Customer Service:

A Practical Approach, 5th ed.

By
Elaine K. Harris
Chapter 4:
Strategy for
Formulating a
Plan for
Success
 Strategy:
 A plan for
positive
action.

Customer Service: A Practical © 2010 Pearson Higher Education,

Approach, 5e Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
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 Planning:
 Finding a recognizable direction
to focus on. More specifically,
planning is the establishment of
specific customer service goals.

Customer Service: A Practical © 2010 Pearson Higher Education,

Approach, 5e Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
3
 Importance of Infrastructure

 Customer service depends on the

existence of an appropriate
infrastructure.

Customer Service: A Practical © 2010 Pearson Higher Education,

Approach, 5e Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
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 Infrastructure:
 Made up of the networks of
people, physical facilities, and
information that support the
production of customer service.

Customer Service: A Practical © 2010 Pearson Higher Education,

Approach, 5e Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
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 Culture:
 Composed of the values, beliefs,
and norms shared by a group of
people.

Customer Service: A Practical © 2010 Pearson Higher Education,

Approach, 5e Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
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 Examples of Culture in Specific Industries

 Typical workday
hours
 Peer
accountability
 Levels of
certification
 Extra company-
sponsored
activities
Customer Service: A Practical © 2010 Pearson Higher Education,
Approach, 5e Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
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 Three Ways to Create a
Customer Friendly Culture
 Practice the Golden Rule.
 View internal customers as
number one.
 Work hard, play hard.

Customer Service: A Practical © 2010 Pearson Higher Education,

Approach, 5e Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
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 High-touch
customers:
 Requires a
high level
of customer
interaction.

Customer Service: A Practical © 2010 Pearson Higher Education,

Approach, 5e Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
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 Examples of
High Touch
 Bank lobbies
 Specialty stores
 Hotel lobbies
 Purchase of real
estate
 Lawyers and
accountants
 Prestige
restaurants
Customer Service: A Practical © 2010 Pearson Higher Education,
Approach, 5e Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
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 Low-touch customers:

 Expect a low
level of
customer
service.

Customer Service: A Practical © 2010 Pearson Higher Education,

Approach, 5e Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
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Examples of Low Touch
 Pike passes (debit cards
used on turnpikes)
 Automatic teller machines
 Express rental car
checkout
 Hotel bill viewing on
television and express
checkout
 Pay-at-the-pump gasoline
 Fast-food drive-up windows
 Do-it-yourself copy chops
 Online bill paying
 Online account management
 Downloading of music or
ringtones

Customer Service: A Practical © 2010 Pearson Higher Education,

Approach, 5e Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
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 Consumption behavior:

 Refers to the customer’s usage

and payment patterns.

Customer Service: A Practical © 2010 Pearson Higher Education,

Approach, 5e Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
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 When identifying consumption
behavior, ask the following:
 What are customers buying?
 Why did they buy it?
 Why did they buy more today that
they did in our last interaction?
 Why did they call with a question?
 What was their question?
 How much did they buy?
 Have they bought from us before?
 How did they pay?
 When will they be
installing/assembling the product?
 What else have they bought
recently?
Customer Service: A Practical © 2010 Pearson Higher Education,
Approach, 5e Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
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 Market Segmentation:

 Dividing customers into groups

with similar characteristics.

Customer Service: A Practical © 2010 Pearson Higher Education,

Approach, 5e Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
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 Sample Customer Service Segments

1. Types of service needed or

desired
2. Similarities among your
current customers
3. Peak hours of your business
and the specific customers
doing business at those
times.
4. The among of service desired
5. Creation of your own
segments that are
appropriate to your product
or service

Customer Service: A Practical © 2010 Pearson Higher Education,

Approach, 5e Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
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 Guidelines for Creating a
1. Strategy
Segment your customers.
2. Identify the largest and
most profitable customer
groups.
3. Determine your customers’
expectation.
4. Develop a plan to achieve
their expectations
efficiently.
5. Implement the plan.

6. Set an evaluation
timeline.
7. Evaluate and continue to
improve the strategy.

Customer Service: A Practical © 2010 Pearson Higher Education,

Approach, 5e Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
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Customer Service: A Practical © 2010 Pearson Higher Education,
Approach, 5e Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights
18