ForeSee Announces Expanded UK Website Satisfaction Benchmarks

LONDON, March 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

- Retail and Travel Websites Outperform Product Sites

ForeSee, the global leader customer experience analytics, today announced two new benchmark calculations for travel and product/manufacturer websites. With an online retail benchmark already well established in the UK, ForeSee now has a total of three specific benchmarks that  measure customer satisfaction amongst its UK customers in those categories.  Representing nearly 20,000 customer surveys conducted in February, the UK benchmark includes companies like Adidas UK, Debenhams, Dixon's, Kellogg's UK, and Thomson Travel among many others.

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ForeSee's technology-driven methodology is able to calculate reliable and sensitive satisfaction scores for each company in a category. The scores are averaged so that clients can compare their customer satisfaction scores against a meaningful standard that represents their peers, while the confidentiality of the individual websites' scores is protected.

The results reveal:

• The average satisfaction score for UK retail websites is 67 on ForeSee's 100-point scale.
• Average satisfaction for UK travel websites is also 67.
• Average satisfaction for UK product-oriented websites is 61, substantially lower than the other two categories, but that average score reflects a wide range of products and companies, and many individual product websites perform very well.

ForeSee has more than 100 benchmark categories that represent more than 1000 surveys around the world, organised by channel, industry, country, and functional category.   These benchmarks are important because of the proven predictive nature of ForeSee satisfaction scores; when satisfaction scores increase, there are quantifiable increases in site visitors' likelihood to purchase, return to a website, and recommend it.

• Based on likelihood scores, a highly-satisfied visitor to a UK e-retail website reports being 62% more likely to return to the site, 100% more likely to recommend it to others, 107% more likely to purchase from the retailer online, and 58% more likely to purchase offline.
• A highly-satisfied visitor to a UK travel website reports being 57% more likely to return to the website, 100% more likely to recommend it, and 65% more likely to book a trip or ticket with the company in the future.
• A highly-satisfied visitor to a product website in the UK reports being 67% more likely to return to the website, 105% more likely to recommend it, and 52% more likely to purchase the company's products.

"Satisfaction really matters, and it's critical that companies in all industries know what specific actions they can take to improve it," said Mansoor Malik, ForeSee managing director, UK. "What other business action can you take to more than double your likelihood to recommend? The outcomes of satisfaction are proven and staggering."

"The UK retail benchmark gives us critical information about how well we are doing in comparison to our closest competitors," said Richard Thirsk, head of marketing at DFS. "The benchmark shows us how we compare to other UK companies in terms of satisfaction, but also in terms of how likely our customers are to purchase, return, and recommend us. Then our individual reports and analysis give us specific and actionable information on how to make improvements."

ForeSee has been working in the UK since 2008 and opened its first UK office in London in 2010. The company use a proven, scientific methodology developed at the University of Michigan to determine how improvements to specific aspects of the online experience, such as navigation and site performance, will positively affect overall satisfaction, likelihood to do business with the organisation, and loyalty.  Inside knowledge into customers' and site browsers' likely future behaviours empowers organisations to prioritise enhancements and allocate resources efficiently.

About ForeSee

As a pioneer in customer experience analytics, ForeSee continuously measures satisfaction across customer touch points and delivers critical insights on where to prioritise improvements for maximum impact. Because ForeSee's superior technology and proven methodology connect the customer experience to the bottom line, executives and managers are able to drive future success by confidently optimising the efforts that will achieve business and brand objectives. The result is better business for companies and a better experience for consumers. Visit http://www.foresee.com for customer experience solutions and original research.

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Nikki.alvey@theprnetwork.co.uk