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Many researches have proposed a virtuous chain of effects from improved customer satisfaction to profits. In particular, satisfaction is thought to improve share‐of‐spending, which in turn leads to higher customer revenue and customer profitability. This paper aims to examine these proposed linkages using data from the institutional securities industry.

The data used in the analyses were collected as part of an ongoing telephone satisfaction survey of 81 clients of an institutional securities firm across two continents (North America and Europe). Mediation analysis was used to test the hypothesized effects.

Customer revenue was found to correlate negatively with customer profitability for unprofitable customers, and positively for profitable customers.

One of the limitations of this research is that it tests the propositions within a single industry. Future research should attempt to replicate these findings in other contexts.

A simplistic focus on improving customer satisfaction for all customers in order to improve share‐of‐wallet and customer revenue does not seem to represent the best management approach to maximize overall firm profitability. In fact, it could actually result in a negative return on investment. Therefore, customers should first be segmented by their profitability to the firm before expending resources to improve customer satisfaction and share‐of‐wallet.

The results of this paper challenge the conventional belief that customer satisfaction should lead to customer retention in turn, resulting in customer revenue and ultimately customer profitability. The findings indicate that this may not always be true.

Through listening to the voice of the customer, quality function deployment (QFD) is a systematic methodology for quality improvement and product development. The quality of a product or service is ultimately judged in terms of customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction benchmarking can help decision makers identify areas for improvement, make strategic decisions, and set targets on desired satisfaction performance. The main purpose of this paper is to study procedures and methods for successful benchmarking in QFD for quality improvement. It discussed the customer satisfaction benchmarking process in QFD and proposed the use of hierarchical benchmarks for strategic competitor selection and decision making. A case study was presented to illustrate the use of this method. This paper may provide a road map to achieve world‐class performance through benchmarking in QFD, especially for small to medium‐sized enterprises or companies in developing countries.

Observes that while customer satisfaction measurement is currently one of the commonest prescriptions in both the marketing and management literatures, little attention has been paid to the effects of customer satisfaction measurement, particularly in terms of the impact on the internal market, i.e. the employees and managers inside the organization. Reports some of the findings of a recent study of the internal market effects of customer satisfaction measurement, and identifies a number of ways in which the use of customer satisfaction information may have negative effects within the organization, which may stand in the way of the implementation of market strategies of service and quality. This suggests a management agenda which extends far beyond the acquisition of customer satisfaction data and reporting systems, to consider the full impact of such measurement systems.

This paper aims to provide an insight into the actions required by trust officers to improve customer satisfaction during a time of difficult economic and regulatory conditions.

A total of 96 bank trust officers located in the USA were surveyed using a mail questionnaire.

Increased compliance regulation and financial industry problems during 2008 and 2009 have had only a minor negative impact on customer satisfaction. Success in maintaining satisfaction levels has come from customer‐focused corrective actions including more frequent customer meetings, improved electronic/print mail communications and the provision of more friendly financial information.

The paper makes three recommendations to senior managers to help them maintain customer satisfaction: 1, continue to focus on the basics of customer focus; 2, use existing and emergent technology to provide customer friendly support; and 3, constantly review and update the financial value proposition offered to customers.

The study provides insight into the issues of customer satisfaction in the current difficult economic and regulatory climate.

Loyalty of a firm’s customer has been recognised as the dominant factor in a business organization’s success. This study helps us extend our understanding of the relationship between customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, and image. This is of considerable interest to both practitioners and academics in the field of hospitality management. The objective of this research is to identify the factors of image and customer satisfaction that are positively related to customer loyalty in the hotel industry. Using data collected from chain hotels in New Zealand, the findings indicate that hotel image and customer satisfaction with the performance of housekeeping, reception, food and beverage, and price are positively correlated to customer loyalty.

This paper reports on a study investigating key attributes of service recovery strategies in internet shopping mall. In theses day, service recovery has received important attention in the service operation management literature. Service recovery involves those actions designed to resolve problems, alter negative attitudes of dissatisfied consumers and to ultimately retain these customers. The study examined that service recovery strategies (apology, compensation) impact on the customer satisfaction. And customer satisfaction impacts on customer loyalty with SEM (Structural Equation Modeling). This study can be used a strategic implication for internet shopping mall managers to develop successful service recovery strategies.

Introduces a framework for integrating the operations management and marketing approaches within a service operation. Focuses on customer satisfaction with waiting time, with the aim of providing improved satisfaction for a given level of resources. Provides an application of this methodology by presenting an example in the fast food industry. Concludes with suggestions for extending such a framework to other service organizations.

Focuses on the analysis of empirical data on customer satisfaction and the relationship with hard organisational performance data. The organisation is a Flexcompany with its headquarters in The Netherlands, but also operating in other countries in Europe. The empirical data on customer satisfaction and business performance stem from 1998 and 1999, from which it can be concluded that it is possible to find evidence for the hypothesis that there is a positive relationship between customer satisfaction and organisational performance indicators, although the relationship is not very strong. Various factors might influence the time‐lag between a change in customer satisfaction and an expected effect on sales margin, or other output indicators. However, the analyses provide answers to questions related to the quality dimensions as underlying factors behind the items in the customer satisfaction questionnaire. Also, there are some indications for the relation between customer satisfaction and changing behaviour of customers.

Outlines the development by Barclays Life of a tracking survey to collect information concerning customers’ feelings of satisfaction and loyalty. Describes research undertaken by Barclays Life into the determinants of satisfaction amongst customers and the importance of each of these elements in determining loyalty. Initial qualitative research was undertaken to allow the company to develop a frame of reference concerning the elements of service which customers considered important. These initial findings were used in later quantitative studies to establish the relative importance of the different elements, with a view to understanding what was determining customer loyalty. The research culminated in the development of a tracking survey instrument, now used by the company to monitor customer satisfaction and loyalty levels across time and customer groups. Discusses both the findings of the research undertaken, and the importance of such research for firms. Outlines the use to which the information gathered by the surveys is put, together with initiatives which have resulted from the research.

The literature shows a paradox in the understanding of the relationship between structural complexity (defined as the diversity of services offered by an organization) and customer satisfaction. Structural complexity tends to be a popular strategy designed to satisfy different customer needs. However, a negative relationship between structural complexity and customer satisfaction has also been argued. Based on the research on the public versus private distinction, this paper proposes that type of ownership is associated with the paradox mentioned, moderating the relationship between structural complexity and customer satisfaction. The authors tested this hypothesis using a sample of 60 managers and 897 customers of service organizations. The results indicated that as structural complexity increases, public organizations are less able to maintain customer satisfaction than private organizations. Ownership appeared to be an important contingency factor in understanding the paradoxical relationship between service structural complexity and customer satisfaction.