Podcast
Questions and Answers
What does the acronym SWOT stand for?
What does the acronym SWOT stand for?
A SWOT analysis is only used to identify internal factors.
A SWOT analysis is only used to identify internal factors.
False
What is the purpose of running a SWOT analysis on competitors?
What is the purpose of running a SWOT analysis on competitors?
To gain an understanding of how their performance may impact operational performance.
The balanced scorecard approach uses integrated performance measures in the following areas: finance, customer, internal processes, and _______________.
The balanced scorecard approach uses integrated performance measures in the following areas: finance, customer, internal processes, and _______________.
Signup and view all the answers
What is the main benefit of using the balanced scorecard approach?
What is the main benefit of using the balanced scorecard approach?
Signup and view all the answers
Aims and objectives are used interchangeably in organizational planning.
Aims and objectives are used interchangeably in organizational planning.
Signup and view all the answers
What does the acronym SMART stand for in the context of objectives?
What does the acronym SMART stand for in the context of objectives?
Signup and view all the answers
Match the following components of the balanced scorecard approach with their descriptions:
Match the following components of the balanced scorecard approach with their descriptions:
Signup and view all the answers
PEST analysis is used to identify external factors related to _______________, _______________, _______________, and _______________.
PEST analysis is used to identify external factors related to _______________, _______________, _______________, and _______________.
Signup and view all the answers
What is the primary goal of using the balanced scorecard approach?
What is the primary goal of using the balanced scorecard approach?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the purpose of SWOT analysis?
What is the purpose of SWOT analysis?
Signup and view all the answers
The balanced scorecard approach is used to measure financial performance only.
The balanced scorecard approach is used to measure financial performance only.
Signup and view all the answers
What is the main difference between aims and objectives?
What is the main difference between aims and objectives?
Signup and view all the answers
The balanced scorecard approach uses integrated performance measures in finance, customer, internal processes, and ______.
The balanced scorecard approach uses integrated performance measures in finance, customer, internal processes, and ______.
Signup and view all the answers
What is the benefit of using the SO strategy?
What is the benefit of using the SO strategy?
Signup and view all the answers
PEST analysis is used to identify internal factors.
PEST analysis is used to identify internal factors.
Signup and view all the answers
What does SMART stand for in the context of objectives?
What does SMART stand for in the context of objectives?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the primary goal of using the balanced scorecard approach?
What is the primary goal of using the balanced scorecard approach?
Signup and view all the answers
Match the following components of PEST analysis with their descriptions:
Match the following components of PEST analysis with their descriptions:
Signup and view all the answers
Objectives must be ________________________.
Objectives must be ________________________.
Signup and view all the answers
What is the primary purpose of a SWOT analysis?
What is the primary purpose of a SWOT analysis?
Signup and view all the answers
Which of the following is a characteristic of a Weakness in a SWOT analysis?
Which of the following is a characteristic of a Weakness in a SWOT analysis?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the primary benefit of using the balanced scorecard approach?
What is the primary benefit of using the balanced scorecard approach?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the primary goal of using the SO strategy?
What is the primary goal of using the SO strategy?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the primary purpose of PEST analysis?
What is the primary purpose of PEST analysis?
Signup and view all the answers
What is a characteristic of an objective in organizational planning?
What is a characteristic of an objective in organizational planning?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the primary benefit of using SMART objectives?
What is the primary benefit of using SMART objectives?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the primary goal of a WT strategy?
What is the primary goal of a WT strategy?
Signup and view all the answers
What is a characteristic of the balanced scorecard approach?
What is a characteristic of the balanced scorecard approach?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the primary goal of conducting a SWOT analysis on competitors?
What is the primary goal of conducting a SWOT analysis on competitors?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the simplest definition of a customer?
What is the simplest definition of a customer?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the main difference between a customer and a consumer?
What is the main difference between a customer and a consumer?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the term used to refer to customers in the context of business-to-business transactions or interactions?
What is the term used to refer to customers in the context of business-to-business transactions or interactions?
Signup and view all the answers
What is an internal customer?
What is an internal customer?
Signup and view all the answers
Why is it important to conduct market research about a business' potential customer base?
Why is it important to conduct market research about a business' potential customer base?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the key to a successful business in terms of customer relationships?
What is the key to a successful business in terms of customer relationships?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the likelihood of a customer buying from an organization they follow on Twitter?
What is the likelihood of a customer buying from an organization they follow on Twitter?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the term given to someone who has bought from a business more than once?
