Consultants Need Differentiated Customer-Feedback

Lessons to be Learned from the Customer Survey

Every year, the AdManus-Network conducts a customer survey. We have come to draw great satisfaction from the consistently excellent results. It provides certainty, that our work is appreciated by our clients, and serves as an important acknowledgement tool.

But of course, we take the time to take a close look at the results. If you look at the questionnaire, you will see that the clients’ answers result in a very differentiated profile for every consultant. And this is what we use them for:

Identify Strengths and Weaknesses

Some of the questions relate to expert knowledge, which may deviate from consultant to consultant. Asking these questions helps us to find out, which consultant is an expert for which area, and where there is need for further training. This information is an important element of our human resources development, and for deciding which consultant should be assigned to which projects.
All questions on Customer Orientation (such as 'Manners', 'Accessibility', 'Commitment') are central for service providers. If there’s something wrong here, we need to act immediately.

Preparation of Feedback-Dialogs

Of course, customer surveys are not the only opportunity for receiving feedback. Sometimes, meeting eye-to-eye meeting is much better for clarifying what worked, and what didn’t.
The questionnaire provides hints, on where a meeting might be necessary, and which topics need to be clarified. This prevents feedback from turning into an inconclusive 'was it good?'. Providing the company name is voluntary, but it does allow conclusions on the reasons behind the evaluations, and for identifying the partners to be contacted.

Facts to be Considered

The most important factor concerning all SAP-developments is whether the system functions as intended. Topics such as documentation or customer-instruction sometimes do not receive the attention they deserve. This is particularly true if the schedule is tight.
The customer survey allows us to find out whether you as a customer receive the support you need, or whether we should give it some extra attention.
One of the last survey’s results, for example, was that the item 'Instruction' had not been treated in a satisfactory way, by one of the AdManus companies. This encouraged the entire team to get together and to look for solutions.

Tangible Improvements

And last but not least, you are always welcome to directly comment on your consultant. This helps us to come up with solutions to problems, which are sometimes difficult to address in direct contact.
One of the difficulties mentioned here, was the fact that appointments were sometimes too short for handling all items. This type of feedback is indispensable for remedying a problem.
But of course, comments are also used to express how helpful our work is to you. And there’s no better motivation than a bit of positive feedback!

It is evident that a customer survey provides so much more than a gross average. A critical scrutiny from outside is not always pleasant, but it is a necessary element for achieving the performance you are entitled to expect.

Click here to read the results of the most recent and of all previous customer surveys.