Berman and Evans reference the American Customer Satisfaction Index in Table 20-3 of the textbook. Go to the ACSI website at www.theacsi.org and explore the website for a few minutes.
Next, go to the National, Industry, and Sector Results page at http://www.theacsi.org/national-economic-indicator/national-sector-and-industry-results.
Examine the customer satisfaction results and answer the following questions:
- Which sectors related to retail display the lowest ratings? From a retail strategy perspective, why do you think this is the case?
- From a retail strategy perspective, why do you think the sectors in the e-commerce industry earned the rankings that are reflected?
Now, navigate to the page that shows benchmarks by company: http://www.theacsi.org/customer-satisfaction-benchmarks/benchmarks-by-company. Find a favorite retailer of yours on the list and examine the company’s rankings compared to its competitors. How can this benchmark information help inform a retailer’s strategy? If you were the CEO of the company you chose, what would you do to either improve or reinforce your company’s position on the benchmarking chart?