With an intention to further work upon the customer satisfaction factor, a survey was carried out on the first-aid kit of Johnson & Johnson. This exercise was a part of the marketing strategy to improve the sales of the product, by building a strong brand, under a well reputed corporate image of the company. This strategy outlined customer satisfaction as a primary tool, to generate a goodwill through the word of mouth. Prospective customers and current users were the target of this survey. This included institutions, industries, schools and colleges and individual users.
The survey was spread around many geographic locations, and almost one thousand persons were interviewed personally. The persons interviewed were the ones who have been or would be using the actual product. The questionnaire mainly focused upon the quality of the contents, convenience of use, the aspects which were lacking in meeting their expectations, and what more the user expected in the kit. The results of this survey brought out many interesting features that can be added to the existing kit, and also pointed to some aspects that need to be improved upon. The responders made some very good suggestions.
Among these, one was that there is no system to stop profuse bleeding from a big wound. The medications provided in bottles currently are quite satisfactory to prevent excessive blood flow from an ordinary wound, but when it comes to preventing huge losses from a big wound, the existing facilities are not enough. It would be very helpful if there is some medication available for such wounds of larger magnitude. One more feedback was to have a pain killer spray with more capacity in it. The capacity of the current spray bottle, is such that it gets exhausted, after handling a few cases. Many times, substantial quantity of spray has to be sued, in case the injuries are multiple.
In such a case, a bottle with larger capacity would be more useful. One more suggestion was to have a printed manual in the kit, which teaches how to tie the bandage over the complex body joints, like the knee joint or the elbow joint. The respondent said that many times, the field staff is not quite versed with tying bandage over such complex body parts, and in such a case, this booklet will be very helpful. Alternatively, it was suggested to upload such a video on the website of the company, so that the field staff can be trained on that basis. It was also suggested to have a palm held x-ray scanner, with a digital screen on it, so that the images can be read on the spot and the injury to the bone diagnosed immediately.
It was also suggested that since time is a very crucial factor, whenever this kit has to be used, the kit should be compartmentalized. This means, each compartment has a special type of equipments. For example, a separate compartment for bottles and sprays, another for items like cotton, bandage etc. Such a design will help in quicker use of the kit. It was observed that most of the feedback from the respondents of the survey was easy to imply, and would surely add to the customer satisfaction.
However, two suggestions, though very valid and useful, were not possible to implement at present. One, that of a palm held x-ray machine and second a medicated liquid to stop the blood flow of major wounds. One needs to wait till the technology for such products is developed. Conclusively, it can be said that this has been a very fruitful survey, and if the recommendations of the respondents are implied by the company management into the product, the sales will surely show an upward, positive movement in future. Moreover, the concept of increasing the sales by the word of mouth also appears very feasible.