and scores is how the results affect our operations in relation to our customers: what concrete actions our customers expect from us in the future and how will we be able to implement those changes to our organisation’s everyday operations. Even though the results were mainly excellent, we recognize a need for development. Our operating environment is constantly changing and GTK must keep up with the change as well. The pressure to change does not only concern those in direct contact with our customers, but everyone in the organization. For example the systems and tools used, the quality of managerial work, internal communications and the efficiency of an organisation can all have a significant impact on the customer experience.
In order to generate even more added value and more comprehensive solutions to our customers – partly in cooperation with partners – we will be strengthening the foundations of our customer operations from the first steps of our customer journey all the way to the after-sales stage. This year, we will improve our model for customer relationship management for certain customer groups, simplify some of the roles and responsibilities related to our customer processes, and train our personnel to adopt an even more customer-oriented approach in their work. One part of producing innovative solutions is constant communication with our customers on their needs. And keeping this in mind, we will further improve our customer communication and concentrate on pro-active approach in our customer projects.
To support the information flow relating to our customers, we will update our CRM system during 2020, as well. By updating the system, we aim to improve information-based management and ensure that our marketing is better targeted and more current. We are also launching a new version of our website at the start of the year in order to be better equipped to describe GTK´s entire service selection, communicate who we are as an organisation and where our expertise lies.
With thanks on the constructive and positive customer feedback,
Tuuli Kalliosalo
Text: Tuuli Kalliosalo
Tuuli Kalliosalo is the Head of Account Management at the Geological Survey of Finland. She is responsible for improving GTK’s customer processes and developing a service model for GTK’s customer operations. In her career, Tuuli has worked in B2B sales, customer experience development and marketing. She started in her position at GTK in March 2019.
