CUSTOMER

VALUE
STRATEGY
CHAPTER 8
PEÑARIDONDO, RICLYN
ATONG, REDGIE
Objectives:
After reading this chapter, the student should be able
to:
01 Differentiate between internal from
external customer.
04 Explain customer service.

Describe customer satisfaction

02 and its nature.

Define customer focus.

03
Identifying Customers
There are two types of customer namely internal and external.
Internal customer- it can be anyone within an organization. It could be
another department, another branch or even a co-worker.

External customer- it may be an individual or an enterprise that hires or

purchases the products or services from another person or business in
exchange or money. An external customer can be defined in many ways,
such as
1. The one who use the product or service.
2. The one who purchases the product or service.
3. The one who influence the sale of the product or service.
Customer satisfaction- is not an
objectively measured but more of a
feeling or attitude. It enhances customer
loyalty, which is the feeling or
attachment to or affection for a
company’s people , product or services.
 A summary of ways to improve External and Internal customer
satisfaction is given below.
External Customer
1. Uses methods for determining and monitoring external customer’s
perceived quality and value.
2. Uses customer feedback to improve product/service quality.
3. Handles complaints, resolves them, and uses complaints information
for quality improvement and prevention of recurrence of problems.
4. Measure performance against customer targets.
5. Compares its customer satisfaction results with that of main
competitors.
Internal Customer
1. Treat employees as the company would treat its customer- They are
valuable member of the organization and they must feel important for the
organization.
2. Share the company vision- Communicating the company’s vision with the
employees will make them feel a part of the company. It can help them
align their goals with those of the company.
3. Surpass their expectations- To make employees happy, offer unexpected
gifts or bonuses, arrange team parties, take them out for a team lunch or
dinner, and other ways.
4. Take feedback and suggestions- To better understand employees, the
company must know what they feel about their jobs, or their work
environment.
5. Show appreciation for good work- Appreciate a good work done.
Customer Satisfaction Methods
Here are some of the methods that could be used to satisfy customers:
1. Encouraging face-to-face dealings with customers- this is the most
discouraging and complete scary part of interacting with a customer. If one is
not used to this sort of thing it can be a pretty threatening experience.
2. Respond to messages promptly and keep the clients informed- this goes
without saying really. All people know how annoying it is to wait days for a
response to an email or phone call.
3. Being friendly and approachable by customers- its very important to be
friendly, courteous and to make clients feel like a friend and one is there to
help them out.
4. Have a clearly-defined customer service policy- this may not too
important when one is just starting out, but a clearly defined customer service
policy is going to save a lot of time and effort in the long run.
Approaches of Customer Satisfaction
Here are some approaches to customer satisfaction:
1. Regular customer feedback system- this involves allowing communication from customer
through emails, suggestion boxes.
2. Market research- this is done to understand customer better. This can be done through
sampling a few customers using appropriate sampling techniques and a detailed study is
conducted on their likes and dislikes.
3. New or last customer survey- there are useful ways of finding out what attracts customers
to the organization and indeed why they left.
4. Focus groups- this is intended to know what customers are thinking. A group of customers
is assembled in a meeting to answer a series of questions.
5. Customer visits- this involves making visits to the customer’s premises to collect
information.
6. Front line personnel- this is the use of employees who are on direct contact with
customers to understand the customer’s expectations.
7. Critical incidents technique- this attempts to identify issues that delight the customer and
those satisfy them.
Determinants of Customer Satisfaction
There are two key indicators of customer satisfaction, namely;
1. Key Indicators for Physical Products
a) Reliability
b) Aesthetic
c) Adaptability
d) Usability
e) Functionality
f) Appropriateness

2. Key Indicators for Services

g) Friendliness/courteousness of employees
h) Safety/risk of service
i) Billing/invoicing procedure
j) Responsiveness to request
k) Appearance of physical facilities
l) Approachability of the service provider
m) Willingness to listen to customer
n) Honesty and an ability to communicate in clear language
Customer focus- is focusing on the customer involves designing
products or services that meet or exceed the customer’s expectations. This
involves the product itself, its functionally, attributes, convenience and
even the means by which the information about a product is received by a
client.

Customer service- it means helping customers solve problems. To carry

out this function effectively, customer service has to be easily accessible,
knowledgeable, reliable and deliver results.

Quality assurance- it means developing operational controls to ensure

that the time results match the desired outcomes. Customers service
operations are designed to keep customers satisfied while protecting the
organization.
Reliability- it is the quality assurance system can compare what the company
promises the customer to what the customer expects and what the customer
service delivers.

Competence- it is customers expect competent delivery of their services, and the

definition of quality assurance includes tracking competence. Quality assurance
systems evaluate competence by training and results.

Delivery- it is customers expect reliable and competent service delivery in an easily

accessible form. Customer service delivery is typically over the phone or other
means of electronic communications.

Solutions- it is customers are mainly interested in solutions to their problems. Quality

assurance includes documenting customer complaints, tracking the actions taken
to resolve them and surveying customers on their satisfaction with the result.
THANK YOU!