Reports Highlight Customer Experience Rankings in Insurance, Financial
Services, Airlines, Telecommunications, Technology, Retail and Online
Services
SAN MATEO, Calif., – March 17, 2010 – Satmetrix
, the Net Promoter
customer experience programs, today released its 2010 Net Promoter Industry
Benchmarks
insurance, financial services, airlines, telecommunications, technology,
retail and online services industries. Leaders included well-known brands
such as USAA, Charles Schwab, JetBlue, Verizon Wireless, Apple, Trader
Joe’s, Costco and Amazon.com.
The rankings are based on survey responses from more than 19,500 U.S.
consumers nationwide who had purchased products or services from each
company within the previous 12 months. A company’s Net Promoter Score, or
NPSR
on customers’ likelihood to recommend the company’s product or service. NPS
is calculated as the percentage of customers who are Promoters, rating the
company 9 or 10 on a zero-to-ten point scale, minus the percentage who are
Detractors, rating 6 or lower. Consumers also rated each company on various
aspects of customer experience including product or service features,
customer service and overall value, allowing Satmetrix to analyze drivers of
loyalty and performance gaps for each company.
“A company’s ability to deliver a superior customer experience relative to
its industry peers is a critical indicator of customer retention and new
customer acquisition through positive word of mouth,” said John Abraham
manager of Net Promoter programs at Satmetrix. “These benchmarks allow
companies to see how consumers rate them relative to their competitors when
it comes to customer loyalty.”
The study encompassed 17 specific competitive sectors across seven
industries. Highlights for each industry include:
* Insurance: A significant contrast appeared between property and
casualty insurers and companies offering life and health insurance. Scores
in life and health were lower, particularly in the health insurance sector.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois was the only health insurance company
profiled with a positive NPS, scoring 5% in a sector with an average of
negative 13%. CIGNA ranked last among major health insurers with an NPS of
negative 28%. State Farm led the life insurance category with an NPS of 34%,
more than 22 points higher than runner up New York Life, while USAA
dominated the auto insurance sector at 78%, more than 37 points ahead of
runner-up GEICO. In homeowners insurance, USAA scored 69%, well above
Travelers, which came up last at 3%.
* Financial Services: Brokerage and investment institutions saw a
significant increase in NPS over the previous year, signaling a recovery in
customer trust since the 2008 market crisis. Overall, the sector achieved an
average NPS of 29%, up more than 20 points since last year. Charles Schwab
held its ground as the sector leader with an NPS of 46%. Although the credit
card sector fared poorly overall, American Express and Discover maintained
their strong performance year on year, outperforming sector laggard Bank of
America by more than 36 points. USAA, a non-traditional player in the
banking sector, stood out as the leader with an NPS of 81%, placing it 40
points ahead of runner-up BB&T. Citigroup was the only bank profiled with
more Detractors than Promoters, earning an NPS of negative 9%.
* Airlines: JetBlue and Southwest were clear frontrunners in the
airline industry, scoring more than 40 points above the industry average.
JetBlue Promoters referenced the in-flight experience, extra legroom,
quality snacks and television, while Southwest Promoters praised the airline
for its friendly service and for not charging baggage fees. U.S. Airways
trailed the segment at negative 16%.
* Telecommunications: Verizon Wireless led the cellular phone service
sector again this year with a score of 41%, while AT&T dropped to the bottom
of the sector with a score of 9%, in a statistical dead heat with last
year’s laggard, Sprint (10%). Time Warner Cable’s Road Runner High Speed
Online led the Internet service provider category with a score of 21% in an
industry whose average NPS was a mere 4%. DIRECTV led in the satellite and
cable TV category with an NPS of 27%.
* Technology: Apple, with an NPS of 78%, continues to be the top
performer in the computer hardware sector. In the consumer software sector,
Adobe Systems (37%), Intuit (36%), and Symantec (36%) were the frontrunners,
with security software provider Symantec recording the most significant
increase between 2007 and 2009.
* Retail: The grocery/supermarket retail sector achieved the second
highest average NPS of all industries examined in the reports, with Trader
Joe’s and Wegmans leading the way at 69% and 67%, respectively. Big box
membership clubs Costco (66%) and Sam’s Club (61%) led the
department/wholesale/specialty sector, followed by Target and Lowe’s.
* Online Services: Amazon.com and eBay led the online shopping sector
with NPS of 71% and 65%, respectively, followed by Barnes & Noble’s bn.com
at 59%. In the online search and information category, Facebook scored 65%,
moving into a leading position alongside Google at 63%.
“We continue to see the impact that the customer experience has on loyalty
and business growth,” said Deborah Eastman
Satmetrix. “Best-in-class companies are those that put in the processes to
continuously listen to, learn from, and take immediate action on what their
customers tell them about their performance.”
Full reports are available for purchase on www.satmetrix.com
About Satmetrix
Satmetrix, the Net Promoter Company, delivers customer experience programs
that increase retention, repurchase and referrals. Satmetrix is the only
company to combine innovative technology and proven expertise to mobilize
organizations to act on customer feedback at every touch point. While most
programs focus on measuring satisfaction, Satmetrix focuses on creating
loyal customers by delivering real-time customer feedback to every employee,
developing business processes that create a differentiated customer
experience, and identifying key areas for improvement. Some of Satmetrix
global clients include Experian, Orange Business Services, Symantec and
Virgin Media. In addition to more than 700 enterprise deployments in 40
languages, we offer a range of services for Net Promoter professionals and
maintain the online community netpromoter.com. For more information, visit
www.satmetrix.com, or call 1-888-800-2313 in the US or +44 (0) 845-371-1040
in Europe.
Net Promoter, NPS, and Net Promoter Score are trademarks of Satmetrix
Systems, Inc., Bain & Company, Inc., and Fred Reichheld.