What is the term given to someone who has bought from a business more than once?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the result of poor customer service on profit margins?
What is the result of poor customer service on profit margins?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the purpose of the RATER model?
What is the purpose of the RATER model?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the benefit of providing good customer service?
What is the benefit of providing good customer service?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the term given to the process of comparing a business's actual performance data to its potential performance data?
What is the term given to the process of comparing a business's actual performance data to its potential performance data?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the primary purpose of gap analysis in service delivery?
What is the primary purpose of gap analysis in service delivery?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the primary reason why internal customers are important to an organization?
What is the primary reason why internal customers are important to an organization?
Signup and view all the answers
Which of the following is a characteristic of Gap 3 in the SERVQUAL model?
Which of the following is a characteristic of Gap 3 in the SERVQUAL model?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the primary reason for the increasing customer expectations in the twenty-first century?
What is the primary reason for the increasing customer expectations in the twenty-first century?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the key element of a successful organization?
What is the key element of a successful organization?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the primary benefit of meeting customer expectations under the RATER dimensions?
What is the primary benefit of meeting customer expectations under the RATER dimensions?
Signup and view all the answers
What is a customer relationship built through?
What is a customer relationship built through?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the result of a 10% increase in customer retention?
What is the result of a 10% increase in customer retention?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the main expectation of customers in terms of communication across all channels?
What is the main expectation of customers in terms of communication across all channels?
Signup and view all the answers
Which of the following is a characteristic of Gap 6 in the SERVQUAL model?
Which of the following is a characteristic of Gap 6 in the SERVQUAL model?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the primary goal of continually improving service delivery standards?
What is the primary goal of continually improving service delivery standards?
Signup and view all the answers
Which of the following is an example of a delighter?
Which of the following is an example of a delighter?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the probability of selling to an existing customer?
What is the probability of selling to an existing customer?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the value of a loyal customer compared to their first purchase?
What is the value of a loyal customer compared to their first purchase?
Signup and view all the answers
What happens when a business does not meet the basic expectations of its customers?
What happens when a business does not meet the basic expectations of its customers?
Signup and view all the answers
Which of the following is a factor that can dissatisfy customers if it is missing?
Which of the following is a factor that can dissatisfy customers if it is missing?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the definition of satisfiers according to the Kano Model?
What is the definition of satisfiers according to the Kano Model?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the importance of meeting the basic expectations of customers?
What is the importance of meeting the basic expectations of customers?
Signup and view all the answers
What do customers expect from service staff in terms of competence?
What do customers expect from service staff in terms of competence?
Signup and view all the answers
What does responsiveness refer to in customer service?
What does responsiveness refer to in customer service?
Signup and view all the answers
What do customers hope to experience when interacting with service staff?
What do customers hope to experience when interacting with service staff?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the result of delivering the service factors brilliantly?
What is the result of delivering the service factors brilliantly?
Signup and view all the answers
What is an example of a factor that can delight customers?
What is an example of a factor that can delight customers?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the result of not delivering the service factors efficiently?
What is the result of not delivering the service factors efficiently?
Signup and view all the answers
What do customers expect from service staff in terms of courtesy?
What do customers expect from service staff in terms of courtesy?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the result of treating customers with care and concern?
What is the result of treating customers with care and concern?
Signup and view all the answers
What do customers hope to experience when interacting with service staff?
What do customers hope to experience when interacting with service staff?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the result of delivering the service factors efficiently?
What is the result of delivering the service factors efficiently?
Signup and view all the answers
Study Notes
Module 1: An Overview of Customer Relationship Building
- The module covers the definition of a customer, customer relationship, and customer satisfaction.
Topic 1: Defining the Customer
- A customer is someone who purchases a good or service, either for themselves or for someone else.
- A customer can make one or more purchases.
- Businesses should know their customer to meet and anticipate their needs.
- Market research is important to understand the needs and expectations of the customer base.
Customer vs Consumer vs Client
- A customer is the purchaser of a good or service.
- A consumer is the user of a good or service.
- A client is used in business-to-business transactions or in service organizations that provide services like legal, healthcare, or consulting.
What is an Internal Customer?
- An external customer is someone who pays for a service and can choose to switch providers if they're unhappy.
- An internal customer is someone within an organization who provides or receives services from others.
- Examples of internal customers include employees, franchisees, or business partners.
Topic 2: The Customer Relationship
- A customer relationship is the ongoing relationship between a customer and an organization over time.
