Customer service
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Customer service (also known as Client Service) is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.
According to Turban et al, 2002 “Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation”
Its importance varies by product, industry and customer. As an example, an expert customer might require less pre-purchase service (i.e., advice) than a novice. In many cases, customer service is more important if the purchase relates to a “service” as opposed to a “product".
Customer service may be provided by a person (e.g., sales and service representative), or by automated means called self-service. Examples of self service are Internet sites.
Customer service is normally an integral part of a company’s customer value proposition.
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[edit] Implementation of customer service
Customer service may be employed to generate such competitive advantage as a particular service proposition can be harder to copy for competitors.
The implementation of a particular customer service proposition must consider several elements of the organization.
[edit] Competitive advantage
A company may attempt to differentiate itself from its competition through the provision of better customer service. The consistent delivery of superior service requires the careful design and execution of a whole system of activities that includes people, technology, and processes; although, the rewards will include improved revenue from customers that are impressed with the service provided. The relation should not be only a buyer seller-relation but beyond.
Some companies do better than expected. In the 1980's, a customer called LL Bean and was surprised that he was greeted by name. The representative explained that AT&T provided Caller-ID service to all companies with toll-free lines (ten years before any phone company offered Caller ID to retail customers), and that Bean's computer had brought up the customer's record on her computer screen. She knew where he lived and what he had recently bought. If he wanted something new, she even knew the size and color to suggest. They also remembered the credit card number that had been used, although they could not be certain it was still valid. (In 2007, few companies can do as well. They commonly treat each caller as a total stranger, even if the person has been a customer for years, asking the same identification questions repeatedly, and remembering nothing. A person will be haphazardly switched from one employee to another and will be obliged each time to prove their identity and tell their story.) In some cases, a company will have two interfaces: during "normal business hours" in the vendor's time zone, the caller will reach the Customer-Service Department, which can take new orders, trace recent orders, and solve problems; a person calling outside those hours will instead reach a fulfillment house, often in another state or country, and able only to take new orders. In most cases, fulfillment centers don't even have catalogs for the many companies they represent. If a problem arises, the answer is "Call between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, Eastern Standard Time."
[edit] Applied psychology in customer service
There are different levels of knowing your customers, often customer service relies on demographics or customer data collection. Yet, customer and customer dynamics as a group are affected through modalities of experience. Hence it is important to know your customers and to the culture that you want to create. This is where psychology enters into the realm of customer service.
According to Arthur F Carmazzi, founder of Directive Communication psychology how a person processes information will have a bearing on how he reacts in a given situation. Carmazzi says that there are 4 brain colors namely green, red, blue and purple. Knowing the brain color of a customer will help you understand his/her expectations of service and deliver accordingly. For instance, a red brain customer in a bank will value order and a systematic approach to enlisting him in a wealth management program.
According to Aziah Abu Bakar formerly with RHB Bank and now a Directive Communication practitioner, tending to the customer your approach would be to present the details of the program in a logical way complete with an analysis of his return on investment. On the other hand, if your customer were a green brain would prefer a speedier bottom line approach and one liner alternatives to his investments as a way of being approached. Hence knowing the psychology of a person's brain color helps you to understand your customers better to successfully meet their expectations.
Regal Gifts Corporation has been exercising a new level of customer’s service since its return in 2006. Undoubtedly, this has aided in its continued growing successes. Building relationships with its representative through social networks like Facebook and Youtube and its email management and customer care call centre are just a few of the reasons that Regals new customer service policies are leading then toward a profitable future.
[edit] Role of technology
Technology has made available a wide range of customer service tools. They range from support websites and the ability to have live chats with technical staff to databases tracking individual customers' preferences, pattern of buying, payment methods etc., and tailoring products and service responses based on this advanced data. Specialist software that is designed for the tracking of service levels and for helping recognize areas for improvement are often integrated into other enterprise operational software tools such as ERP software.
Many companies have started to use new channels to capture customer feedback. With record number of people now communicating through mobile phone and sending texts, many argue that the next wave of customer feedback will primarily be captured through channels familiar to most consumers, such as mobile email and SMS. This will enable companies to track the opinions of their customers much more easily and gain valuable insight into how to improve service quality and enhance the customer experience.
[edit] Accountability
Customers tend to be more forgiving of organizations who acknowledge and apologize for their mistakes rather than denying them. Taking responsibility for mistakes and correcting them is considered an important aspect of good customer service. When a customer experiences poor service and is ignored, the customer is less likely to return to that company again. Stonewalling is unforgivable, but unfortunately common.
[edit] Customer Perception
In the United States, Customer Service provided over the telephone varies widely in quality and particularly in the wait times experienced by customers. The extremely long wait times experienced when attempting to reach large companies is a common experience shared by many Americans, and often the subject of jokes and frustration. For example, the calm, cool analysis of customer service provided in this article would be scoffed at by many who have actually attempted to obtain such service.
[edit] Instant feedback
Recently, many organizations have implemented feedback loops that allow them to capture feedback at the point of experience. For example, one of the UK's leading coach companies invites passengers to send text messages whilst riding the bus. This has been shown to be useful as it allows companies to improve their customer service before the customer defects, thus making it far more likely that the customer will return next time.
[edit] See also
- Customer experience management
- Customer relationship management
- Customer service representative
- Customer survey
- Service system
- Institute of Customer Service (UK)
[edit] External links
- Seven Steps to Remarkable Customer Service
- Institute of Customer Service
- Mind Map of Customer Service
[edit] References
de:Kundendienst fr:Service client ko:고객 서비스 ja:アフターサービス simple:Customer service sv:Kundtjänst zh:顾客服务
