Satmetrix Reveals Findings on Cultural Differences in Customer Loyalty Surveys and Net Promoter(R) Scores.

Satmetrix' Cross Cultural Benchmark Analysis Helps Companies Neutralize Customer Response Bias on Customer Loyalty Surveys

FOSTER CITY, Calif. -- Satmetrix Systems, the leading global provider of on-demand software applications and consulting services to measurably improve customer loyalty, today announced the availability of new multi-national data for customer loyalty benchmarking. The data and associated benchmarking service was developed for companies who operate in multiple countries or who wish to compare customer loyalty scores and practices across geographies. Key findings from the underlying research were published in the company's report, "Neutralizing Cultural Response Bias on Customer Loyalty Surveys."

According to the report, as more and more companies expand their operations globally, there is a growing need for understanding cross-cultural customer loyalty measurements. Companies often are looking to develop a consistent, high-quality customer experience across multiple countries. They may also want to set relevant goals for customer loyalty improvement. Whatever the objective, conducting a comparative analysis across countries requires external benchmarks to clarify whether differences in customer loyalty scores reflect real differences in performance or variations in customer response patterns caused by cultural response bias.

Among the findings highlighted in the report:

* Customers in Japan rate their customer satisfaction and loyalty lower than in most other countries.

* Customers in Latin America tend to rate their customer satisfaction and loyalty higher than in other regions.

* Customers in the Middle East tend to rate their customer satisfaction and loyalty higher than other European and Asian customers.

"Without a mechanism to distinguish true performance differences from cultural response bias, comparisons of survey results across countries or regions can lead to inaccurate results and compromise the ability of decision-makers to confidently act on the data," said Dr. Laura Brooks, co-developer of Net Promoter and vice president of research and consulting at Satmetrix. "Companies that operate in multiple countries need to better understand how cultural factors influence customer survey responses, taking into account these differences when analyzing and acting on customer feedback."

In response to this challenge, the Satmetrix Cross Cultural Benchmark offers an "in-country, cross-company" loyalty score assessment. This allows customer loyalty professionals to neutralize cultural response bias by keeping the loyalty score comparison within the cultural confines of one country. Benchmarks are available for the Net Promoter[R] Score (NPS), the Satmetrix Customer Loyalty Index (CLI), Likelihood to Recommend, and Overall Satisfaction. The Satmetrix approach enables companies to diagnose when their performance is within or outside of bounds for the local cultural context, prompting a call for action which otherwise might be missed using other approaches.

To download a free white paper summarizing these findings and best practices: http://www.satmetrix.com/resources/download_white_paper_frm.php?pdf =Neutralizing-Cultural-Response-Bias.pdf. (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)

About Satmetrix

Satmetrix Systems is the leading global provider of on-demand software applications and consulting services to measurably improve customer loyalty. The company's solutions support enterprise-level deployments to gather trustworthy data on customer experience, derive actionable insights, and integrate this information into the daily work flow of employees throughout the organization. Satmetrix co-developed the Net Promoter([R]) customer loyalty metric with Fred Reichheld, noted loyalty expert and Bain Fellow. The company has deployed more than 700 enterprise feedback solutions in 40 languages. For more information visit www.satmetrix.com, or call 1-650-227-8300 in the US or [phone] in the UK and Europe.

The following are trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc.: Satmetrix, Satmetrix Systems. Net Promoter is a registered trademark of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company, and Fred Reichheld.