Forum Corp.'s assessment tool helps managers gauge, improve customer service
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Assessment released in recognition of National Customer Service Week

Boston, MA, October 06, 2004 In an effort to help companies deliver better customer service, The Forum Corp. today unveiled a research-based assessment tool that enables executives to quickly determine their company's current level of customer service and identify ways to improve it.

By answering the self-scoring questionnaire, customer service managers, directors and group managers can compare the quality of their customer service operations to other companies and begin to take steps to enhance them. Forum is providing access to the assessment, which can be obtained free of charge at http://www.forum.com, in recognition of National Customer Service Week. The assessment is entitled Gaining Competitive Advantage Through Service: The Customer Service Assessment.

"Our research shows that 85 out of 100 companies can profit by improving their customer service," said Jocelyn Davis, Forum's vice president for service capability. "And this tool will help companies figure out where to start in what is increasingly becoming a major strategic challenge."

The tool is based on Forum's research into the impact of customer service on customer loyalty, market reputation, and corporate profits. The questions focus on key factors that lead to these outcomes in the areas of people, processes, leaders, and customers.

While it has long been known that customer satisfaction and loyalty are linked to financial performance, recent research suggests that the relationship is more complex than previously believed. Forum's research indicates that when customers interact with a company, they perceive their experiences in one of three ways:

• Random: The customer experience depends on the particular service rep a customer talks to, or the time of day, or the location visited. Customers are quick to defect to competitors.
• Predictable: The customer experience is predictably positive, and customers view the company as delivering on what is promised. Customers tend to be moderately satisfied, but their loyalty is fragile.
• Differentiated: The company provides a differentiated customer experience, one that is both predictably positive and distinctively valuable. Customers tend to become loyal advocates.

The assessment tool can help companies determine where they are on this continuum and what they have to do to arrive at the ultimate goal of loyalty-building, differentiated service.

"Most companies can maximize their competitive advantage through service by understanding the dynamics of customer satisfaction and by teaching their service reps a reliable way to make sure that each and every customer who calls or visits has a positive experience," said Davis. "As our research shows, great customer service can deliver big results to the bottom line."

About The Forum Corp.

The Forum Corp. is a global leader in creating learning solutions that address important business issues, with proven expertise in leadership development, sales force effectiveness, customer service and the implementation of loyalty-building customer experiences. Its clients include 130 members of the Fortune 1000. Visit Forum at www.forum.com.