According to the findings of a recent survey of satisfaction and loyalty among over 1700 life scientists, most leading life science suppliers enjoy customer satisfaction ratings of 70% or higher
New England Biolabs, Sigma-Aldrich, and Invitrogen boast the most satisfied customers.
Satisfaction, however, does not immediately translate to enduring loyalty and a new report from BioInformatics reveals points of strength and vulnerability for 24 companies across the entire purchasing cycle.
Companies such as Fisher Scientific, Qiagen, and Promega excel in key areas of corporate performance such as the perceptions of ease-of-use, easy ordering procedures and excellent post-sale support.
The importance of 18 key customer 'touchpoints' from pre-purchase considerations, through the actual purchase, and on to post-purchase support, were examined in terms of their individual importance and the best and worst performing brands in each category.
"High rankings in specific touchpoints can be offset by sub-par performance in other areas.
"The market's leaders understand that their brands embody everything that shapes a customer's experience with their company.
"If it is a positive and meaningful experience, customers develop an emotional attachment that makes it difficult for them to switch to another brand," stated Tamara Zemlo, director of syndicated research and analysis.
On average, the scientists surveyed simultaneously use the products and services of ten life science brands, indicating that no single supplier can meet all of their research needs.
In this highly competitive environment, suppliers must deliver a branded customer experience in order to drive consistent revenue growth.
The report also takes a closer look at the interaction of satisfaction, retention, and loyalty through the Customer Experience Index - a measure of the level of commitment a customer has to a particular brand.
In this section of the report, manufacturers of capital equipment such as Applied Biosystems, Bio-Rad Laboratories, and Perkin-Elmer are notable for their high levels of overall customer satisfaction and retention despite the challenges of communicating the value of their complex instruments during every phase of the purchasing cycle.
Providing a superlative customer experience is about managing the details.
This report provides suppliers with access to the details that matter when scientists consider purchasing products from one brand over another.
Using this information, suppliers can enhance the processes and procedures in place to reflect the optimal point-of-contact mix.
"Brands with the most differentiated customer experiences will succeed in transforming their customers into the most valuable customers of all-satisfied and loyal promoters," predicted Zemlo.
