ABSTRACT
Understand the importance of service as an element of the marketing mix
Understand the factors that contribute to the delivery of service quality
Understand the relationship between service quality and the broader concept of customer care
Understand the role and importance of customer care and how to plan and implement a customer care policy
Understand the importance of people and a company’s staff in contributing to customer care and effective service delivery
KEY REV IS ION PO INTS
The management concept of TQM The extended marketing mix Implementing customer care programmes The SERVQUAL model and its application
Syllabus Reference: 3.13, 3.14
n The process of adding value to the customer purchase
n Now as applicable to purchasing products as originally a part of service delivery
n Part of the Augmented Product offering
n Enables a competitive advantage to be delivered (SCA)
n Needs to emanate from a customer-oriented organization
n Perishability
n Intangibility
n Inseparability
n Process – How the customer actually receives or purchases the goods/services and how effective that transaction is
n Physical evidence – The organizational mission and the way it is communicated and manifests itself in the customer transaction
n People – The staff the customers encounter, either at the point of purchase or as an after-sales experience
A management culture that puts quality and customer care at the heart of the organization
TQM approach is to meet customer requirements first time, every time
TQM delivers the quality aspect, whereas customer care delivers the service aspect of the customer experience
n Recognition of the strategic importance of customers and suppliers
n Development of win – win relations between customer and suppliers
n Establishing relationships based on trust
These are put into practice by
n Constantly collecting information on customer expectations
n Disseminating the information widely within the organization
n Using the information to design and deliver the product/service offering
n Total commitment from staff
n A customer-orientated culture
n An understanding of customer requirements and the organization’s obligations
n Commitment from top management
n Adherence to process and procedures designed to deliver the obligations
n Monitoring of customer needs and how they may change
n Up-to-date
n Reliable
n Used to inform decision-making and planning
n Produced to inform and motivate staff
n Produced at regular stages to monitor improvement
n Able to make measurement part of the implementation process
What policy of customer care is most appropriate for the company?
