Wavin

Using customer research followed by consistent action in selected focus areas, Wavin wanted to increase and meet customer expectations.

To increase levels of customer satisfaction, Wavin has once again started in-depth customer satisfaction research to reveal areas where the company needs to work with improvements. The new survey covers plumbing wholesalers, timber merchants, developers, plumbers and municipalities in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland and looks at satisfaction with a number of factors such as product development, quality and delivery.

Roadshow
This research is a follow up of a similar survey carried out in 2004 by Analysegruppen. This meant that the majority of questions could be repeated to be able to see the development. Wavin has also decided to continue working with Analysegruppen on this survey.

“Our philosophy is that we work best with permanent partners, as valuable knowledge can be lost if suppliers are changed too often. We had received good guidance on the questions to ask. And it is nice to be able to get some sparring from people who know us,” explains marketing coordinator Rune Boa Nielsen, who has worked as internal project manager on the survey.

Analysegruppen carried out a total of 1,800 telephone interviews and the results were put together in comparable reports for each country. Rune Boa Nielsen and project manager Birgit Bach-Valeur from Analysegruppen have since been on a roadshow in the four Nordic countries and presented the results internally to the entire organisation.

The customer research creates credibility, not just internally but also externally, as it sends a clear signal that we are taking our customers seriously, believes marketing director Bo Vestergaard. It also creates some expectations from our customers that we will improve on the points where they were not fully satisfied.

Specifc action

Wavin has formulated specific action plans to ensure that the research is followed up in practice. Based on the survey, each country has chosen three to four focus areas to work with. The directors in each country have taken responsibility for making sure improvements take place. One of the common pitfalls of any research work is that as soon as the results have been presented, the project stops. Wavin was determined that their research project would not end as a forgotten dusty report.

 “It is important to identify focus areas. And it is just as important to create focus areas,” says Bo Vestergaard who will be checking a few times each year that the respective countries are working with the research results.