Utilizing Web Technology for Customer Satisfaction Ratings By Karen Watson, Director Account Planning Feedback from all customers is vital! The best way to identify areas that need improvement, as well as recognize staff and services that are currently meeting or exceeding client expectations, is to be sure to ask the right questions, listen to the responses and then act on what we learn. In the past, Conferon, like many other companies, did our client surveys via ‘snail’ mail on an annual basis. And like other organizations, we then waited for the surveys to be completed, mailed back and the responses tabulated slowly into an excel worksheet. While the feedback we received was excellent and provided us valuable insight into our service and product delivery—it wasn’t as timely as we need in today’s fast-paced environment. As a result, Conferon recently researched a number of software solutions for electronic surveys and evaluations and found an excellent solution, Insight Express. Within the next month, clients whose meetings occurred in the first few months of 2001 will be receiving an e-mail invitation. The invitation will request that our customers complete the survey and will conveniently contain an URL address linking directly to the Conferon survey. Thereafter, surveys will be sent out on a monthly or quarterly basis. Results will be available to Conferon management instantly and we will be able to respond faster and more effectively than ever. We plan to use a variety of electronic surveys including client meeting satisfaction surveys, hotel partner surveys and for Conferon’s own annual meeting evaluations as well.