In all of the corporate communications areas PR can influence, the one you're probably rarely called in to affect is customer relations, which usually comes under some fulfillment-related division.
But a just-released report shows that customer relations representatives could stand some mentoring from PR executives. Hosting focus groups if your customers continue to lodge complaints might help you determine where the gap is between complaints and how they are rectified.
In the report, Wirthlin Worldwide, a market research firm headquartered in McLean, Va., says that customer satisfaction has dropped in the past three years, according to The American Customer Satisfaction Index.
The index is based on an ongoing survey of customer issues such as customer complaints, customer loyalty, customer expectations and perceived value.
It now stands at a 70.8 on a 100-point scale, a 5 percent decline from November 1994 when overall customer satisfaction was 74.5. Wirthlin, however, points out that customer satisfaction is highest for non-durable goods while consumer durables receive slightly lower satisfaction scores.
Next week, PR NEWS will publish the ACSI ratings by industry.