- Customer relationships are built through customer engagement via marketing, sales, technical help, customer service, and after-sales service.
- Customer satisfaction is key to a successful organization, as it leads to loyalty and repeat business.
Why is Building a Customer Relationship Important?
- Positive customer relationships make good business sense.
- Loyal customers are more likely to buy from an organization and recommend it to others.
- The profitability of building customer relationships is high, as existing customers are more likely to buy again and refer others.
Topic 3: Satisfying Customer Expectations
- Good customer service is essential to meet and exceed customer expectations.
- The benefits of good customer service include increased customer loyalty, positive word-of-mouth, and increased sales.
- The five key components of satisfying customers are:
- Service (bad service = poor customer satisfaction, good service = excellent customer satisfaction)
- Reliability (providing the promised service consistently, accurately, and timely)
- Assurance (how well the knowledge, skills, and credibility of employees inspire trust and confidence)
- Tangibles (the appearance of physical elements of your service)
- Empathy (showing care and individual attention to customers)
- Responsiveness (providing a rapid and helpful service to customers)
What is a Gap Analysis?
- A gap analysis is a process that compares actual performance data to potential performance data.
- It highlights the gaps between customer expectations and perceptions of a product or service.
- The SERVQUAL model identifies seven types of service gaps that organizations can use to measure, manage, and reduce.
How are Customer Expectations Changing?
- Customer expectations are increasing in all areas under the RATER dimensions.
- Reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy, and responsiveness are becoming more important in the 21st century.
- Customers expect accuracy, guarantee, and seamless communication across all channels.
Topic 4: Delighting the Customer
- The Kano Model suggests three service performance levels: basic, standard, and unanticipated.
- Dissatisfiers are the basic requirements or must-haves of a service or product.
- Satisfiers are the standard expectations that are often articulated.
- Delighters are unexpected, unanticipated, and surprising offerings that delight customers.
What Factors Can Dissatisfy Customers When Missing?
-
Factors that are expected by customers and can dissatisfy a customer if they are missing include:
- Reliability
- Integrity
- Communication
- Functionality
- Competence### Customer Expectations and Delight
-
Customers expect responsiveness, care, availability, and courtesy from service providers.
-
Responsiveness is crucial in delivering quality service and satisfying customers.
-
Care involves being looked after with sympathy, concern, and patience, making customers feel emotionally comfortable.
-
Availability of service, staff, and products is essential in meeting customer expectations.
-
Courtesy involves treating customers politely and respectfully, answering their questions, and being unobtrusive when necessary.
Factors that Delight Customers
- Friendliness involves being warm, approachable, and having a positive attitude, making customers feel welcome.
- Commitment involves demonstrating diligence, thoroughness, and pride in helping customers, going above and beyond expectations.
- Attentiveness/Helpfulness involves being thorough, diligent, and proud in helping customers, exceeding expectations.
The Customer Journey
- The customer journey is the route customers take from deciding to buy to buying and beyond.
- It involves five stages: awareness, research, purchase, renewal, and claims.
- The customer journey is experienced and perceived by the customer before, during, and after interacting with an organization.
- Understanding the customer journey helps organizations improve customer experience.
Customer Journey Mapping
- A customer journey map plots out the customer journey and describes the customer's experience.
- It maps out significant customer interactions, feelings, motivations, needs, and behaviors.
- Understanding the customer journey helps organizations improve customer experience and identify areas for improvement.
Benefits of Mapping the Customer Journey
- Builds a customer-centric culture, seeing the product or service through the customer's eyes.
- Removes silo mentality, bringing cross-functional teams together to improve service and customer experience.
- Improves internal communication, delivering a seamless service.
- Identifies areas for improvement, recognizing problems with the service offering.
- Delights customers, identifying new areas for innovation and improvement.
Customer Personas
- A customer persona is a model based on market research and real data, indicating who the customer is, what they are trying to accomplish, and how they think and buy.
- Customer personas help organizations make decisions about services and products, understand customer needs, and develop empathy.
- Personas can be used to inform business strategies, particularly in sales, marketing, and customer experience.
Hierarchy of Needs
- The hierarchy of needs consists of five levels: self-actualization, esteem, love and belonging, safety, and physiological needs.
- Needs are motivating, and once one need is met, the person moves on to satisfy the next need.
- There are two types of needs: being needs (B-needs) and deficit needs (D-needs).
Emotional Engagement
- Mapping emotional engagement is essential, as it shows the full emotional engagement of a customer going through a journey.
