Voice of the Customer: The Impact on Customer Satisfaction

Abstract

IN BRIEFA recent survey of buyers in the personal products industry focused on their level of satisfaction with distribution service. Further research examined the role of voice of the customer, i.e., input provided by the buyers, in the buyer‐seller relationship. It was hypothesized that listening to the voice of the customer would be related to greater customer satisfaction. Information provided by customers should offer sellers guidance for improving their overall service. Only limited support was found. However, the use of personal meetings with customers was found to impact customer satisfaction to a greater extent than the use of formal feedback mechanisms (surveys or telephone calls). Based upon this survey, it appears as though firms are not fully exploiting the potential to be gained from listening to customers.