Why Customer Satisfaction is the Most Important Metrics in Project Management

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It is a general understanding in the service industry that the most important factor in project success is customer satisfaction.

But in today’s digital disruption age project managers often prioritize rushing to complete projects at any cost.

However, even if a project is completed on time and within budget, customer satisfaction is not guaranteed.

So, what exactly is customer satisfaction?

Customer satisfaction is a measure of how pleased your customers are with the products, services, or experiences you provide.

Enterprises use various methods to capture and evaluate customer satisfaction, such as surveys, feedback requests, testimonials, NPS scores, and predefined review meetings.

Customer Satisfaction measures how your service, product, or support meets, exceeds or falls short of customer expectations.

(source: QuestionPro)

Contents

The Relationship Between Customer Experience and Satisfaction:

According to a blog by Neil Patel, customer experience will be the key differentiator for businesses, making it the most exciting area for future growth. Interestingly, the blog also mentions that 86% of consumers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience.

So, let’s break it down:

Good Experience? More Potential Customers ? Higher Conversion Rates? Good Support or Service? Customer Satisfaction? Increased Retention? Growing Customer Base? Higher Profits and Revenue

As you can see, focusing on customer satisfaction directly translates to business growth and increased revenue.

What are the Benefits of Customer Satisfaction?

(Source: www.researchgate.net)

The most significant benefit of customer satisfaction is positive word-of-mouth. As mentioned by Neil Patel, various statistics highlight the power of recommendations and reviews:

92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family.
68% of respondents said a positive review made them more likely to use a business, while 40% said a negative one made them not want to use it.
93% turn to online reviews to decide if a business is good or bad.
Just under half of consumers won’t consider a business with less than a 4-star rating.
34% read 4-6 reviews before deciding to trust a business.
Word-of-mouth is listed as a key influencer for 74% of consumers.

As you can see you get free publicity if you have a high number of satisfied customers. Also, there are other benefits as well,

Brand Loyalty: Most happy or satisfied customers chose to stay with their brands or service providers. That means less churning, high retention & higher brand loyalty.

Brand Buzz: As mentioned earlier, your happy customers will leave positive reviews on social media or on different review sites. That’s free publicity you can’t get with paid ads.

Brand Trust: Your brand’s reviews or recommendations from your satisfied customers will make your brand more trusted than others.

Happy Employees: In the end, customer satisfaction means not only more revenue or customer retention but also you’ll see employees will be happy too.

But as it seems, customer satisfaction is not an easy thing. During your project execution, customers will always ask you:

What is the progress of the project?
When will it be completed?
How much billable time you have clocked?
What is the status of modules or sprints?
Where can I review the work?
Where to give my feedback or to whom?
Where and how can I see real-time progress?

Most project managers chose to hide the actual information and show incorrect data or info to satisfy customers. And at the end, the customer tends to be unhappy and may choose not to do business the second time. Beware, negative word-of-mouth spreads faster than positive reviews.

Top 10 Tips to Increase Customer Satisfaction

Understand and Exceed Customer Expectations: Take the time to understand your customers’ needs and expectations, and strive to exceed them whenever possible.

Provide Excellent Customer Service: Train your customer service team to be friendly, responsive, and knowledgeable. Promptly address customer inquiries, concerns, and complaints to ensure a positive experience.

Personalize the Customer Experience: Tailor your interactions and offerings to individual customers whenever feasible. Personalization shows that you value and understand their unique preferences and needs.

Offer a Seamless and User-Friendly Website or App: Ensure that your website or app is intuitive, easy to navigate, and optimized for mobile devices. A smooth user experience will enhance customer satisfaction.

Listen to Customer Feedback: Actively seek and listen to customer feedback through surveys, reviews, and social media. Use this information to identify areas for improvement and make necessary changes.

Resolve Issues Quickly and Efficiently: When problems arise, respond promptly and resolve them to the customer’s satisfaction. Effective issue resolution demonstrates your commitment to customer service.

