Description

This second edition of Service & Support for Life Science Products is based on a detailed 33-question survey of more than 1,000 scientists. This report examines the expectations of scientific customers as they relate to the service and technical support from their suppliers. By helping suppliers fully understand these expectations, this report will assist them in building customer loyalty through responsive service and support. At many life science companies, customer service and technical support activities have traditionally lacked the excitement associated with developing innovative technologies and products for scientific research. However, the value of customer service and technical support in this market has increasingly been recognized over the past decade. As competitive forces and technology have merged to create superior customer support capabilities, customer expectations of superior service have been correspondingly raised. A customer's level of satisfaction will be derived from the sum of each and every encounter he or she has with a supplier. When a customer experiences a problem, exemplary service can generate corporate goodwill. However, when a product fails to arrive on time or a replacement cannot be delivered when needed, a scientist's ability to perform his or her experiments is compromised or delayed, and a sense of injustice emerges. Scientists' perceptions of value go beyond a product's technical characteristics and price. In fact, they are highly dependent on the degree to which a supplier supports its products and hence, its customers. By adopting the customer's perspective of the buyer-seller relationship, suppliers are better able to create real value for their customers, which ultimately generates higher levels of satisfaction. Achieving such satisfaction is critical to suppliers because it leads to increased customer loyalty, which drives market share and profitability. In a market where technological differentiation is becoming difficult to achieve, providing quality service and support has become an important way to create value and ensure loyalty. Report Highlights Service & Support for Life Science Products contains over 140 charts and/or tables and more than 20 cross-tabulations for the 33 survey questions. Below is a glimpse of the key findings derived from just a few of the survey questions: • When ordering a product from a supplier, over 50% of the scientists surveyed prefer to order directly from the supplier's Website. (Question 3) • Cited by 46% of respondents, the most frequent problem that requires scientists to contact Customer Service is when a product does not arrive when promised. (Question 6) • 73% of the scientists surveyed prefer to contact Customer Service for assistance by calling a live operator. (Question 8) • Sigma-Aldrich and Invitrogen were most frequently cited as the suppliers that provide the highest level of assistance related to the ordering, delivery and billing of products. (Question 18) • When evaluating the technical support sections of supplier Websites, respondents feel that the most important features are detailed protocols and manuals, and troubleshooting guides. (Question 27) • Approximately one-quarter of the respondents would place a 10% premium on a product if the supplier could guarantee superior service. (Question 32) (electronic copy also includes 1 print copy)

Table of Contents

Section 1 Analysis and Interpretation of Survey Results 1-1 Introduction 1-5 Customer Service 1-14 Technical Support 1-23 Conclusion Section 2 Study Methodology and Demographics 2-1 Objectives 2-1 Comments 2-3 Understanding Quadrant Analysis 2-3 Derived Importance 2-3 Plotting Attributes on a Quadrant Map 2-4 Assumptions 2-5 Definition of Terms 2-6 Demographics 2-7 Questionnaire Section 3 Presentation of Survey Data Customer Service 3-1 Percentage of time spent on different reasons to contact Customer Service 3-2 Methods of ordering frequently used products 3-3 Preferred way to order a product directly from a supplier 3-4 Location where orders are typically delivered 3-5 Action taken when there is a problem with an order 3-6 Problem that requires customer service to be contacted most often 3-7 Percentage of orders per year that require customer service to be contacted 3-8 Preferred way to contact customer service 3-9 Maximum amount of time willing to remain on hold 3-10 Most agreeable option when being put on hold 3-11 Alternative action most likely to be taken when a caller is not able to stay on hold 3-12 Expected reply time 3-13 Most important features in the customer service section of Websites 3-15 Overall satisfaction with the customer service section of Websites 3-16 Preferred method of compensation for the receipt of a damaged product 3-17 Satisfaction with specific qualities of customer service departments 3-19 Overall satisfaction with customer service departments 3-20 Supplier that provides the highest level of assistance Technical Support 3-22 Source of assistance turned to when a technical problem is encountered 3-23 Type of product that most often requires technical support to be contacted 3-24 Type of problem that most often requires technical support to be contacted 3-25 Preferred way to receive additional written instructions or advice on the use of a product 3-26 Percentage of calls to technical support that are "urgent" 3-27 Importance of receiving written instructions or speaking with someone in native language 3-29 Frequency of finding sales representatives to be a good source of technical support and advice 3-30 Usefulness of having a dedicated, single point-of-contact who is responsible for coordinating ALL requests 3-31 Most important technical support Website features 3-33 Overall satisfaction with the technical support section of Websites 3-34 Satisfaction with specific qualities of technical support departments 3-36 Overall satisfaction with technical support departments 3-37 Supplier that provides the highest level of advice and assistance related to the use and performance of their products 3-39 Perceived value of guaranteed, 24-hour access to a highly-skilled representative Demographics 3-40 Market Segment 3-41 Job Position 3-43 Geographic Region 3-44 Area(s) of Research Profiles of Top Suppliers of Customer Service 3-48 Sigma-Aldrich 3-51 Invitrogen 3-54 Qiagen 3-57 BD Biosciences 3-60 Promega Profiles of Top Suppliers of Technical Support 3-64 Sigma-Aldrich 3-67 Invitrogen 3-70 Qiagen 3-73 Bio-Rad 3-76 Applied Biosystems Section 4 Appendices 4-1 Insights & Perspectives 4-9 Cross-Tabulations of Survey Data 4-31 Other Publications 4-33 About BioInformatics 4-34 Our Valued Clients

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