If you follow this blog regularly or follow us on Twitter, you know that we talk a lot about customer service – and how important it is for companies to deliver excellent customer service.
J.D. Power and Associates recently released a report ‘Achieving Excellence in Customer Satisfaction’ which contains a unique cross-industry analysis based on customer feedback, opinions and perceptions of more than 800 companies gathered from J.D. Power studies conducted in the U.S. between 2000 and 2010. The report also identifies 40 brands – the top 5 percent – as J.D. Power 2011 Customer Service Champions, based on customer feedback attesting to their service excellence.
The Brands named as J.D. Power Customer Service Champions are:
| Amica Mutual Insurance | Mercedes-Benz |
| Auto-Owners Insurance | New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance |
| Bass Pro Shops | NW Natural Utility |
| Cabela’s | Publix Pharmacy |
| Cadillac | Quicken Loans |
| Caribou Coffee | Shea Homes |
| Clark Public Utilities | Southwest Airlines |
| Eddie Bauer | Sprint Nextel |
| Enterprise Rent-A-Car | TDS Telecom |
| Erie Insurance | The Ritz-Carlton |
| Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee | T-Mobile |
| Four Seasons | United Community Bank |
| Good Neighbor Pharmacy | U.S. Cellular |
| Health Mart Pharmacy | USAA Insurance |
| Indianapolis International Airport | Veterans Administration Mail-Order Pharmacy |
| Jaguar | Wegmans Pharmacy |
| JetBlue Airways | WestJet |
| Kaiser Permanente Pharmacy | Winn-Dixie Pharmacy |
| Lexus | WOW! |
| Lincoln | Zappos |
The brands were selected based on their performance in five key areas identified as the J.D. Power 5 Ps: People, Presentation, Price, Product and Process. J.D. Power Customer Service Champions not only excelled within their respective industries, but also stand out when evaluated across multiple industries.
Brands that excel in providing customer service often enjoy higher rates of customer retention, pricing advantages and reduced costs to acquire new customers, compared with companies with lower levels of customer service satisfaction.
Among customers of brands designated as J.D. Power Customer Service Champions
- 62 percent said they “definitely would” recommend the brand to family and friends, while just 23 percent of customers of other companies included in the report said the same.
- 58 percent of customers of J.D. Power Customer Service Champions said they “definitely would” repurchase products or services from those brands, compared with just 36 percent of customers of other brands included in the report.
Many brands that provide exceptional customer service employ certain key practices, including:
- Communicating effectively and proactively with customers
- Empowering their people to solve problems
- Measuring and understanding customer expectations
- Providing their products and services with speed and convenience
For an in-depth examination of the findings and to learn how the 40 J.D. Power 2011 Customer Service Champions differentiate themselves from their competitors, read “Achieving Excellence in Customer Service“
Additionally, Finbarr O’Neill, president of J.D. Power and Associates, will be presenting additional findings from the “Achieving Excellence in Customer Service” report at The Conference Board Customer Experience Leadership Conference, taking place in New York, NY on March 23 and 24.