- Emotional engagement influences customer attitude and decision to support an organization.
- Customers may be aware or unaware of the emotions driving their behavior.
Customer-Centric Culture
- A customer-centric culture is one where the customer is at the center, heart, and purpose of the organization.
- The culture is shaped by incentives, shared values, and beliefs, and is a carrier of meaning.
- A customer-centric organization balances the hard and soft aspects of the organization, focusing on talent, engagement, and dedication.
Benefits of a Customer-Centric Culture
- Leaders understand the importance of customer experience and continually improving it.
- Employees promote what is best for the customer and are empowered to meet customer needs.
- Customers recognize and appreciate the effort to meet and exceed their needs, becoming loyal advocates.
Customer-Centric Organization Mission Statement
- A customer-centric organization's mission statement describes what the company needs to accomplish to achieve its vision.
- The mission statement provides focus and motivation for the business goals.
- The organization's purpose is aspirational, reflecting people's idealistic reasons and motivations for working for the organization.### Customer-Centric Mission Statement
- A customer-centric mission statement supports the requirements of the customer and is underpinned by the organization's values and culture.
- Sharing values in an organization can be embedded through facilitated workshops, feedback, and integrating values into performance management systems, recruitment, recognition, and learning activities.
Developing a Customer-Centric Strategy
- A customer-centric strategy is a high-level plan to achieve a long-term goal, identifying the customer, their needs, and expectations.
- The strategy should be based on reality, considering the organizational context, external context, and using current data and customer feedback.
Strategic Positioning
- Strategic positioning is how the organization competes and serves customers in the marketplace, aiming to maintain a competitive advantage.
- There are three paradigms: meeting a small number of needs for a select few, meeting a wide range of needs for a select few, and meeting a wide range of needs for a large number in a select marketplace.
Customer-Centric Strategy
- A customer-centric strategy understands and defines the customer, identifies the strategic position, improves the customer experience, and provides guidelines for focused decisions.
- It includes financial, internal, and learning measures, considers risks and opportunities, and is integral to the organization's ability to execute the strategic plan.
SWOT Analysis
- A SWOT analysis highlights areas to consider for the future, including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
- It helps answer questions such as building on strengths, mitigating weaknesses, taking advantage of opportunities, and controlling threats.
Balanced Scorecard Approach
- The balanced scorecard approach aligns the organizational vision and strategy, improves internal and external communications, and monitors organizational structure against strategic objectives.
- It uses integrated performance measures in finance, customer, internal processes, and innovation and learning to give a 'balanced' view of organizational performance.
Writing Customer-Centric Objectives
- Aims are general statements of what the organization is striving to achieve, closely related to the vision and mission.
- Objectives are explicit statements with measurable outcomes, used to compare actual performance against specified targets.
- SMART objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
Module 1: An Overview of Customer Relationship Building
- The module covers the definition of a customer, customer relationship, and customer satisfaction.
Topic 1: Defining the Customer
- A customer is someone who purchases a good or service, either for themselves or for someone else.
- A customer can make one or more purchases.
- Businesses should know their customer to meet and anticipate their needs.
- Market research is important to understand the needs and expectations of the customer base.
Customer vs Consumer vs Client
- A customer is the purchaser of a good or service.
- A consumer is the user of a good or service.
- A client is used in business-to-business transactions or in service organizations that provide services like legal, healthcare, or consulting.
What is an Internal Customer?
- An external customer is someone who pays for a service and can choose to switch providers if they're unhappy.
- An internal customer is someone within an organization who provides or receives services from others.
- Examples of internal customers include employees, franchisees, or business partners.
Topic 2: The Customer Relationship
- A customer relationship is the ongoing relationship between a customer and an organization over time.
- Customer relationships are built through customer engagement via marketing, sales, technical help, customer service, and after-sales service.
- Customer satisfaction is key to a successful organization, as it leads to loyalty and repeat business.
Why is Building a Customer Relationship Important?
- Positive customer relationships make good business sense.
- Loyal customers are more likely to buy from an organization and recommend it to others.
- The profitability of building customer relationships is high, as existing customers are more likely to buy again and refer others.
Topic 3: Satisfying Customer Expectations
- Good customer service is essential to meet and exceed customer expectations.
- The benefits of good customer service include increased customer loyalty, positive word-of-mouth, and increased sales.
