Customer Service
| Author | Thomas Baird, Barry Reece |
| Pages | 185-187 |
Page 185
In the very competitive world of marketing a product or service, what consumers will buy and when, where, and how they will purchase it is often determined by the type, level, and quality of customer service provided by competing marketers. This purchase determination has become even more of a strategic issue with the advent of new marketing channels such as the Internet and television-shopping networks. A growing number of organizations are giving increased attention to customer service. Financial institutions, hospitals, public utilities, airlines, retail stores, restaurants, manufacturers, and wholesalers are just a few of the businesses that face the problem of attracting new customers and retaining the patronage of existing customers.
Building long-term relationships with customers has been given a high priority by the majority of America's most successful enterprises. These companies realize that customer satisfaction is an important key to success. Customer service can be defined as those activities that enhance or facilitate the purchase and use of the product or service. Today's emphasis on customer satisfaction can be traced to a managerial philosophy that has been described as the marketing concept.
The significant increase in the desire to provide effective consumer service is a direct result of a shift to the marketing concept in the early 1950s. The marketing concept has three major components: (1) identifying what the consumer needs and wants, (2) developing products/services to meet those needs/wants, and (3) designing marketing plans to effectively and efficiently deliver the products/services in a manner that will satisfy the customer and the long-term objectives of the organization. The foundation for the success of the marketing concept is a business philosophy that leaves no doubt in the mind of every employee that customer satisfaction is of primary importance. All energies are directed toward satisfying the consumer. The degree to which customer satisfaction is dependent on the quality of service varies greatly with different products/services. The service continuum (see Figure 1) shows the significant difference between a necktie (tangible product with little service involved) and a lawn mowing service (no tangible product).
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