Abstract Customer Service has a huge impact on how well
businesses do in the market place. Here in the United States, and
at the present time, the market place is a vast system. Millions of
people are buying goods and hundreds of thousands of companies are
selling those goods (by goods I mean both products and services).
Because of that system, quality customer service is a competitive
advantage for a business (Long, et al. 247). Many times the
customer service has a larger impact than the goods being
sold.
Slide 3
What is Customer Service? Customer Service is self explanatory,
it is the service to customers. It is a practice companies use to
help sell their products, which helps make the business successful.
Most companies will have a strict customer service system, which
means taking care of customers as best as possible. Many companies
enforce those rules while others do not; both have a lasting impact
on the customers.
Slide 4
Customer Service is its own unique system within the original
business. The market place is the system in which people buy and
sell goods. It backs up the goods and the company, and makes the
goods credible and wanted. Customer service the item, is attached
to the good that the customer is purchasing, it is part of the
price. This means that sometimes it can be more impactful than the
goods being sold.
Slide 5
Where does it Exist? Customer Service exists whenever there is
a good being sold. Anytime this happens customers are created,
which in turn creates a customer service system. In the current,
American society, customer service is applicable in our daily
lives. Almost every store or business, has some identifiable
customer service system, which is solely intended just to help
customers. Long, Khalafinezhad, Ismail, and Rasid call this system
of customer service, the CRM.
Slide 6
What is the CRM? As I mentioned before businesses have a huge
competitive advantage when incorporating quality customer service
(Long, et. al 247). This competitive advantage is achieved by
having a Customer Relation Management (CRM) within a business. The
CRM is responsible for managing the companys interactions with the
customers (Long, et. al 247). This is the strategy for employing
customer service that will make the customers both happy and loyal,
which in-turn generates business for the company.
Slide 7
The goal of any business is to make the highest profit they
can. The objectives of the CRM are to enhance profitability and
income which is directly related to customer satisfaction (Long,
et. al 247). When customers are happy with both the goods and the
service, a business receives a two for one. By having happy
customers, they remain loyal and continuing purchasing goods and
the company gets free advertising (Long, et. al 247).
Slide 8
In the video Customer Service, it is known that one out of four
customers will change businesses when treated poorly (4:16). This
is a huge statistic regarding the impact of the quality of the
customer service. When the CRM is working correctly to maintain at
a quality level, customers are happy. The idea of giving the best
possible service quality is directly related to a business outcome
(Johnn, Siew, Thean).
Slide 9
Johnn, Siew, and Thean suggest that past literature has
suggested that Service Quality (SQ) has an effect on Customer
Satisfaction (CS), which in turn affects Behavioral Intentions (BI)
(1). This reinforces the idea that the quality of service, which
the CRM controls, directly impacts customers who will buy goods
somewhere else if they are not treated like they expect to be.
Slide 10
A Sales Shift? The idea of running a business is based off of
selling products or providing some kind of service. That is the
number one priority for businesses right? In fact its not just
selling goods anymore, its selling the service that is provided to
customer who buys those goods. The significant shift from being
product-oriented to service-centered consumption pattern is the
result of pressure from the increased number of demanding customers
(Johnn, Siew, Thean 1). While this is an economical point, it also
plays into the idea that now companies need to sell quality service
along with their original goods, to maintain a successful
operation.
Slide 11
This concept, and now new practice, is a result from the vast
amount of businesses that are in the market place. All these
businesses want customers to buy from them. It is important for the
organizations to offer them superior service quality in order to
enjoy significant strategic benefits such as better productivity,
rising market share, and sustained customer loyalty (Johnn, Siew,
Thean 1).
Slide 12
When businesses provide a high level of service to their
customers, they gain that competitive advantage in the market
place. As mentioned earlier, when customers are satisfied, to say
the least, they remain loyal and the company can continue to sell
to them and become or remain successful.
Slide 13
What exactly is Quality Customer Service? Quality service comes
from the employees who directly handle the customers business. But
it also comes from the companys ability to make it easy on the
customer to find what they need. The video, Customer Service
explains that good customer service begins at the moment of
delivery, dealing with issues properly, and effectively
communicating (3:01).
Slide 14
Those components mentioned from the video, relate back to the
employees handling the customers business. When the employees treat
the customer effectively and efficiently, the customer is
satisfied, to say the least. Which ties back into the factor of
creating loyal customers to achieve a higher profit. But customer
service usually begins and ends with employees, their behavior
toward a customer is greatly observed by that customer.