- The five key components of satisfying customers are:
- Service (bad service = poor customer satisfaction, good service = excellent customer satisfaction)
- Reliability (providing the promised service consistently, accurately, and timely)
- Assurance (how well the knowledge, skills, and credibility of employees inspire trust and confidence)
- Tangibles (the appearance of physical elements of your service)
- Empathy (showing care and individual attention to customers)
- Responsiveness (providing a rapid and helpful service to customers)
What is a Gap Analysis?
- A gap analysis is a process that compares actual performance data to potential performance data.
- It highlights the gaps between customer expectations and perceptions of a product or service.
- The SERVQUAL model identifies seven types of service gaps that organizations can use to measure, manage, and reduce.
How are Customer Expectations Changing?
- Customer expectations are increasing in all areas under the RATER dimensions.
- Reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy, and responsiveness are becoming more important in the 21st century.
- Customers expect accuracy, guarantee, and seamless communication across all channels.
Topic 4: Delighting the Customer
- The Kano Model suggests three service performance levels: basic, standard, and unanticipated.
- Dissatisfiers are the basic requirements or must-haves of a service or product.
- Satisfiers are the standard expectations that are often articulated.
- Delighters are unexpected, unanticipated, and surprising offerings that delight customers.
What Factors Can Dissatisfy Customers When Missing?
-
Factors that are expected by customers and can dissatisfy a customer if they are missing include:
- Reliability
- Integrity
- Communication
- Functionality
- Competence### Customer Expectations and Delight
-
Customers expect responsiveness, care, availability, and courtesy from service providers.
-
Responsiveness is crucial in delivering quality service and satisfying customers.
-
Care involves being looked after with sympathy, concern, and patience, making customers feel emotionally comfortable.
-
Availability of service, staff, and products is essential in meeting customer expectations.
-
Courtesy involves treating customers politely and respectfully, answering their questions, and being unobtrusive when necessary.
Factors that Delight Customers
- Friendliness involves being warm, approachable, and having a positive attitude, making customers feel welcome.
- Commitment involves demonstrating diligence, thoroughness, and pride in helping customers, going above and beyond expectations.
- Attentiveness/Helpfulness involves being thorough, diligent, and proud in helping customers, exceeding expectations.
The Customer Journey
- The customer journey is the route customers take from deciding to buy to buying and beyond.
- It involves five stages: awareness, research, purchase, renewal, and claims.
- The customer journey is experienced and perceived by the customer before, during, and after interacting with an organization.
- Understanding the customer journey helps organizations improve customer experience.
Customer Journey Mapping
- A customer journey map plots out the customer journey and describes the customer's experience.
- It maps out significant customer interactions, feelings, motivations, needs, and behaviors.
- Understanding the customer journey helps organizations improve customer experience and identify areas for improvement.
Benefits of Mapping the Customer Journey
- Builds a customer-centric culture, seeing the product or service through the customer's eyes.
- Removes silo mentality, bringing cross-functional teams together to improve service and customer experience.
- Improves internal communication, delivering a seamless service.
- Identifies areas for improvement, recognizing problems with the service offering.
- Delights customers, identifying new areas for innovation and improvement.
Customer Personas
- A customer persona is a model based on market research and real data, indicating who the customer is, what they are trying to accomplish, and how they think and buy.
- Customer personas help organizations make decisions about services and products, understand customer needs, and develop empathy.
- Personas can be used to inform business strategies, particularly in sales, marketing, and customer experience.
Hierarchy of Needs
- The hierarchy of needs consists of five levels: self-actualization, esteem, love and belonging, safety, and physiological needs.
- Needs are motivating, and once one need is met, the person moves on to satisfy the next need.
- There are two types of needs: being needs (B-needs) and deficit needs (D-needs).
Emotional Engagement
- Mapping emotional engagement is essential, as it shows the full emotional engagement of a customer going through a journey.
- Emotional engagement influences customer attitude and decision to support an organization.
- Customers may be aware or unaware of the emotions driving their behavior.
Customer-Centric Culture
- A customer-centric culture is one where the customer is at the center, heart, and purpose of the organization.
- The culture is shaped by incentives, shared values, and beliefs, and is a carrier of meaning.
- A customer-centric organization balances the hard and soft aspects of the organization, focusing on talent, engagement, and dedication.
Benefits of a Customer-Centric Culture
- Leaders understand the importance of customer experience and continually improving it.
- Employees promote what is best for the customer and are empowered to meet customer needs.
- Customers recognize and appreciate the effort to meet and exceed their needs, becoming loyal advocates.
Customer-Centric Organization Mission Statement
- A customer-centric organization's mission statement describes what the company needs to accomplish to achieve its vision.
