These examples illustrate company interaction with key stakeholder groups and how the information gleaned has shaped corporate decisions.

Customers

Each year, PotashCorp surveys customers to gauge their satisfaction with the company at every point of contact and to discover how it compares with competitors. These extensive surveys provide valuable information on how to better meet customer needs.

In 2006, the effectiveness of the annual customer satisfaction survey was enhanced by inviting a select group of customers from each product category to participate in an online survey. Participants in these advisory councils committed to be surveyed for up to five years, to facilitate long-term, year-over-year comparisons.

Customer feedback is also facilitated in other ways. The company sends direct mail pieces; includes reply cards in quarterly newsletters; publishes customer service phone numbers and e-mail addresses for customers to use; and encourages customers to send e-mail responses to www.potashcorp.com and www.potashcorpfeed.com.

The feedback from customers in 2006 confirmed that the company was meeting their expectations. For example:

1. Almost two-thirds of both fertilizer and feed customers surveyed said PotashCorp does the best job of meeting their key criteria.
2. Industrial customers confirmed that, overall, PotashCorp is meeting their needs.
3. Given the importance of product quality and service, one of PotashCorp's ongoing goals is to continually outperform competitors in these two areas as measured by customer surveys. The 2006 survey showed that it outperformed the industry average for quality and service in all key product categories.

One of the important objectives of stakeholder surveys is to identify areas for improvement and take action to address issues and concerns. PotashCorp implemented four projects in 2006 to improve customer service:

• It posted all product specification sheets on its website, giving customers online access to the chemical and physical properties of products they've purchased and all other products.
• It put in place a customer profile system containing the most comprehensive, up-to-date customer database possible, which it hopes will exceed customers' expectations.
• It addressed customers' need for 24/7 access to certificates of analysis by creating a central repository for product analysis information on its intranet that is accessible by all customer service representatives.
• To ensure customers have access to the Customer Service Department regardless of circumstances, PotashCorp completed a comprehensive disaster recovery plan in the event that a major power outage makes its Northbrook office inaccessible.