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Measuring
Once you have satisfactorily identified exactly what it is you are attempting to measure, the next stage in performance analysis is doing the measuring.
Whilst this may sound straightforward, care needs to be taken to ensure that the feedback you are receiving and will be analysing in due course is as objective as possible. For example, asking customers directly is likely to elicit different responses to an anonymous questionnaire. Let's face it, in Britain particularly, we're less likely to complain face to face if something doesn't meet with our expectations than we are if the feedback is given anonymously.
Decide how you will gather your feedback, whether this is through mystery visit reports, comment cards, an online feedback system or by collating information from websites such as TripAdvisor (although by utilising the latter you will not be able to ask the questions in order to gain the feedback you want).
"Once you're happy you have identified the things you need to know, you also need to consider what you will do with any data you collect before you can determine the right mechanism to measure them. Mystery Visit reports are the best choice if you are looking for detailed and structured reports that your operations team can use to monitor and improve standards. If engaging directly with customers, consider your brand and how you interact with customers - an online portal can be a useful source of ratings and feedback, while also helping you to engage with your customers and trigger certain actions upon receipt of feedback. Some prefer a more traditional comment card approach (although these can be hard to analyse in high volume)." - Steven Pike, Director
Next: Reporting on your performance
