[Singapore, 19 March 2013 (Tuesday)] – The Institute of Service Excellence at the Singapore Management University (ISES) (卓越服务研究所) released the 2012 full-year results for the Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG) today, alongside the announcement of results for the Finance & Insurance, and Healthcare sectors for the 4th quarter of the same year.

The annually-computed national satisfaction index rose to 69.9-points (on a 0 to 100 scale), a 0.88-point (+1.3%) increase from 2011. This is the second consecutive year that the index has registered a significant improvement and it represents a record high since the CSISG started tracking Singapore’s customer satisfaction levels in 2007.

This improvement was attributed in part to significant gains in the Finance & Insurance and Healthcare sector, as measured in the 4th quarter of 2012. The Finance & Insurance sector scored 71.7-points, a 3.19-point (+4.7%) increase from 2011. The Healthcare sector, meanwhile, scored 71.3-points; an upswing of 4.80-point (+7.2%).

Ms Caroline Lim (林晓玲), Director (总监) of ISES said, “This year’s CSISG results are very encouraging.”

“The last couple of years have pitted Singapore businesses in a challenging operating climate of escalating costs and labour crunch. So it is heartening to see this year-on-year improvement for companies in Finance & Insurance, as well as Healthcare sectors, stepping up their game to focus more on their customers in their continuing quest for service excellence”, she said.

Within the Finance & Insurance sector, the Banks, Life Insurance, and Motor or Other Personal Insurance sub-sectors drove the sector’s strong performance. These three sub-sectors scored 71.8-points (+2.71-points/+3.9%), 70.6-points (+3.87-points/+5.8%), and 69.8-points (+2.53-points/+3.8%), respectively. The Health & Medical Insurance sub-sector scored 67.8-points (+0.47-points/+0.7%).

Among the measured companies in the Finance & Insurance sector, Great Eastern made notable year-on-year improvements, topping the Life Insurance (72.8-points) and Health & Medical Insurance (70.3-points) sectors. The four measured Qualifying Full Banks (QFB) also improved significantly year-on-year, in contrast to their performance in 2011.

Analysis within the sector indicated that satisfaction gains were driven by increased expectations of quality, perceptions of quality, and perceptions of value.

A noteworthy observation was in the Banks sub-sector. In comparing the satisfaction drivers across each bank, the degree of impact these drivers have on satisfaction differs across the banks. This suggests differences in customer psychographic profiles and implies the need for a customised strategy, unique to each bank’s customer profile, to drive satisfaction and retention.

Assistant Professor of Marketing (Practice) Marcus Lee (李德发), Academic Director (学术总监), ISES observed, “Customers are rarely homogeneous and any attempts to deliver high quality service to all kinds of customers will likely be prohibitively expensive. Companies can do well when they concentrate efforts in targeting and satisfying the customer segments that fit their business models. This strategy will also prompt customer segments that do not fit its targeted segments to migrate away. The net effect can be a more satisfied and loyal customer base.”

As for the Healthcare sector, all five sub-sectors showed improvements from a year earlier. Significant improvements were recorded in Specialised Healthcare sub-sector which improved by 5.54-points (+8.3%) to 72.0-points, Polyclinics (66.6-points, +4.48-points/+7.2%), Restructured Hospitals (70.5-points, +4.40-points/+6.7%), Private Hospitals (72.7-points, +3.77-points/+5.5%), and General Practitioners (70.1-points, +3.03-points/+4.5%).

A key observation was in the Restructured Hospitals and Polyclinics sub-sectors. These two healthcare sub-sectors fared much better in meeting their patients’ expectations. Compared to the previous year, the data showed patients’ perception of quality was similar to or exceeded their expectations.

Another finding from the Polyclinics sub-sector was the impact of touchpoints on patients’ perceived quality. The analysis revealed that touchpoints such as appointment booking, registration processes, and payment procedure contribute significantly to the patients’ perceptions of quality. Within the Restructured Hospitals sub-sector, it is also noteworthy that analysis showed beyond doctors and nurses, the performance of administrative staff also significantly impacts on perceptions of quality and the overall patient experience.

 “These findings corroborate the qualitative comments we have gathered throughout the survey period. Highly-satisfied respondents were giving a variety of reasons for their good ratings, such as doctor empathy, effective management of chronic conditions, short waiting time, and even convenient parking. These comments underscored the importance of total experience design in affecting patients’ perceptions of quality, and ultimately their satisfaction with the healthcare providers,” said Dr Lee.

Ms Caroline Lim added, “Our findings indicated that organisations and companies perform well and are able to turn out highly satisfied customers when they design service offerings that focus on holistic and total customer experience.”

“The positive year-on-year performance among Singapore’s leading organisations has given us great optimism that we can continue on this path towards attaining higher levels of customer satisfaction and service excellence,” she concluded.

The CSISG 2012 Q4 survey was conducted between October and December 2012. Prior to these results, the Info-Communications and Retail sectors were measured in Q1. This was followed by the Public Education, Private Education and Transportation & Logistics sectors in Q2. The Food & Beverage and Tourism sectors were measured in Q3. These Q4 results conclude the measurement for CSISG 2012.

Please refer to Annex A for the background on CSISG and the 2012 Study, and Annex B for the detailed scores of all sub-sectors and companies measured in the national study. 

About the Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG)

The CSISG is an annual benchmark of customer satisfaction, covering nine key economic sectors in Singapore.  The index has a quarterly measure-and-release cycle, covering up to three industry sectors each time.  The CSISG serves as an objective barometer of service competiveness across countries, industry sectors, sub-sectors and companies.  Companies can tap on the detailed CSISG reports and its unique cross-industry comparison capability to make strategic business decisions.

About the Institute of Service Excellence at SMU (ISES)

The Institute of Service Excellence at the Singapore Management University (ISES) is the cornerstone of an initiative to raise Singapore's service standards and promote a culture of service excellence. Working in close collaboration with government agencies and business leaders, ISES champions service excellence through an integrated approach that encompasses benchmarking and analysis, research and thought leadership, and industry engagement.