New Report: the State of the E-Gov Union is Strong

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Jan. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ForeSee Results today released the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) E-Government Satisfaction Index, showing that citizen satisfaction with federal government websites remains near its all-time high. Satisfaction with e-government slips slightly to 75.0 (on the ACSI's 100-point scale) but remains near the all-time high set in the third quarter of 2010. Of the 30 quarters that ACSI has been measuring e-government, three of the top five scores of all time occurred in 2010.

Satisfaction with federal websites (75.0) continues to outperform satisfaction with the federal government overall (65.4) by a large margin. So far, and especially over the last two years, the federal government is doing a better job of keeping pace with expectations online. However, as younger, internet-savvy citizens become a larger and larger segment of the population, satisfaction could stagnate or decline over time if federal website managers become complacent and don't continue to make improvements that matter to citizens.

"E-government has been a federal government success story, but it would be foolish to declare victory just yet," said Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results. "There is a whole generation of 'digital natives' that have never known a world without the internet, and they will expect to interact with the government the only way they know how: online. Federal websites must continue to keep pace with constantly higher expectations."  

Though e-government beats the overall federal government by a large margin in terms of customer satisfaction, it rates below its private-sector counterparts, as a whole.

Although the private sector scores better, on average, than federal websites, the best-scoring federal websites outperform the best-scoring private-sector websites.

Agencies have a lot to gain by providing a satisfying experience online. According to the report, citizens who are highly satisfied with a federal government website say they are 59% more likely to trust the government unit and 58% more likely to participate with the government than citizens who are less satisfied. Highly satisfied citizens also report being more likely to use the website as a primary resource, recommend it, and return to it. Providing a satisfying site experience leads to cost savings for the government, as citizens will turn to the website first rather than using other, costlier channels.  

"Not only must the government do a better job satisfying citizens, but it will likely have to do so with fewer resources in the years ahead," said Professor Claes Fornell, head of the ACSI and author of The Satisfied Customer. "High unemployment, declining tax receipts and growing deficits are stretching government budgets thin. Much like private sector companies during the recession of 2008 and 2009, government must find innovative ways to provide better service with less."

More than 250,000 surveys were conducted during the fourth quarter of 2010 alone; more than one million citizen surveys were conducted in 2010 overall.  There are 111 sites included in the Index this quarter.

ABOUT FORESEE RESULTS

As the leader in customer satisfaction measurement, ForeSee Results captures and analyzes voice-of-customer data to help both private-sector and public-sector organizations increase loyalty, recommendations and marketing value.  Using the methodology of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), ForeSee Results identifies improvements across all channels and touch points that drive satisfaction.  With over 55 million survey responses collected to date and benchmarks across dozens of industries, ForeSee Results offers unparalleled expertise in citizen satisfaction measurement and management for the federal government.

ForeSee Results, a privately held company, is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan and on the web at www.ForeSeeResults.com.  Connect with ForeSee Results at www.ForeSeeResults.com/connect.html.

ABOUT THE ACSI

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is the only uniform, national, cross-industry measure of satisfaction with the quality of goods and services available in the United States.  In 1999, the federal government selected ACSI to be a standard metric for measuring citizen satisfaction.  Over 100 Federal government agencies have used ACSI to measure citizen satisfaction with more than 200 services and programs.  The Index was founded at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business and is produced by ACSI, LLC.  ForeSee Results sponsors the e-government index.

ABOUT THE FEDERAL CONSULTING GROUP

The Federal Consulting Group (FCG) operates as a fee-for-service franchise in the National Business Center (Dept of the Interior) and serves as the executive agent in the government for the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).  The Federal Consulting Group uses a generic clearance from the Office of Management and Budget to obtain expedited approval of ACSI surveys as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act.  This enables agencies to conduct ACSI surveys without obtaining a separate clearance.  Agencies can assess and improve programs, call centers and websites using the ACSI methodology through an Interagency Agreement with the Federal Consulting Group.

SOURCE ForeSee Results

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