The
end of customer service is nothing less or nothing more than customer
satisfaction. A satisfied customer is generally a sure source of business, that
is, a sure source of revenue for the company.
Customer
service describes the relationship between the product and the customer
primarily in three levels: Promise, Perform and Please. The company records its promise of quality to
customer satisfaction through appeals using the media, advertisement and
agencies; once the customer buys the product, it performs its promise and
thereby pleases the customer persuading him into customer loyalty to the product
of the company. In other words,
relationship is built progressively offering service to the customer. The
product offers support to the customer before and after the purchase of the
product. A contented customer is usually a constant customer.
Unlike
in the recent past when a customer decided upon price, or service, today the
customer has matured and demands overall experience which is what we discussed
earlier, the experience of Promise, of Performance and of Pleasure. Only when
all these essential attributes are taken care of, the product will do well in
the environment of stifling competition.
Without facing competition no business can survive for long. And
competition compels quality of total experience.
Bad
customer service pushes out the customer and it is said that acquiring new
customers cost about 6 times more than retaining an existing customer. Any
additional unplanned expenditure corrodes the bottom line of the company. In
today’s digital explosion, customers know everything about your product and
about other companies that offer the same product. And it is reported that
today’s customers tend to expect more and more; with the result, competition
among the companies of the same segment with the same product offering gets
keener day by day. Another very important fact that must not be made light of
is negative aspects of any product experience move faster among the digital
buffs. Against this backdrop of potential threats to bad experience of a
service or a product, the good thing today is customers are willing to pay more
for better experience. They tighten the purse for a bad product but the purse
is generous when it encounters better product or service.
All
this goes to underscore the extraordinary importance of customer service and
next, we shall see in what ways the customer service can be maintained at a
profitable level.