- The mission statement provides focus and motivation for the business goals.
- The organization's purpose is aspirational, reflecting people's idealistic reasons and motivations for working for the organization.### Customer-Centric Mission Statement
- A customer-centric mission statement supports the requirements of the customer and is underpinned by the organization's values and culture.
- Sharing values in an organization can be embedded through facilitated workshops, feedback, and integrating values into performance management systems, recruitment, recognition, and learning activities.
Developing a Customer-Centric Strategy
- A customer-centric strategy is a high-level plan to achieve a long-term goal, identifying the customer, their needs, and expectations.
- The strategy should be based on reality, considering the organizational context, external context, and using current data and customer feedback.
Strategic Positioning
- Strategic positioning is how the organization competes and serves customers in the marketplace, aiming to maintain a competitive advantage.
- There are three paradigms: meeting a small number of needs for a select few, meeting a wide range of needs for a select few, and meeting a wide range of needs for a large number in a select marketplace.
Customer-Centric Strategy
- A customer-centric strategy understands and defines the customer, identifies the strategic position, improves the customer experience, and provides guidelines for focused decisions.
- It includes financial, internal, and learning measures, considers risks and opportunities, and is integral to the organization's ability to execute the strategic plan.
SWOT Analysis
- A SWOT analysis highlights areas to consider for the future, including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
- It helps answer questions such as building on strengths, mitigating weaknesses, taking advantage of opportunities, and controlling threats.
Balanced Scorecard Approach
- The balanced scorecard approach aligns the organizational vision and strategy, improves internal and external communications, and monitors organizational structure against strategic objectives.
- It uses integrated performance measures in finance, customer, internal processes, and innovation and learning to give a 'balanced' view of organizational performance.
Writing Customer-Centric Objectives
- Aims are general statements of what the organization is striving to achieve, closely related to the vision and mission.
- Objectives are explicit statements with measurable outcomes, used to compare actual performance against specified targets.
- SMART objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
Module 1: An Overview of Customer Relationship Building
- The module covers the definition of a customer, customer relationship, and customer satisfaction.
Topic 1: Defining the Customer
- A customer is someone who purchases a good or service, either for themselves or for someone else.
- A customer can make one or more purchases.
- Businesses should know their customer to meet and anticipate their needs.
- Market research is important to understand the needs and expectations of the customer base.
Customer vs Consumer vs Client
- A customer is the purchaser of a good or service.
- A consumer is the user of a good or service.
- A client is used in business-to-business transactions or in service organizations that provide services like legal, healthcare, or consulting.
What is an Internal Customer?
- An external customer is someone who pays for a service and can choose to switch providers if they're unhappy.
- An internal customer is someone within an organization who provides or receives services from others.
- Examples of internal customers include employees, franchisees, or business partners.
Topic 2: The Customer Relationship
- A customer relationship is the ongoing relationship between a customer and an organization over time.
- Customer relationships are built through customer engagement via marketing, sales, technical help, customer service, and after-sales service.
- Customer satisfaction is key to a successful organization, as it leads to loyalty and repeat business.
Why is Building a Customer Relationship Important?
- Positive customer relationships make good business sense.
- Loyal customers are more likely to buy from an organization and recommend it to others.
- The profitability of building customer relationships is high, as existing customers are more likely to buy again and refer others.
Topic 3: Satisfying Customer Expectations
- Good customer service is essential to meet and exceed customer expectations.
- The benefits of good customer service include increased customer loyalty, positive word-of-mouth, and increased sales.
- The five key components of satisfying customers are:
- Service (bad service = poor customer satisfaction, good service = excellent customer satisfaction)
- Reliability (providing the promised service consistently, accurately, and timely)
- Assurance (how well the knowledge, skills, and credibility of employees inspire trust and confidence)
- Tangibles (the appearance of physical elements of your service)
- Empathy (showing care and individual attention to customers)
- Responsiveness (providing a rapid and helpful service to customers)
What is a Gap Analysis?
- A gap analysis is a process that compares actual performance data to potential performance data.
- It highlights the gaps between customer expectations and perceptions of a product or service.
- The SERVQUAL model identifies seven types of service gaps that organizations can use to measure, manage, and reduce.
How are Customer Expectations Changing?
- Customer expectations are increasing in all areas under the RATER dimensions.
- Reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy, and responsiveness are becoming more important in the 21st century.
- Customers expect accuracy, guarantee, and seamless communication across all channels.
