For the past two years we have invited 118 customers to participate in the online survey.

Our 2023 overall ratings were outstanding. Our average score was 7.8, the same as the previous year, but with the verbatim comments slightly more positive. Our customer’s commitment to continue working with us improved to 8.4 (from last year’s 8.2) with 32% of those surveyed giving us the perfect score of 10 out of 10 for customer commitment (an increase from 25% in 2022) and over three quarters of customers gave us a satisfaction score of 8 out of 10 or higher (78% compared with 66% in 2022). There was also a pleasing increase in our net promoter score (how likely are you to recommend Westland) which increased from 52 to 54.

The survey showed that our strengths are the people and staff our customers interact with as well as our high-quality products produced in a clean, green environment. Among the many kudos to our staff, our customers say they do an excellent job, have strong relationships, are easy to deal with, are quick to react and respond and are knowledgeable, providing trusted advice.

Another positive is that our customers are more aware of the Westpro brand which we refreshed last year. This is helped in part by ensuring the brand is more visible on uniforms, presentations and sales collateral.

From the survey results we recognise there are opportunities to improve communications to our customers ranging from more information about trends and market information to the regularity and timeliness of detailed shipment and pricing information. Our customers want to be kept in the loop with updates, particularly when there are issues around supply or transport. There is also the opportunity to better connect staff with customers seeking specific information on innovation and research and development, the business and products and technology and documentation.

We listen to what you tell us and to address the issues raised in previous surveys we are :

• Rolling out a customer relationship management (CRM) tool to automate some communications and help share customer information across the wider team.
• Developing a customer onboarding process – bringing customers up to speed on Westland’s way of working, key contacts, and processes.
• Providing customers who request it, with an order status report so that they know where their order is in the process. The updates conclude at shipment.
• Publishing a bi-monthly newsletter to keep customers informed on market trends, Westpro performance, product information and how the business is going. You can sign up here.

We will continue with our annual survey as it keeps us honest and gives insight into key areas affecting your business and how we can improve our service to you. We would like to make it part of a larger Voice of Customer strategy which will include various touch points such as understanding service levels on a regular basis when you interact with the order management team and developing a more structured onboarding process.