Offer Rewards and Incentives: Implement loyalty programs, discounts, and special offers to show appreciation for customer loyalty. Rewarding customers encourages repeat purchases and strengthens relationships.

Engage with Customers on Social Media: Interact with customers on social media platforms to build rapport and address their concerns. Prompt and genuine engagement can foster customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Continuously Improve Products and Services: Regularly evaluate customer needs and market trends to improve and innovate your offerings. By staying ahead of the competition, you can meet evolving customer expectations.

Build Trust and Transparency: Be honest, transparent, and reliable in all your interactions with customers. Establishing trust builds long-term relationships and fosters customer satisfaction.

Let’s Dive Deep into Knowing How to keep your customers happy during project management. So how to keep your customers happy during Project Management?

(source: QuestionPro)

Once your prospects convert to a customer, it is important to share the right information at the right time in as transparent a manner as possible. You can manage your projects and collaborate directly with your customers.

Let me explain how you can achieve better customer satisfaction using Orangescrum.

Make them a part of the Team

Rather than treating customers as outsiders, consider them as valuable team members who contribute to building trust and confidence in your product or service.

Invite your customers to Orangescrum and add them as client users in your project.

Keep Them Updated on Progress:

As mentioned earlier, many project managers become consumed with project completion and overlook stakeholder expectations.

To prevent this, it’s crucial to share the right information with the right audience at the right time.

Transparency and honesty are key. Regardless of the project, providing a logical view of the current situation or issue makes it easier to gain customer buy-in and obtain the necessary support in terms of resources, funding, or time.

With Orangescrum, you can easily share progress updates on tasks and projects. Let your customers know the real-time status of the project to avoid any last-minute surprises.

With the help of Orangescrum’s Kanban board, customers can track what has been done, what is yet to be done, and what is currently in progress.

What updates can you share with your customers via Orangescrum?

Task Progress
Task Status
Sprint Progress
Estimated Hours vs. Actual Time Spent
Project Progress
Total Billable Hours
Weekly Progress Reports
Pending Task Reports

Ensure Effective Communication:

By centralizing all project-related communication and information within Orangescrum, you eliminate the possibility of communication gaps.

Traditional project management methods often involve multiple spreadsheets, email threads, and documents, which can cause important information to be missed by project managers or customers.

Orangescrum provides a platform for customers to share their feedback, and comments, and reach project managers directly through in-app chat.

This ensures everyone is on the same page, and every update or status change is logged.

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With all your task threads in one place, customers can access them at any time and seek clarification as needed.

Better collaboration and transparency in projects increase your chances of keeping customers happy.

Need to Re-Plan?

Every customer and project manager understands that there is a level of risk associated with each project.

Sometimes, things don’t go as planned, and you may need to go back to the drawing board. Orangescrum’s Gantt chart enables you to schedule and plan tasks with dependencies, helping you find the best way to complete the project on time.

If changes need to be made during the project, you can adjust your task planning and share it with your clients for their approval.

Share Your Timesheets:

Timesheets or time logs are essential aspects of project management that concern both managers and customers.

Traditional methods often lead to discrepancies, with managers either showing more time spent on a project or missing the actual time logged. This can result in customers paying more or less than what is accurate.

With Orangescrum’s timesheet or time log reports, customers can review and compare the actual time spent on the project versus the estimated hours.

Generate Invoices:

A project management tool like Orangescrum can provide you with accurate insights into the actual time spent on a project and the billable time.

This transparency allows customers to seek clarification if they notice any discrepancies.

They can also approve the timesheet, ensuring consistency and accuracy. Based on the billable time, you can generate invoices and send them directly to your customers.

Using a project management tool like Orangescrum not only helps you manage tasks and projects effectively but also ensures customer clarity, trust, and confidence in your product or service.

When customers see real-time progress and are satisfied with your service, they are more likely to return. Happy customers lead to increased retention rates. Sign Up to see Orangescrum in action.

So, if you focus on Customer Satisfaction, then it is obvious your business will grow and revenue will increase.