[2023 NCSI] Hospitals, Digital Transformation Continues with Highest Customer Satisfaction and Retention Rates

2023 NCSI 78.2 Points... 0.2 Points ↓ Compared to Last Year
Customer Satisfaction Slightly Declines Due to High Inflation and Interest Rates
Mid-Lower Tier Companies Need to Strengthen Customer-Centric Management

Last year, customer satisfaction with companies and public institutions slightly declined compared to the previous year due to high inflation and high interest rates. Despite the proactive customer-centric management of domestic companies, it is analyzed that the difficult domestic and international economic conditions and the increasing proportion of customers seeking rational consumption influenced this outcome.

The Korea Productivity Center announced on the 3rd that the National Customer Satisfaction Index (NCSI) for 334 companies, universities, and public institutions across 82 domestic industries scored 78.2 points, down 0.2 points from 78.4 points in 2022. Except for the period around the 2008 financial crisis, the NCSI has shown a continuous upward trend since 2010, but this time it slightly declined. This survey was co-hosted by the Korea Productivity Center and the University of Michigan in the U.S., with support from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Among the 334 surveyed entities, the highest score was recorded by Severance Hospital in the hospital sector, with 85 points. Severance Hospital also ranked first the previous year. Among the 'Top 9' with customer satisfaction scores above 82 points, six hospitals, including Severance Hospital, were listed out of a total of 13 surveyed hospitals. Daegu Metropolitan Transit Corporation in urban rail, Lotte Duty Free in duty-free shops, and Samsung C&T in apartments were also included.

Medical staff at Severance Hospital are handing over earplugs and heated sleep masks to help patients sleep well.

Mid-to-Lower Tier Companies Need Customer-Centric Management

By economic sector, customer satisfaction increased in 4 out of 14 sectors, a significant decrease compared to 11 sectors the previous year. Among 75 industries with comparable data from the previous year, only 11 showed an increase in customer satisfaction last year, down from 35 the year before. Twenty-four industries remained stagnant, and 40 industries declined compared to the previous year. A representative from the Productivity Center stated, "There were 13 industries where the top-ranked companies swapped places and 17 industries with joint first place, indirectly confirming how fierce the competition was to capture customers' hearts." They added, "While customer satisfaction among top-tier companies is leveling up due to their efforts, mid-to-lower tier companies' customer satisfaction efforts are not keeping pace, necessitating a more long-term customer-centric management strategy."

The economic sector with the highest NCSI improvement rate was the 'Education Services' sector, which rose by 2.1 points (2.8%) compared to the previous year. All types of educational institutions within this sector?national universities, private universities, and junior colleges?showed increased scores, indicating a significant improvement in student satisfaction. Since it was the first year of normalization to face-to-face classes after COVID-19, students who had been attending remote classes generally gave positive evaluations. Additionally, multifaceted support to increase student employment rates also contributed positively to the results.

Following the Education Services sector, 'Transportation and Warehousing' rose by 1.2 points (1.5%). Next were 'Public Administration, Defense, and Social Security Administration' with a 1.0 point (1.3%) increase, and 'Health and Social Welfare Services' which rose by 0.5 points (0.6%).

Hospitals Show Highest Customer Satisfaction and Retention Rates

The sector evaluated with the highest levels of customer satisfaction and retention rates was hospitals, continuing from the previous year. High customer satisfaction and retention rates in a sector indicate a higher likelihood that satisfied customers will remain compared to other sectors. It was analyzed that in most sectors, higher customer satisfaction correlates with higher customer retention rates.

For hospitals, the digital transformation and advancement of key touchpoints since the pandemic influenced the evaluations of customer satisfaction and retention rates. Before COVID-19, patient interactions were handled face-to-face after visits, but with mobile apps and kiosks, patients can now manage many processes themselves, reducing unnecessary waiting times throughout the hospital usage process and facilitating more convenient hospital visits.

A representative from the Productivity Center emphasized, "The worsening economic environment, including high inflation and high interest rates, and external adverse conditions are not short-term issues, yet our companies have demonstrated results through customer satisfaction management efforts." They added, "It is important to recognize that many companies in the upper ranks of the NCSI regard customer-centric management as a core value of corporate operations and have focused on qualitative service improvements, enabling them to overcome the challenges everyone faces."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.