Communication between buyers and sellers is central to the supply chain phi
losophy. Further, the trend toward more detailed customer demands has made
it even more important for firms to solicit input and feedback from their c
ustomers in order to better tailor their offerings to customer needs. Previ
ous research suggests a strong linkage between customer satisfaction and cu
stomer loyalty. Highly satisfied customers are more loyal than less satisfi
ed customers. Thus, it was hypothesized that firms proactively seeking info
rmation from customers should realize a "pay off" in terms of more satisfie
d and, subsequently, more loyal customers. A survey of buyers in the person
al products industry was used to examine three methods of listening to cust
omers. Frequency of vendor meetings with customers, formalized contact thro
ugh the solicitation of feedback and/or conducting surveys, and personal vi
sits by senior vendor managers were found to be related to customer satisfa
ction as well as customer loyalty. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All right
s reserved.