How is ISO 9001 used to measure customer satisfaction?

ISO 9001 sets out the criteria needed for an effective Quality Management System (QMS). This is a system of processes, personnel, and procedures used to ensure that the products and/or services you’re delivering to customers are of acceptable quality.

And as part of ISO 9001, customer satisfaction must be measured and assessed, as this is one of the key metrics by which an organisation can understand the effectiveness of its QMS. In this blog, we’ll discuss how and why ISO 9001 is used to measure customer satisfaction, as well as what aspects of customer satisfaction are typically measured as part of ISO 9001.

Customer satisfaction is a critical part of ISO 9001 QMS

ISO 9001 places an emphasis on customer satisfaction because this is one of the simplest ways to understand whether or not your QMS is living up to expectations, and whether or not your organisation is delivering high-quality products or services.

Nobody is in a better position to assess this than your customers. Basically, customer satisfaction is a simple barometer of product or service quality that can help you identify areas of improvement within your organisation.

If your customers are happy with your services or products and they meet the necessary quality standards, their opinion of your business and their satisfaction ratings will reflect this.

Conversely, if you are not meeting their quality expectations, their satisfaction will slip. They may reduce their orders or even stop working with your company completely. Again, this can be easily shown through customer satisfaction ratings and reviews.

A key benefit of assessing customer satisfaction is that it allows you to quickly identify problem areas in your business – such as slow shipping, poor product quality, lack of documentation, or other such issues. By identifying the issues that appear the most frequently among customers, you can take appropriate corrective actions.

What aspects of customer satisfaction should be measured in ISO 9001?

There are an enormous number of metrics you can measure and assess when it comes to customer satisfaction, and the appropriate ones to use vary based on your business.

For example, a fast food restaurant would need to measure different aspects of customer satisfaction than a mining company or an industrial manufacturing plant. Depending on your line of business, these metrics could include:

• Technical capability: Did your product meet a customer’s needs when it comes to technical performance? Does it perform as advertised and meet its claims?
• Packaging: Was the product safely protected during shipping? Was the packaging easy to open? Did it clearly explain the contents?
• Quality of documentation: Are the manuals, instructions, documentation, and other information of high quality, easy to read, and simple to understand?
• Shipment and fulfilment times: Was the product shipped on time? Was it delivered in good shape? Was it subjected to any delays?
• Customer support and complaints: How is the overall customer support experience? Do representatives resolve complaints quickly? Are they polite and helpful?
• Sales experience: Did the customer have a positive sales experience? Was the product or service represented truthfully? Did the salesperson provide them with the necessary information to make a buying decision?
• Contract conformity: Did your product or service meet the requirements outlined in the contract signed with the customer?

There are many more, of course. So when considering what metrics to assess, it’s a good idea to consider your own line of business, and develop appropriate customer satisfaction surveys. These can be sent to your customers in order to assess their overall satisfaction and get feedback that can be used to improve your products and/or services.

Citation Certification is here to help with ISO 9001 certification

Whether you are interested in having your organisation certified to ISO 9001 standards, or you have already been certified and need assistance and consulting to maintain your quality management systems, Citation Certification is here to help.

As a JAS-ANZ accredited certification body, we are here to assist businesses throughout Australia with ISO 9001 certification and related services. To learn more and get started, contact us to schedule a consultation with one of our experienced consultants.