What do I get and how much is it?
Participation in the study is free, but we will require a valid email and contact address. Completing the study will require you to submit data – with total confidentiality assured – that as a business leader you will probably have at your fingertips. It will be consolidated and not be identifiable to anyone outside Downton Consulting. You can obtain a personalised report with your company’s performance indicated against the industry average and a commentary about the result and its implications. For this there will be a charge of £495+VAT – a fraction of the cost of traditional benchmarking studies.

Designed to be as inclusive as possible the pool of data will be used to produce a top line report to be published later this year in Service Management magazine, and at a special seminar at Service Management Europe in October at the NEC Birmingham.

This Benchmark will be organised through Service Management magazine annually as a means of tracking any changes in the industry, and to provide a unique insight into what companies in the SME environment are doing to provide excellent customer service and remain profitable.

Will it be relevant to my business?
The study is aimed at all businesses running field service operations in the UK up to a size of around £250m. One of the real advantages of this study is its wide industrial base allows participants to benchmark against the best field service performers.

Who is managing it?
Under the aegis and sponsorship of Service Management, the study will be conducted by Downton Consulting, the industry’s leading consultancy that has been benchmarking the service industry since the beginning of the nineties. It will ensure confidentiality of all the information and through its experience of applying benchmark techniques, and its extensive research results, ensure the validity of the information provided.

Downton Consulting has established a reputation for providing effective business advice within the Services Sector specialising in guiding senior management teams and supporting service operations both large and small to manage their customers, improve performance profitability and deliver service excellence. steve.downton@downtonconsulting.com  www.downtonconsulting.com

What do I do now?
To access the online survey use the link below.  This will take you to a secure site managed by Downton Consulting.  Here you will be required to enter your contact details including a valid email.  Particpation in the survey is free to all but you will be asked whether you wish to have a individualised benchmark report based on the consolidated data produced by Downton Consulting.  There is a fee of £495 + VAT for this and you will be sent a form to confirm your willingness to take part by Ithaca Media, the publisher of Service Management.  The questionnaire contains around 50 questions but you will be issued with a personal identification number that will allow you to return later to your questionnaire and complete at your own speed.