How to measure client satisfaction reliably in B2B relationships

Make sure decision makers see the value

Operational contacts may be satisfied with the collaboration even while those who decide on the partnership are unsure of the value it delivers.

If the account owner talks mainly with satisfied operational contacts, this gap can go unnoticed.

Find out what decision makers expect from the partnership and whether, in their view, those expectations are being met. Their assessment may relate more to business results, priorities or value for money than to the details discussed in monthly or project meetings.

Read more NPS without context can be misleading: how to interpret the score in B2B client relationships →

Find out how much effort the collaboration takes day to day

A collaboration can create value for the client, and decision makers can see that value, even when the collaboration creates a lot of extra work on the client side.

In our research interviews, decision makers at large companies said they judged the collaboration as a whole: what it delivered relative to its price and to what it demanded of their own organization. When the collaboration created a lot of extra work, such as directing the partner’s work and coordinating tasks they expected the partner to handle, the value of the partnership came to be seen as negative overall, even though the work itself delivered value. The extra work could fall on the decision makers themselves or on the client’s operational team.

Find out whether operational contacts find communication, planning and day-to-day collaboration clear, and how much of their own work the collaboration requires. Alongside the actual business results, their experience of how smoothly the collaboration runs affects whether the relationship continues.

Compare the client’s and your own team’s views

For the same account, you may hear different assessments from the decision maker, operational contacts and your own client team.

Assessments can differ depending on what each party expected from the collaboration. That is why comparing views often quickly reveals what needs to be clarified together.

Look at each group’s assessment from a different angle:

• Decision maker: whether goals are being met and the value the collaboration delivers
• Operational contact: clarity of plans, communication and how smoothly day-to-day collaboration runs
• Your team: their assessment of how smoothly the collaboration runs and whether it will continue

Review the client’s feedback with your own team, and listen to the team’s view as well. That way, the team understands the client’s expectations, and you see more precisely where improvement is needed.

The account owner’s role is to turn everyone’s views into a shared understanding and a workable way to move the collaboration forward.

Act on the feedback and track the impact

Let those who gave feedback know that it has reached the right people and been taken into account. Once the areas for improvement are clear, make the necessary changes and check their impact in the next feedback round.

Before you next review the relationship, consider three things: who decides on the partnership, who experiences the collaboration in practice, and who in your own team can assess how day-to-day collaboration is working.