MODULE CUSTOMER FOCUS

4:
CBM 121
 CUSTOMER FOCUS:
“Paying great attention to the needs and opinions of customers.”

Customer focus means putting your customers' needs first. Customer-focused businesses foster a
company culture dedicated to enhancing customer satisfaction and building strong customer
relationships.

Customer focus is putting the experience of the customer first above everything else . This means
meeting customer needs across the different stages they go through from purchase down to disposal.

It’s worth noting that that definition above includes everything your organization does that affects
customer satisfaction — which is pretty much every business unit and department from marketing and
sales, customer service, and even accounting and billing.

Customer focus examples include quality customer support, developing the best solutions for the clients
rather than the best products or services.

Local Flavor. Global Future

 Examples of Customer Focus:
1.) Customer Needs - A customer need is a need that motivates a customer to
purchase a product or service. The need can be known (i.e., the customer can
put it into words) or unknown, and is the ultimate factor that determines
which solution the customer purchases.

2.) Customer Preferences - Customer preferences are expectations, likes,

dislikes, motivations and inclinations that drive customer purchasing
decisions. They complement customer needs in explaining customer behavior.
For example, a customer needs shoes and they'd prefer a particular style,
brand and color.

3.) Customer Experience - Customer experience, also known as CX, is your

customers’ holistic perception of their experience with your business or brand.

CX is the result of every interaction a customer has with your business, from
navigating the website to talking to customer service and receiving the
product/service they bought from you. Everything you do impacts your
customers’ perception and their decision to keep coming back or not—so a
great customer experience is your key to success.
 Examples of Customer Focus:
4.) Voice of the customers -
In marketing, the voice of the customer ( VOC) summarizes customers'
expectations, preferences and aversions. A widely used form of VOC market
research produces a detailed set of customer wants and needs, organized into a
hierarchical structure, and then prioritized in terms of relative importance and
satisfaction with current alternatives.

5.) Customer is always right - Customers may believe they’re always right, even if
they’re occasionally wrong or mistaken. Sometimes, there’s a discrepancy between
a customer’s perception and the reality of a situation. An updated, modern
interpretation of “The customer is always right” highlights the importance of
listening to customers, understanding what they’re saying, identifying what they
need and treating them with respect. If a customer is wrong, honesty,
communication and professionalism can help you interact with them effectively
and inform them of the truth. Alternatively, if a customer is right, listening to them
can aid you in making improvements to the business .

6.) Metrics - Metrics in business are also known as key performance indicators
(KPIs). They're quantifiable measurements of a business' tasks or activities that you
can use to measure their performances and growth.
 Identifying Customers:
Effective customer service is vital to client relations, product consumption and overall company success. In order to
create the best customer experience possible, it's helpful to understand the difference between internal customers at
a company and external customers who interact with that company. This allows for businesses to more properly value
and accommodate each type of customer, improving customer service overall. In this article, we define internal
customers and external customers, discuss the differences between them and review frequently asked questions.

I. Internal customers are company employees who consume goods or services that another employee provides. This
often involves relying on someone else within the company for help. For example, if an employee needs assistance
with a computer issue and reaches out to the IT department for help, that employee becomes an internal
customer of the IT department. Employees, owners and other types of representatives, like shareholders, may all
be internal customers.

II. External customers, also known as the clients or clientele, are the people who pay for the goods and services that
a company provides. They generally have no other connection to the company beyond their purchases.
Identifying, engaging and maintaining relationships with external customers is an important aspect of business
because it's where companies generate much of their revenue.
 Five types of Customer from a Sales Perspective::
1.) Potential Customers

2.) New Customers

3.) Impulsive Customers

4.) Discount Customers

5.) Loyal Customers

 Customer / Market Segmentation:
Market Segmentation is a marketing term that refers to aggregating prospective buyers into groups or
segments with common needs and who respond similarly to a marketing action. Market segmentation enables
companies to target different categories of consumers who perceive the full value of certain products and services
differently from one another.

Types of Customer Segmentation:

1.) Demographic

2.) Geographic

3.) Lifestyle

4.) Life Stage

5.) Behavioral

6.) Benefit
Product Segmentation :
“Being all things to all people isn’t always the best
business strategy. Sometimes, channeling slight variations
of different products and services to different groups of
your customer base helps to increase market share,
improve revenues and reduce costs. This differentiation
process is called “segmentation,” and when done to
products, it can lead to several slightly different product
lines geared toward dissimilar target markets. The core
theory of product segmentation is that a company can
produce a single product with relatively minor variations,
market it to different customer groups — sometimes
under different brand names — and thereby increase
market share while reducing the cost of developing
radically different products. Segmentation relies on
market research to identify the product characteristics
that resonate with target markets.
Quality Dimensions of Goods and Services:
Five Principal Dimensions that Contribute to Customer Perception of Quality:
 Examples:

CLASSIFYING CUSTOMER NEEDS ON DIMENSIONS OF SERVICE

QUALITY
A car rental agency surveys its customers on the following
dimensions:

• Cleanliness of the rental facility : TANGIBLES

• Courtesy of staff : ASSURANCE
• Efficiency of vehicle pickup/return : RELIABILITY
• Cleanliness of vehicle : TANGIBLES
• Professionalism of staff in explaining the contract and
options : ASSURANCE
 Gathering the Voice of the Customer:
Voice of the customer (VoC) strategies can help businesses increase customer loyalty, attract new audiences, boost
sales and improve their products or services. Employers, department heads and team leaders can choose the VoC
goals, methods and data most helpful to their particular business plans or vision.

Voice of the Customer is the process of gathering and implementing information about your customers' expectations,
needs and hopes. Businesses use VoC programs to efficiently collect detailed market research about their customers.
This research can be qualitative, such as what customers want from a business, or quantitative, such as data related to
customer engagement.

1.) Comments cards and Formal Surveys

2.) Focus Groups
3.) Direct Customer Contact
4.) Field Intelligence
5.) Complaints
6.) Internet and Social Media Monitoring
 Why many Customer Satisfaction Effort Fail:
- Poor measurement schemes
-Failure to identify appropriate
quality dimensions
-Failure to weight dimensions
appropriately
-Lack of comparison with leading
competitors
-Failure to measure potential and
former customers
-Confusing loyalty with satisfaction
 Measuring Customer loyalty:
Measuring customer loyalty gauges your customers’ inclination to continue buying from
your brand and to referring your brand to others. Tracking it helps you evaluate the
effectiveness of your customer loyalty strategy, predict loyalty trends and take steps to
optimize performance.

- Overall Satisfaction
- Likelihood of a first – time purchaser to repurchase
- Recommend
- Continue purchasing the same product and service
- Purchase different product or services
- Increase frequency of purchasing
Any Questions