Slide 15
Why is it Important? Most people shop, at least in the United
States they do, and have experienced both good and bad customer
service. What do you do when treated well? Many people will
continue shopping at that place and buying those goods. But what do
you do when treated poorly? Many people will either complain to
management and the problem can be resolved from there. Or they will
simply never shop their again. The latter happens more often than
one might think. Remember that one in four people will change
businesses when treated poorly (Customer Service 4:16). These two
questions are important when regarding customer service. Both are
equally impactful, but the consequences vary greatly for a
business.
Slide 16
The impact of customer service plays a great factor on the
business outcome in the market. When a business succeeds and gains
a higher level in the field, it is the result of selling goods and
making a profit. But it is not just the goods people are buying
these days. When a person buys something, they expect a certain
level of help while still owning/using that product. This relates
back to the concept that customers are purchasing a customer
service along with the good. Customers expect to be treated with
respect and kindness while shopping/purchasing the goods at a
business.
Slide 17
For example, purchasing a product from Apple, while the product
is great itself, customers expect more. Apple has created a system
for that; based on personal experience I know that they have a
phone system solely to help customers. They also have an in-store
system that will help with whatever questions or issues a customer
may have. It is that way with most companies, it is the way people
are treated that changes. Apple is a very large company, mainly due
to its products; but they have to have some sort of customer
service based system because of their large size.
Slide 18
What makes it Effective? Most, if not all, businesses that sell
something have a system based on just helping customers. It is not
just helping the customer that is important, it is also the way it
is done that matters most. As I mentioned in the Apple example, I
had a good experience with their customer service system. They were
both very friendly and helpful. I am one of those satisfied
customers and I will continue to be loyal. Companies want and need
loyalty to advance or remain a profitable company. Without giving
customers a quality experience, that cannot be achieved.
Slide 19
The effectiveness of customer service comes in two parts: both
helping the customer and giving the customer an enjoyable
experience. As mentioned earlier, the video Customer Service
mentions that one out of four customers change businesses because
of poor treatment (4:16). While a company may sell a quality
product or service, sometimes the service is more impactful.
Slide 20
In some cases the service can be more important than the
original product or service purchased. Customers have a great deal
of business they can go to, to purchase of a product they want or
need. A business can gain an advantage by selling quality customer
service, along with their original goods.
Slide 21
Opportunity for Change In gaining an advantage over other
businesses, selling a quality service system is one step to do
that. According to Long, Khalafinezhad, Ismail, and Rasid The
behavior of the employees and relationship development contribute
most to customer satisfaction. Having employees who can effectively
help a customer is necessary for the selling, in a metaphorical
sense, of the customer service aspect of a business.
Slide 22
The behavior of the employees contribute most to customer
satisfaction according to Long, Khalafinezhad, Ismail, and Rasid.
They also found that alone, employee behavior has more than a 50%
impact on customer satisfaction. Having employees who can
effectively help a customer is necessary for the selling of the
customer service aspect of a business. The relationship development
is based on the CRM mentioned earlier.
Slide 23
Conclusion Customers purchase products or services that they
want or need, but they also purchase customer service. Whether or
not the customer service is a quality level, can determine a
business outcome. Companies employ an integrated system, service to
the customers within the selling of goods, to maintain customer
service. They also need loyal employees to carry out those plans to
give a high quality of service to the customers.
Slide 24
While receiving customer service is one thing; how it is
received is another. It is not just receiving help a customer
needs, it is receiving help in a way that is effective towards to
the customer. It is making the experience one that is memorable and
lasting on a customer. Hopefully that experience is a good, which
will make customers loyal. Sometimes the customer service does have
a larger impact on a customer than the goods themselves.
Slide 25
Works Cited Customer Service: An Essential Product for Customer
Retention. Superior Customer Service. Salt Lake Community College
Online Database: Films on Demand. 1991. Video. 30 Sept. 2013.
Johnn, Yee Choy, Tong Lam Siew, Chye Lee Thean. Service Quality,
Customer Satisfaction, and Behavioral Intentions: Review of
Literature and Modeling Conceptual Development. International
Journal of Academic Research. 4. 3. (2012). Academic Search
Premier. Web. 30 Sept. 2013. Long, Choi Sang, Raha Khalafinezhad,
Wan Khairuzzaman Wan Ismail, and Siti Zeleha Adb Rasid. Impact of
CRM Factors on Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty. Asian Social
Science. 9. 10. Canadian Center of Science and Education. 1 August
2013. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Sept. 2013.