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The quality
of Dräger Safety customer relations
Let us start with the most important word
in the world: thank you.
Nobody at Dräger Safety would have
guessed that so many of the company's efforts
to satisfy its customers would receive
such a resounding and global endorsement
– the assessments given in the second customer
satisfaction survey proved to be even
better than in the first. It was not only improvements
which were recorded: in many
cases standards of excellence have already
been achieved. The Dräger Safety standard
is good, stable and global.
Right up-to-date: why we seek dialogue
with our customers
“When I order something, I expect to receive
exactly what I need, because we use
equipment for life support. The material
must meet all the required standards.”
(excerpt from an interview with a customer)
Time and time again, companies have to
adapt their processes and workflow to meet
changing requirements, which is why we
regard the improvement of our products as
our duty and our tradition. Only a customerfocused
communications policy can signal
to the customer that we mean business,
and will benefit both sides. Innovations are
needed not only in technology, but also
with regard to services which are relevant
and appropriate to the products, and frank and honest advice with problems. The
benefits to be gained from certain investments
in occupational safety or rescue
equipment – however obvious they may
sometimes seem – nonetheless require
explanation. The effects and complexities
of cutting edge technology need to be
talked about and discussed. One of the
most important reasons why we survey our
customers is to learn from them how to
apply our expertise in the best possible
way to add value for them.
Organizing the survey and ensuring the
quality of random samples
In 2001, Dräger Safety designed its first
global customer satisfaction survey*. As well
as noting the results and working out improvement
activities on this basis, standards
for appropriate business indicators were
defined to allow repeat surveys which would
be able to identify changes. Two years later
a second survey was conducted to find out
how satisfied Dräger customers were with
products, contact, advice, quality and all the
various elements of customer orientation.
Once again, more than 2,000 responses
from customers worldwide were analysed.
Dräger Safety's current approach to customer
satisfaction research is not based
on repeatedly contacting exactly the same
people at regular intervals. A comparison
of the random samples has made it clear,
however, that the results from the different
regions, industries, customer groups
and functions can be placed side by side
and the changes that are taking place
evaluated (Fig. 1).
The most recent survey is particularly
significant in that this time, as in addition
to the well-known written and telephone
questioning undertaken by Dräger's various regional organizations, detailed interviews
with a number of randomly selected
Dräger's major customers and competitors'
customers were conducted by external
marketing research institutes, too. These
interviews were intended among other
things to establish tough benchmarks with
regard to specific aspects. Finally, Dräger
employees were even asked to give their
opinion of what customers think of them.
This article will shine on just some of the
results of this comprehensive survey, and
comment on their significance.
Fairness is the true benefit to customers
Reading between the lines of some of the
responses, it is clear that aspects such as
durability and sustainability, both of visible
and hidden properties, in products that the
user enjoys using, coupled with a high level
of competence on the part of Dräger employees,
who the customer finds approachable
and knowledgeable, are the sort of
things which are most important to customers
– behind all the factual comments it is
these issues which are touched upon, or
appear briefly like a shooting star in expressions
of praise:
“Dräger service is the best, and the sales
man is very good at what he does. Over the
years we have worked together, a strong
basis of trust has evolved.”
(excerpt from an interview with a customer)
Customer satisfaction as regards contact
with the company is equally positive. Worldwide,
the results for contact management
have improved, and this is thanks once
again to the people behind the technology.
While developed markets and organizations
in industrialized countries had already
occupied and defended leading positions,
the more exotic rest of the world has
now made great steps with regards to its
Dräger Safety standards (Fig. 2). There is
no doubt that Dräger sales engineers and
technicians are the heart of our company,
and the quality of telephone calls increased
still further worldwide. |
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Right from the outset, quality is a fundamental
element in all the statements Dräger
Safety makes as a company. Surveying
customers of Dräger's competitors has also
revealed that a relatively higher price can
be justified in the market if the service or
product on offer and delivered is of supposed
quality – especially if the service or
product may well not be used at all, or only
in rare emergency or risk situations. Understandably,
many people initially regard the
purchase price as a controversial issue.
Considering this, it is particularly interesting
to note that Dräger Safety's priceperformance-
ratio has now become much
more firmly established and is given a better
rating (Fig. 3). In other words, added
value is recognized, and customers appear
interested in pursuing a long-term relationship
with their suppliers. In terms of satisfaction,
15 specific customer-orientation
criteria showed an average overall improvement
of 10%.
Let us now take a look at the major product
groups. Over the years, there has been a
clear and continuous upwards trend as regards
quality. Portable gas detection instruments
in particular have not had an easy
time, though ultimately their battle for
product quality has been successful, and
they have now re-established themselves
(Fig. 5). Supply and logistics problems
were solved, e.g. by pursuing global activities
and coordination in the customers' interests.
At the end of the day, the average
quality of customer support as an individual
global value (82 %), subject as it is to numerous
influences, lags somewhat behind
the average product quality (85 %) – despite
the fact that there are some positive
exceptions, such as light respiratory protection,
which thanks to a revised product
range and improved sales support has now
crossed the 80 % mark, too.