Topic 4: Delighting the Customer
- The Kano Model suggests three service performance levels: basic, standard, and unanticipated.
- Dissatisfiers are the basic requirements or must-haves of a service or product.
- Satisfiers are the standard expectations that are often articulated.
- Delighters are unexpected, unanticipated, and surprising offerings that delight customers.
What Factors Can Dissatisfy Customers When Missing?
-
Factors that are expected by customers and can dissatisfy a customer if they are missing include:
- Reliability
- Integrity
- Communication
- Functionality
- Competence### Customer Expectations and Delight
-
Customers expect responsiveness, care, availability, and courtesy from service providers.
-
Responsiveness is crucial in delivering quality service and satisfying customers.
-
Care involves being looked after with sympathy, concern, and patience, making customers feel emotionally comfortable.
-
Availability of service, staff, and products is essential in meeting customer expectations.
-
Courtesy involves treating customers politely and respectfully, answering their questions, and being unobtrusive when necessary.
Factors that Delight Customers
- Friendliness involves being warm, approachable, and having a positive attitude, making customers feel welcome.
- Commitment involves demonstrating diligence, thoroughness, and pride in helping customers, going above and beyond expectations.
- Attentiveness/Helpfulness involves being thorough, diligent, and proud in helping customers, exceeding expectations.
The Customer Journey
- The customer journey is the route customers take from deciding to buy to buying and beyond.
- It involves five stages: awareness, research, purchase, renewal, and claims.
- The customer journey is experienced and perceived by the customer before, during, and after interacting with an organization.
- Understanding the customer journey helps organizations improve customer experience.
Customer Journey Mapping
- A customer journey map plots out the customer journey and describes the customer's experience.
- It maps out significant customer interactions, feelings, motivations, needs, and behaviors.
- Understanding the customer journey helps organizations improve customer experience and identify areas for improvement.
Benefits of Mapping the Customer Journey
- Builds a customer-centric culture, seeing the product or service through the customer's eyes.
- Removes silo mentality, bringing cross-functional teams together to improve service and customer experience.
- Improves internal communication, delivering a seamless service.
- Identifies areas for improvement, recognizing problems with the service offering.
- Delights customers, identifying new areas for innovation and improvement.
Customer Personas
- A customer persona is a model based on market research and real data, indicating who the customer is, what they are trying to accomplish, and how they think and buy.
- Customer personas help organizations make decisions about services and products, understand customer needs, and develop empathy.
- Personas can be used to inform business strategies, particularly in sales, marketing, and customer experience.
Hierarchy of Needs
- The hierarchy of needs consists of five levels: self-actualization, esteem, love and belonging, safety, and physiological needs.
- Needs are motivating, and once one need is met, the person moves on to satisfy the next need.
- There are two types of needs: being needs (B-needs) and deficit needs (D-needs).
Emotional Engagement
- Mapping emotional engagement is essential, as it shows the full emotional engagement of a customer going through a journey.
- Emotional engagement influences customer attitude and decision to support an organization.
- Customers may be aware or unaware of the emotions driving their behavior.
Customer-Centric Culture
- A customer-centric culture is one where the customer is at the center, heart, and purpose of the organization.
- The culture is shaped by incentives, shared values, and beliefs, and is a carrier of meaning.
- A customer-centric organization balances the hard and soft aspects of the organization, focusing on talent, engagement, and dedication.
Benefits of a Customer-Centric Culture
- Leaders understand the importance of customer experience and continually improving it.
- Employees promote what is best for the customer and are empowered to meet customer needs.
- Customers recognize and appreciate the effort to meet and exceed their needs, becoming loyal advocates.
Customer-Centric Organization Mission Statement
- A customer-centric organization's mission statement describes what the company needs to accomplish to achieve its vision.
- The mission statement provides focus and motivation for the business goals.
- The organization's purpose is aspirational, reflecting people's idealistic reasons and motivations for working for the organization.### Customer-Centric Mission Statement
- A customer-centric mission statement supports the requirements of the customer and is underpinned by the organization's values and culture.
- Sharing values in an organization can be embedded through facilitated workshops, feedback, and integrating values into performance management systems, recruitment, recognition, and learning activities.
Developing a Customer-Centric Strategy
- A customer-centric strategy is a high-level plan to achieve a long-term goal, identifying the customer, their needs, and expectations.
- The strategy should be based on reality, considering the organizational context, external context, and using current data and customer feedback.
