J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Inaugural Cross-Industry Report Identifies Best Practices in Customer Service Across More Than 20 Industries

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Feb. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- For businesses, understanding and recognizing which industries, aside from one's own, provide the highest levels of service is key to elevating customer service standards, according to a unique J.D. Power cross industry report titled, "Achieving Excellence in Customer Service."

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"To be good in any industry, it makes sense to look at the best practices across industries," said Gary Tucker, senior vice president of global services and emerging industries at J.D. Power and Associates. "Every day, consumers interact with companies from a myriad of industries. Invariably, they compare the quality of these service experiences. Industries and companies should be doing the same if they expect to keep pace in today's increasingly competitive environment."

According to Tucker, companies that have successfully weathered the economic storm are those that have in place a business strategy of service excellence and recognize that delivering high-quality service is a powerful differentiator in the face of changing market conditions. Unprecedented commoditization has occurred in many industries due to increased automation, standardization and globalization, which makes it even more difficult for brands to maintain differentiation based on price alone—and raises the importance of providing superior service.

The report also identifies 40 brands as J.D. Power 2011 Customer Service Champions, based on customer feedback attesting to their service excellence.

Brands named as J.D. Power Customer Service Champions are as follows:

Brands that receive the J.D. Power Customer Service Champions designation are among the top 5 percent of more than 800 evaluated brands, based on their performance in five key areas identified as the J.D. Power 5 Ps: People, Presentation, Price, Product and Process. J.D. Power Customer Service Champions not only excel within their respective industries, but also stand out when evaluated across multiple industries.

"Today's consumers expect companies to do it all and have the right people, the right presentation, the right price, the right product and the right process," said Tucker. "Brands identified as J.D. Power Customer Service Champions are getting all of these things right. Some are even outperforming the best of their peers in meeting heightened customer expectations."

During the past decade, average satisfaction scores for service-oriented industries have remained flat, unlike in product-based industries, for which satisfaction has improved steadily. In addition, across all service industries measured by J.D. Power, gaps in satisfaction between the highest- and lowest-performing brands have increased considerably between 2003 and 2010.

"Elevating service levels is particularly challenging for a variety of reasons," said Tucker. "Customers have a seemingly contradictory expectation for both standardization and customization and expect to receive service that is both consistent and reliable and, at the same time, customized to their specific needs. With the availability of real-time information from the Internet, customers increasingly compare service experiences across brands and industries. As a result, when one company raises the bar for service quality within an industry, it raises the bar for other industries, as well."

Brands that excel in providing customer service often enjoy higher rates of customer retention, pricing advantages and reduced costs to acquire new customers, compared with companies with lower levels of customer service satisfaction.  Among customers of brands designated as J.D. Power Customer Service Champions, 62 percent said they "definitely would" recommend the brand to family and friends, while just 23 percent of customers of other companies included in the report said the same.  Additionally, 58 percent of customers of J.D. Power Customer Service Champions said they "definitely would" repurchase products or services from those brands, compared with just 36 percent of customers of other brands included in the report.  

Many brands that provide exceptional customer service employ certain key practices, including:

• Communicating effectively and proactively with customers
• Empowering their people to solve problems
• Measuring and understanding customer expectations
• Providing their products and services with speed and convenience

The J.D. Power special report, "Achieving Excellence in Customer Service," is based customer feedback, opinions and perceptions of more than 800 companies in more than 20 industries, gathered from U.S. J.D. Power studies conducted between 2000 and 2010.  The Customer Service Champion designation is based on data from studies conducted in 2010.

For an in-depth examination of the changing nature of customer expectations and how the 40 J.D. Power 2011 Customer Service Champions differentiate themselves from their competitors, read "Achieving Excellence in Customer Service," available by clicking here.

Finbarr O'Neill, president of J.D. Power and Associates, will be presenting additional findings from the "Achieving Excellence in Customer Service" report at The Conference Board Customer Experience Leadership Conference, taking place in New York, NY on March 23 and 24. For more information about the conference, click here.

About J.D. Power and Associates

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services company providing forecasting, performance improvement, social media and customer satisfaction insights and solutions.  The company's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. For more information on car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please visit JDPower.com. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global financial information and education company that helps professionals and students succeed in the Knowledge Economy.  Leading brands include Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, Platts energy information services and J.D. Power and Associates.  The Corporation has approximately 21,000 employees with more than 280 offices in 40 countries.  Sales in 2010 were $6.2 billion.  Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.

No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates. www.jdpower.com/corporate

SOURCE J.D. Power and Associates