Voice of the Market - Explaining the gap between customer satisfaction metrics and commercial performance in European logistics

The client request

A leading European logistics operator had been systematically tracking Net Promoter Score (NPS) over the past three years. The results were consistently strong, suggesting high customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Yet despite these positive indicators, the company experienced declining commercial performance, with volumes and revenues under pressure. This contradiction raised a fundamental question for the board and shareholders:

Why is the business underperforming commercially when customer satisfaction scores remain high?

While NPS indicated high satisfaction, it:

· Reflected mainly active customers, not former clients or prospects

· Provided limited insight into why volumes were declining

· Did not explain how the operator compared to competitors on decisive buying criteria

The company needed a fact-based, independent view of how it was positioned in the market - not just how it was rated by its existing customer base.

Our approach

BrightWolves conducted a Voice of the Market engagement focused on in-depth qualitative insight, structured around four steps:

In-depth interviews

Extensive interviews with customers, former customers, prospects, logistics players and market stakeholders across Europe, exploring buying behaviour, switching drivers and unmet needs.

Market & perception assessment

Synthesis of interview insights to understand how the operator is perceived, and where this differs across segments and geographies.

Competitive comparison

Benchmarking the operator against key competitors on reliability, flexibility, communication and commercial behaviour.

Action-oriented synthesis

Translation of insights into clear perception gaps and priority levers to restore commercial momentum.

The impact

The Voice of the Market engagement fundamentally reframed how leadership understood performance:

· Explained the NPS paradox: high satisfaction among remaining customers masked erosion among former clients and lost opportunities

· Revealed hidden drivers of volume decline, including reliability perception, corridor-specific issues, and cost-to-serve concerns

· Provided a neutral, market-validated benchmark against competitors

· Equipped management and shareholders with fact-based priorities to restore a virtuous commercial cycle

The insights directly supported strategic decision-making at board and investor level, complementing financial and operational analyses

Understanding how your organisation is truly perceived in the market is critical to making informed strategic choices. An outside-in Voice of the Market provides decision-makers with the clarity needed to act with confidence. Interested