Journal of Undergraduate Social Science and Technology Vol. 2 No.

2(2020)

Why Customer First?

Nurnajihah Rosli & Syafiqah Md Nayan
Universiti Kuala Lumpur
nurnajihah.rosli@s.unikl.edu.my1

Abstract: Customer satisfaction is defined as a measurement that determines how happy or not
customers are with a company's products, services, and capabilities. It indicates the achievement
of the business organization in fulfil customers’ needs, wants and demands. We can derive the
information of it through surveys, reviews and ratings. It is really useful to help a company to
improve or change their products and services that satisfy customers. The customer satisfaction is
important to the business organization because it is the leading indicators of consumer repurchase
intentions and loyalty. It also keeps the company brand ahead of the competitors. Other than that,
the customer satisfaction can help to growth the business because people tend to pay more for a
better customer experience. Customer satisfaction also can reduce negative word of mouth and
promotes customer retention. In a nutshell, satisfied customer is a sign of successful business
running. The company must prioritize the customer satisfaction to gain profit and good reputation.

Keywords: Customer satisfaction, Marketing, customer loyalty

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Customer Satisfaction
According to (Kotler, 2017), the “customers are the most important actors in the company’s
microenvironment. The aim of the entire value delivery system is to serve target customers and
create strong relationship with them.” This shows that a business organization survival depending
on customers (Aminuddin, Don, & Shamsudin, 2020). They are people who buy an organization’s
products or services. That is the reason why the business organization must make sure the
customers satisfy with products or services (Ahmad, Ismail, Shamsudin, & Kadir, 2016). It is
leading indicators of customer repurchase intentions and loyalty. Customer satisfaction can be
observe by asking them to rate their satisfaction on a scale 1 to 10 to see if they will become a
repeat customers or recommend to others (Ali, Affendy, & Shamsudin, 2016). If the ratings above
7, it can be considered the customers satisfied with the products or services and the company can
expect the customer to return back and make a repeat purchase. The customer that gives a rate of
9 and 10 is the potential customer that will keep support the business. While, if the score is 6 and
below, it is the warning sign of customers’ unhappiness and at the risk of leaving. This group must
be following up to determine why their satisfaction is low to avoid losing customers and can make
an improvement (Hassan & Shamsudin, 2019; M. F. Shamsudin, Nurana, Aesya, & Nabi, 2018;
M. F. Shamsudin, Shabi, & Salem, 2018). This method really helps in measure the number of
customer repurchase and loyalty (M. F. Shamsudin, Razak, & Salem, 2018; M. Shamsudin et al.,
2015; Mohd Farid Shamsudin & Razali, 2015).
Next, customer satisfaction can keep the business brand ahead of the competitors by ensure
the customer delight with the products or services. If the company manages to provide the
satisfaction to customer, it is an advantage over the competitors who offer the same range of

1
Corresponding author: nurnajihah.rosli@s.unikl.edu.my
products but can’t satisfy customers (Muhammad, Farid Shamsudin, & Hadi, 2016; Razak &
Shamsudin, 2019; M. F. M. F. Shamsudin, Esa, & Ali, 2019). According to Armstrong and Kotler
(2020), “satisfied customers buy again while dissatisfied customers switch to competitors.” In a
business, the organization must be aware of its competitors, their strengths and weaknesses to
always a step forward. One of the ways is by fulfilling the customers’ satisfaction.
Customer satisfaction is important to the business organization because it help the growth
of the business (Kadir & Shamsudin, 2019; Salem, Shawtari, Shamsudin, & Hussain, 2016; Mohd
Farid Shamsudin, Ali, Wahid, & Nadzri, 2019). Customers help to generate profit by buying
products or services. It is true that customers can make the business success but it also can break
the company. This is because the entire business, marketing, sales and profits depend on your
customers. The business organization needs to keep and grow current customers by delivering
satisfaction and attract new customers by promising superior value to generate more profit and
growing the business.
As stated by Armstrong and Kotler (2020), “customer satisfaction is extent to which a
product’s perceived performance matches a buyer’s expectations.” So the business organizations
need to make sure that they reach the buyer’s expectation to avoid negative word of mouth (Gerdt,
Wagner, & Schewe, 2019; Zhang, Zhang, & Zhang, 2019). Usually, customers tend to share
negative feedback than positive reviews and recommendations. However, due to this fact people
choose to believe other customers more than company representatives and advertisement
(Borishade et al., 2018; Davras & Caber, 2019; Rita, Oliveira, & Farisa, 2019). Satisfy the
customer needs, wants and demands are really important because it can reduce negative word of
mouth. If the customer unsatisfied with the products and services provided it is like losing 20
persons of existing and new customers because of their bad experience spreading through word of
mouth (Salem et al., 2016; M. F. Shamsudin, Nurana, et al., 2018; M. F. Shamsudin, Razak, et al.,
2018). This matter will negatively impact the business.
Lastly, customer satisfaction can promote customer retention (Bapat, 2020; Fransen,
Rompay, & Muntinga, 2013; Shahzad, Bilal, Xiao, & Yousaf, 2019). The more satisfied the
customers are, the greater possibility their retention. The longer customers satisfied with the
company, the more often they will return to you in the future, and prefer buying your goods and
services compare to the competitors’ products. Actually, the customer retention is also a step
towards maintaining loyalty. According to Armstrong and Kotler (2020), “keeping customers loyal
makes good economic sense.” It really helps in financial growth of the business organization.
To conclude, customer satisfaction plays an important role in business organization
because the business needs to survive by maintaining their market share and market growth. In
order to sustain, a business needs customers (Merrilees, 2016; van der Westhuizen, 2018; Xie,
Poon, & Zhang, 2017). So the business organization must make sure that they meet the customers’
expectation that will satisfy them. Agree or Not?

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