Despite the fact that Customer Responsiveness has indeed become the big talking point for companies, not much has really happened at a global level to determine its efficacy, in actual terms. Currently, there are no yardsticks, no benchmarks, no methods of measuring Customer Responsiveness within organizations. There are no scientific means to establish whether a company is high up on the Customer Responsiveness spectrum, or touching rock bottom. There are no indices that state clearly the strengths and weaknesses of an organization within the Customer Responsiveness space.

Therefore, will Customer Responsiveness continue to remain an elusive entity, a non quantifiable element in companies that can never ever find its way on paper?

The CEO Forum of Customer Responsiveness touched upon this key issue in countless discussions. While some organizations had managed to put together some internal processes to measure different aspects of Customer Responsiveness - IT companies made downtime their issue of focus, while airlines the success of their frequent flyer schemes - there were no firmly laid out procedures to verify the extent to which firms had achieved their client intimacy goals. Obviously, there was a crying need to have such benchmarks.

It was early this year that Avaya GlobalConnect set in motion a process to quantify and define the parameters leading to Customer Responsiveness and initiated the creation of a research model to measure the customer centricity of companies. This model was extrapolated to form the basis of an industry wide research survey that could tangibly measure the effectiveness of the Customer Responsiveness strategies of enterprises. The parameters determining the Customer Responsiveness of organizations were identified and points allotted to each of the categories. These points were then added up to give the final score of Customer Responsiveness for a company.

As a follow up to this in-depth research and to make Customer Responsiveness a coveted badge for companies, Avaya GlobalConnect instituted the Indian industry’s “Customer Responsiveness Awards”. The Awards concept, meanwhile saw light of day when Avaya GlobalConnect decided to interact with leading global business intelligence firms such as Ernst & Young to create special methodologies and benchmarks for accessing the Customer Responsiveness of companies.

The Customer Responsiveness Awards, being presented by Avaya GlobalConnect, the company that has been spearheading the movement in India and the country’s leading business daily, The Economic Times, are based on evaluations of the Customer Responsiveness policies and practices of leading Indian organizations. Well known business intelligence firms such as Ernst & Young and AC Nielsen are backing the endeavor as process advisors and research partners, respectively.

The organizations that have made it to the final awards listing are the ones that have built awareness about customer responsiveness within their set up and delivered an enhanced customer experience in a consistent manner. The Awards program aims at taking the Customer Responsiveness movement in India to new heights.