Satisfaction Index (ACSI)

Description

Fornell introduced the national customer satisfaction barometer in Sweden, and Fornell et al. presented the American Customer Satisfaction Index as a structural model linking expectations, perceived quality, and perceived value to satisfaction and on to complaints and loyalty, measured across sectors of the economy.

Managerial Implications

Customer satisfaction can be measured consistently across firms and industries and links to loyalty, price tolerance, and profitability. Benchmark your satisfaction against competitors and against your own history, not just internal targets. Satisfaction depends on perceived quality, perceived value, and expectations, so diagnose which driver is weak. Satisfied customers are an economic asset whose value appears in retention and in pricing power.

Anchor Works

• Fornell, Claes (1992), “A National Customer Satisfaction Barometer: The Swedish Experience”, Journal of Marketing, 56 (1), 6–21.

• Fornell, Claes, Michael D. Johnson, Eugene W. Anderson, Jaesung Cha, and Barbara Everitt Bryant (1996), “The American Customer Satisfaction Index: Nature, Purpose, and Findings”, Journal of Marketing, 60 (4), 7–18.