Our strategy for engaging with our customers

The Intellectual Property Office takes customer engagement very seriously. We engage with our customers in a variety of different ways in order to continually review our practices, and some of the methods we use are detailed below.

Our Corporate Plan

This is an annual process and involves both our Board and Steering Board in comprehensive discussions about the strategy for the coming year. Further details are available.

Customer Relationship Management

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Unit was set up in April 2007 to bring together all aspects of customer related work previously carried out by different sections across the office, in order to adopt a corporate approach in dealing with our customers. The CRM Unit has worked on developing a customer insight programme to enhance our understanding of those who want to use our services. This has been done by setting up a CRM Focus Group, made up of people from across the office to look at how we engage with customers corporately, and by seeking the views of our customers through surveys.

Methods of Consultation

We engage with our customers in the following ways:

Customer satisfaction survey

The CRM Unit carried out a survey at the end of 2007, which showed that we achieved a 97% satisfaction rating for our performance over the previous 12 months. On reviewing the value of this survey, we decided that we will measure customer satisfaction differently in the future. In line with best practice learned from our benchmarking activities, we will engage with our customers throughout the year and by varied means. This will have the benefit of asking questions about our performance very soon after customers have used our services and enable us to resolve any problems as soon as possible. One of the methods we have decided to use is an on-line survey which will be accessible until 31 March 2010.

Customer insight

The CRM Unit along with the business areas has undertaken market research studies in respect of Patents, Trade Marks and Designs with the assistance of a professional market research company. Further research will be undertaken in 2009/10 to build on what we have learned. We also have an ongoing programme for collecting customer intelligence in-house.

Consultations

Public consultations are always required before making significant changes to our practices and developing new legislation. The Cabinet Office uses a strict set of guidelines to govern public consultations, and the Intellectual Property Office is committed to following the UK Government’s published code of practice .

Details of public consultations that have been undertaken by the Intellectual Property Office are available from the IP professionals area of the website.

Informal Consultations take place when we want to seek customer opinion about less significant proposals which would not involve statutory changes. We often use this method in the early stages of developing new policies and this is usually done by asking our representative groups for their views and by publishing consultation notices on our website.

Patents customer visit programme

We visit our patents customers to get their views on our services and the way we work. We ask their opinions on our service levels and any changes or developments that affect the way they work with us.

Practice Working Groups

We have long established Practice Working Groups with representatives of both the legal profession and small businesses.

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• The Patent Practice Working Group (PPWG) provides us with users' views on patent practice issues.

Business Outreach and Education

We have a team of people who go out to schools, colleges and universities to reach the business people of the future. And in a further effort to reach the wider public, the Intellectual Property Office has sponsored an exhibition at The Science Museum in London in 2009 in order to promote intellectual property awareness. We are also committed to a training programme of Business Links and UKTI advisers to ensure that the right messages about intellectual property are passed on by our business partners into the regions throughout the UK.

Exhibitions and Seminars

We attend a range of business support exhibitions and seminars, offering advice on intellectual property to owners and managers of businesses. Events are run by regional business support organisations such as Business Link and commercial organisers. The feedback that we receive from these events is used by the Business Outreach team for consideration for possible future improvements.

Tell us what you think

Whether it's good or bad, we want to know what you think about the services that we offer and the way in which we deliver them. Please let us have your comments by completing the online customer feedback form. If you want to, you can also make a formal complaint to our Chief Executive.