Imagine the universal desire
for reliability
In every aspect of Dräger Safety's relations
with its customers and other interested parties,
there is only one criterion which can
be used to summarize and describe everything
sufficiently: reliability. In terms of the
criteria for competence and professional
and individual advice, the company's staff
were given an even better rating at the very
highest level (Fig. 4). Such image assets
contribute, regardless of the product in
question, to the public's overall level of
awareness of the company in the markets.
Although respiratory protection continues to
maintain a leading position in this context,
there is now hardly any difference between
the various product groups. Incidentally,
more specialized and localized Dräger
Safety product offerings such as Dräger
Analytical Services, Alcohol Measurement
Systems and Seminars/Training also scored
better, with their satisfaction ratings at a
similarly high level.
Dialogue means knowing you will be
remembered
“Dräger employees can be approached
at any time, are absolutely fair and offer
assistance at short notice.”
(excerpt from an interview with a customer)
Generations of safety engineers, senior fire
officers and equipment service technicians
have been supported and helped in their
work. The familiarity of the Dräger name,
and the awareness and recognition of the
company's corporate colours, logo and
brand is the result of lively dialogues at all
levels. Some public safety standards were
developed by Dräger jointly with users. It is
hardly surprising, therefore, that the leading
supplier with the well-known name will be
much better positioned than the average
competitor (Fig. 7). Other results show
clearly that the market's expectations with
regard to all manufacturers have become
more demanding. A partnership which has
grown as a relationship between two people
generates mutual respect and paves the
way for fair and friendly terms with one
another. Nonetheless, the study also shows
how much companies need to open themselves
up to the new media (Fig. 9). Web
sites can probably never be described as
finished, making this an ongoing task. Improvements
to web sites are of course welcome,
but will not mislead us to take a rest.
Competence, if experienced, will be
recommended to others
Our staff are keen to give all their customers
the right advice so that they get
the products which are best suited to meet
their individual needs. This clearly reflects
reality – our client base has grown somewhat,
i.e. those customers who say that
they will purchase from us again. At the
same time, the number of respondents who
said they would recommend us to others as
a competent supplier rose slightly more, by
a worldwide average of 6 % (Fig. 6). This
result also reflects the general trends, and
underlines the confidence customers have
in Dräger – they assume that their individual
experience of a particular product or
member of staff will fit in with products they
are not familiar with, or to staff they do not
know, and indeed to the brand as a whole. And if they feel happy with Dräger, they will
recommend the company to others.
Products and services in the future
All efforts undertaken in the next few years
at Dräger Safety should be devoted to providing informative and useful advice. There
has been very little change as regards the
customers' interests and wishes for the
company (Fig. 8). Selected teams of staff
are working in project groups on safety
issues relevant to the future. Hundreds of
frank and honest opinions from customers
will help us a lot more than silent criticism.
These are the suggestions and proposals
which we want to turn into system solutions,
complete packages and additional
services, wherever this is possible and appropriate.
We believe that all topics deserve
attention – after all, any of them could signal
the start of a new innovation story. Our
aim is to be present and easy to find whenever
a reliable and competent partner is
wanted in the area of occupational safety
and health or fire and disaster prevention.
Some of the responses we received in our
first survey prompted us to look more closely
at and optimize information challenges. Here too, most activities were geared towards
a more customer-oriented and better
qualified personnel performance – many
were successful.
Mastering little irritations
“The fact that complaints handling is rated
better can only be due to the fact that
processes have improved or are known as
better.” (Klaus König, customer satisfaction
researcher from the Consatis Institute)
It is a fact that we have achieved on average
a nearly 10 % higher satisfaction level
for Central Europe in cases where customers
remembered the reactions and
assistance they experienced with problems
and complaints in the past 12 months, regardless
of the scale of the incident. This
result confirms two other important organizational
aspects: that the appropriate points of contact are easier to reach, and
that individual problem solutions have
improved, for example as expressed in
schedule and delivery management (Fig. 3).
In recent years, various gaps in these sensitive
process chains were plugged. Many
points can be sorted out directly and on the
local level by positive approach. As a result,
both staff and equipment are able to function
more autonomously, less bureaucratically
and more quickly.
A label symbolizes a good company
“No matter what equipment we need to
buy, we always check first what Dräger has
to offer.”
(excerpt from an interview with a customer)
It goes without saying that there is still
room for improvement in certain areas, but
our corporate culture has definitely started to take shape. We are on the right track.
Dräger Safety employees are really living
specimen of those ideals which tend in
other places to be simply chatted around in
the language of advertising. Such evidence
of our capability to maintain our competitive
position, even given the pressures of globalization
and costs, reinforces our motivation
to continue to work sustainable on behalf
of our existing customers and find new
ones. It is unacceptable if a level of support
appropriate to each individual customer
cannot be achieved and assumed. Such a
geography of friendship is agreeable on
erveryone's eye and should always remain
a faithful reflection of reality. We believe
that we will be remembered positively by
everyone so long as we always treat people
fairly. We want to be able also to understand
our customers tomorrow, whatever
their situation. That is the reason.
Geographer
Reinhard Honerlage
Dräger Safety AG & Co. KGaA |
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Dräger Safety AG & Co. KGaA |
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Revalstrasse 1 |
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23560 Luebeck, Germany |
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Tel +49 451 882 0
Fax +49 451 882 2080
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