Strategic Positioning
- Strategic positioning is how the organization competes and serves customers in the marketplace, aiming to maintain a competitive advantage.
- There are three paradigms: meeting a small number of needs for a select few, meeting a wide range of needs for a select few, and meeting a wide range of needs for a large number in a select marketplace.
Customer-Centric Strategy
- A customer-centric strategy understands and defines the customer, identifies the strategic position, improves the customer experience, and provides guidelines for focused decisions.
- It includes financial, internal, and learning measures, considers risks and opportunities, and is integral to the organization's ability to execute the strategic plan.
SWOT Analysis
- A SWOT analysis highlights areas to consider for the future, including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
- It helps answer questions such as building on strengths, mitigating weaknesses, taking advantage of opportunities, and controlling threats.
Balanced Scorecard Approach
- The balanced scorecard approach aligns the organizational vision and strategy, improves internal and external communications, and monitors organizational structure against strategic objectives.
- It uses integrated performance measures in finance, customer, internal processes, and innovation and learning to give a 'balanced' view of organizational performance.
Writing Customer-Centric Objectives
- Aims are general statements of what the organization is striving to achieve, closely related to the vision and mission.
- Objectives are explicit statements with measurable outcomes, used to compare actual performance against specified targets.
- SMART objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
Defining the Customer
- A customer is someone who purchases a good or service for themselves or others.
- They can make one or more purchases.
- Loyal customers are more likely to purchase from certain brands or stores, while others shop around.
- A successful business knows its customers to meet their needs and anticipate their expectations.
- Market research is essential to understand the customer base and their needs.
Customer vs Consumer vs Client
- A customer is the purchaser of a good or service.
- A consumer is the user of a good or service (not always the customer).
- Marketing often targets consumers, not customers.
- Businesses should target both customers and consumers for successful marketing.
- Clients are used in business-to-business (B2B) transactions and service organizations (e.g., legal, healthcare, consulting).
Internal Customer
- An external customer pays for a service and can switch providers if unhappy.
- An internal customer is within an organization, receives services from colleagues, and has no choice in changing providers.
- Examples of internal customers include individuals receiving services from colleagues and franchisees/business partners distributing goods/services to external customers.
- Dissatisfied internal customers can affect external customers, leading to negative outcomes.
The Customer Relationship
- A customer relationship is built over time through marketing, sales, technical help, customer service, and after-sales service.
- The goal is to create loyal customers who repeat business and bring in new customers.
- A successful organization prioritizes building loyal customers over one-time sales.
- Customer loyalty comes from individuals who feel a strong relationship with the organization.
- First impressions are crucial in building customer relationships.
Benefits of Good Customer Service
- Good customer service increases customer loyalty and repeat business.
- Loyal customers are more likely to refer others and spend more money.
- Poor customer service leads to lost sales, reduced customer loyalty, and negative word-of-mouth.
The Six Loyalty Stages
- Suspect: someone who might buy your product or service.
- Prospect: someone who needs your product/service and can afford it.
- First-Time Customer: someone who has made one purchase.
- Repeat Customer: someone who has made multiple purchases.
- Client: someone who buys from you regularly.
- Advocate: someone who buys from you regularly and recommends you to others.
Satisfying Customer Expectations
- Good customer service meets and exceeds customer expectations.
- Poor customer service negatively impacts profit margins.
- The RATER model (Reliability, Assurance, Tangibles, Empathy, Responsiveness) assesses service quality from the customer's perspective.
- Gap analysis identifies the difference between customer expectations and perceptions of a product/service.
Changing Customer Expectations
- Customer expectations are increasing in all RATER dimensions.
- Customers expect consistency, accuracy, and rapid responses.
- They also expect seamless communication across all channels.
- Businesses must continually improve service delivery standards to meet changing customer expectations.### Delighting Customers
- Delighting customers results from delivering service factors brilliantly, leading to customer satisfaction.
Factors that Delight Customers
- Friendliness: warm, approachable, positive attitude, and making the customer feel welcome.
- Commitment: demonstrating pride and satisfaction in helping the customer, going above and beyond the expected standard of delivery.
- Attentiveness/Helpfulness: demonstrating a commitment to work, being diligent and thorough, and helping the customer beyond expected standards.
Importance of Investing in Delight Factors
- Organizations must invest in these factors to delight customers.
Studying That Suits You
Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.
Description
Learn about customer relationship building, defining customers, and satisfying customer expectations. Understand the importance of building a customer relationship and the benefits of good customer service.
