NLS Customer Forum

Summary of the 2nd NLS Customer Forum

The second NLS Customer Forum was held on the 21 April 2010 at the SustainabilityLive! exhibition at Birmingham's NEC.

Customers received a short presentation from John Savage of 4sight Business Development, the consultancy who run the NLS customer survey. A summary of his presentation is included below:

NLS Customer Commitment

• - 3 years ago in March 2008 NLS decided to implement it's first customer survey
• - At that stage the NLS was just beginning to focus on the commercial market
• - Learning as they went about the different requirements of commercial organisations
• - Their ongoing commitment is to customer led business improvement through an openess to receive and act upon direct customer feedback

Previous customer survey results have identified some key areas for improvement in NLS performance

• 2008
• - No single strong perception of the NLS across the market
• -Overall 56% of respondents scored NLS as above average on Service
• 2009
• - Still opportunities for improving customer satisfaction levels across the range of measures
• - 60% of respondents scored NLS strong or very strong on Overall Service
• - 70% or more strongly agree or agree that NLS is a "Credible Partner" and a "Trusted Brand"

What has changed at the NLS during 2009

• Continued focus on customer service delivery
• - Investment in Account Management model
• - Transparency : Laboratory performance published on the website
• - New website with user tools that compliment Account Manager relationship, online product & capability search
• NLS trying to Solve more of their customer's environmental monitoring and analysis problems
• - Forming alliances to offer monitoring solutions not just analysis
• - Introducing new technologies
• - Method developments to address Water Framework Directive, etc

What you told us this year

• Despite the difficult climate we have all been working in:
• - You have given us our best ever results
• - Almost 80% of respondents scored NLS strong or very strong on overall service

Perceptions of NLS

• - Over 90% of respondents strongly agree or agree that NLS is a trusted brand
• - Almost 90% strongly agree or agree that the NLS are good to do business with
• - Almost 90% of respondents strongly agree or agree that NLS is responsive

We are clearly moving in the right direction!

• But . . .
• - There is still more to do
• - Some customers still not happy
• - 40% not using the website
• - Lots of feedback on new products and services to review

All NLS customers are welcome to join the Forum and to do so should contact Ian Rippin by email at ian.rippin@natlabs.co.uk.