A food service company wished to revamp its customer satisfaction program to yield more actionable information that could have an impact on its business.

Research Objective:

CMI was tasked with designing a new satisfaction program that encompassed customers (end users) and clients (buyers).

Methodology:

Using qualitative methods, CMI gathered information to refresh the customer attributes and language used in the customer and client satisfaction components of the program. A new quantitative tracking effort was launched to track satisfaction for each of the division's 1,300 units as well as client satisfaction. Customer and client satisfaction were linked to market share, retention, and financial performance. Key drivers of ROI were identified.

The Result:

Internal metrics were developed that are currently used as leading indicators of unit performance. Other important learnings from the research include:

That it pays to "touch" clients,
That better food drives revenues, and
That it is necessary to regularly reinvent food formats and offerings.

Ultimately, these learnings led the business to evolve from an institutional food to a retail food service business.