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March 18, 2010

Insurance Technology - Well-known Airlines, Retailers, Tech Lead Satmetrix's 2010 Net Promoter Benchmarks

By Brendan B. Read , Senior Contributing Editor

Chances are excellent that many of the popular firms in the airline, communications, financial services, insurance, online services, retail, telecommunications and tech sectors became that way because customers have had strong positive experiences with these companies.

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Findings from the 2010 Net Promoter Industry Benchmarks by Satmetrix, the Net Promoter company covering these sectors reveal that the leaders included well-known brands such as JetBlue, Charles Schwab, USAA, Amazon.com (News - Alert), Trader Joe’s, Costco, Apple and Verizon Wireless.

The rankings are based on survey responses from more than 19,500 U.S. consumers nationwide who had purchased products or services from each company within the previous 12 months. A company’s Net Promoter Score, or “NPS,” is based on customers’ likelihood to recommend the company’s product or service. NPS is calculated as the percentage of customers who are Promoters, rating the company 9 or 10 on a zero-to-ten point scale, minus the percentage who are Detractors, rating 6 or lower. Consumers also rated each company on various aspects of customer experience including product or service features, customer service and overall value, allowing Satmetrix to analyze drivers of loyalty and performance gaps for each company.

The study encompassed 17 specific competitive sectors across seven industries. Highlights for each industry include:

Airlines: JetBlue and Southwest were clear frontrunners in the airline industry, scoring more than 40 points above the industry average. JetBlue Promoters referenced the in-flight experience, extra legroom, quality snacks and television, while Southwest Promoters praised the airline for its friendly service and for not charging baggage fees. U.S. Airways trailed the segment at negative 16 percent

Financial Services: Brokerage and investment institutions saw a significant increase in NPS over the previous year, signaling a recovery in customer trust since the 2008 market crisis. Overall, the sector achieved an average NPS of 29 percent, up more than 20 points since last year. Charles Schwab held its ground as the sector leader with an NPS of 46 percent.

Although the credit card sector fared poorly overall said the study American Express (News - Alert) and Discover maintained their strong performance year on year, outperforming sector laggard Bank of America by more than 36 points. USAA, a non-traditional player in the banking sector, stood out as the leader with an NPS of 81 percent, placing it 40 points ahead of runner-up BB&T. Citigroup was the only bank profiled with more Detractors than Promoters, earning an NPS of negative nine percent

Insurance: A significant contrast appeared between property and casualty insurers and companies offering life and health insurance. Scores in life and health were lower, particularly in the health insurance sector. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois was the only health insurance company profiled with a positive NPS, scoring five percent in a sector with an average of negative 13 percent. CIGNA ranked last among major health insurers with an NPS of negative 28 percent.

Meanwhile State Farm led the life insurance category with an NPS of 34 percent, more than 22 points higher than runner up New York Life, while USAA dominated the auto insurance sector at 78 percent, more than 37 points ahead of runner-up GEICO. Also, in homeowners insurance, USAA scored 69 percent, well above Travelers, which came up last at three percent

Online Services: Amazon.com and eBay (News - Alert) led the online shopping sector with NPS of 71 percent and 65 percent, respectively, followed by Barnes & Noble’s bn.com at 59 percent. In the online search and information category, Facebook scored 65 percent, moving into a leading position alongside Google at 63 percent

Retail: The grocery/supermarket retail sector achieved the second highest average NPS of all industries examined in the reports, with Trader Joe’s and Wegmans leading the way at 69 percent and 67 percent respectively. Big box membership clubs Costco (66 percent) and Sam’s Club (61 percent) led the department/wholesale/specialty sector, followed by Target and Lowe’s

Technology: Apple, with an NPS of 78 percent, continues to be the top performer in the computer hardware sector. In the consumer software sector, Adobe Systems (News - Alert) (37 percent), Intuit (36 percent), and Symantec (36 percent) were the frontrunners, with security software provider Symantec recording the most significant increase between 2007 and 2009

Telecommunications: Verizon Wireless led the cellular phone service sector again this year with a score of 41 percent, while AT&T (News - Alert) dropped to the bottom of the sector with a score of nine percent, in a statistical dead heat with last year’s laggard, Sprint (10 percent). Time Warner Cable’s Road Runner High Speed Online led the Internet service provider category with a score of 21 percent in an industry whose average NPS was a mere four percent. DIRECTV led in the satellite and cable TV category with an NPS of 27 percent

“A company’s ability to deliver a superior customer experience relative to its industry peers is a critical indicator of customer retention and new customer acquisition through positive word of mouth,” said John Abraham, general manager of Net Promoter programs at Satmetrix. “These benchmarks allow companies to see how consumers rate them relative to their competitors when it comes to customer loyalty.”

“We continue to see the impact that the customer experience has on loyalty and business growth,” added Deborah Eastman, CMO at Satmetrix. “Best-in-class companies are those that put in the processes to continuously listen to, learn from, and take immediate action on what their customers tell them about their performance.”

Brendan B. Read is TMCnet’s Senior Contributing Editor. To read more of Brendan’s articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Kelly McGuire

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