Measuring customer value goes beyond tradition customer satisfaction measurement. It provides strategic information on a company’s perceived value versus that of its competitors. The research method identifies key areas of competitive advantage, allowing for focused action plans. Customers and prospects measure a company’s perceived value versus its competition (based on their experiences with both).
Typical question areas for the customer value study start with questions from a customer satisfaction study:
- How long have you been a customer of....? (duration of experience)
- How would you rate your satisfaction with....? (satisfaction)
Other key survey questions include these:
- What are the key factors in determining satisfaction?
- What is the relative importance of each factor?
- How do customers rate our performance on these factors?
- How do customers rate our competitors' performance on these factors?
- What are the prices charged to each of these companies for products/services?
By using this technique, viable positioning and pricing strategies can be identified. However, customer value offers little more than a traditional customer satisfaction study when a company’s customers do not have experience with or perceptions of its competition.