EE EEIESS'S=S$3—~~~~ rrr 10 Customer service | Ee ia Philip Kotler defines customer service as ‘all the activites involved in making it easy for customers to reach the right parties within the company and receive quick and satisfactory service, answers and resolution of problems’ Customers have expectations, and when these are met, there i customer satisfaction. When they are exceeded, there may be delight, but this depends on the degree of involvement in the purchase, Thee is a scale between the chore ofthe weekly shop atthe supermarket and the purchase of something expensive such as a car that, For many people, only takes place once every few years. The scope for light and, conversely, dissatisfaction is greater inthe latter situation. The telephone can be used to sell some services, such as banking or insurance, entirely replacing face-to-face contact. The customer helpline can be 2 channel of communication to complement face-t0 Face contact. Orit an be used before or after buying goods asa source of information or channel of complaint. Te figures are familiar: 95 per cent of dissatisfied customers don’t complain, but just change supplier, its estimated that customers receiving good service create new business by telling up to 12 other people. Those treated badly will tell up to 20 people. Eighty per cent of those who fee their ‘complaints are hanced fairly wil stay loyal, and customer allegiance will be bull. Customer retention is key: studies show that getting repeat business is ive times cheaper than finding new customers, Customer defection must, of course, be reduced as much as possible, ut a company can leatn alot from the ones who do leave through last customer analysis: getting customers to give the reasons why they have defected, and changing the way it does things. Service providers, such as mobile phone or cable TV companies, have to deal with chun, the numer ‘of customers who go to anther provider or stop sing the service altogether each year In many services, satisfaction is hard to achieve because the customer interaction is difficult to control whichis why service organisations lke airlines, banks ane! legal firms create high levels of lssatisfaction. fa product or service breaks down, fixing the problem may build customer loyalty, but it il also eat into the profit margin. Customers must be satisfied or delighted, but ata profit. IF salespeople or call-centre staff or hotel receptionists are over-zealous, there may be lots of satisfied customers, but the business may be operating ata loss Kotler says that it is not companies that compete, but marketing networks comprising a number of companies. For example, a PC is assembled from components made by several manufacturers, old through a call centre which may be a subcontractor, delivered by a transport company and perhaps serviced by yet another organisation as part of the manufacturer's product support. Itis tne customers total experience that counts. Making the computer is just one part af this. The logisties of selling and organising the services needed by each customer becomes key. Read on Philip Kotler: Marketing Management, Prentice Hal, 3999 edition, ch. 2: ‘Building Customer Satisfaction, Value, and Retention* Adrian Palmer: Principles of Services Marketing, McGraw-Hill, 1998 Ron Zemke, ohn A, Woods: Best Practices In Customer Service, Amacom, 1999 is Po ery