Improving Customer Services - Essay Example

? IMPROVING SERVICES Introduction Offering an effective, friendly service is crucial to product selling and building of strong and loyal customer base. Otherwise, if a business allows the service to slip, then the company may take a drastic tumble. Customer service as defined by economists is the organizations ability to give their clients what they desire and require. Customer service in this sense, cover all aspects that do not directly interact with clients in any way, (Zemke and Woods, 1999, p.13). Purchasing, product quality and product manufacture may never interact or talk to clients directly, yet they are crucial aspects in meeting the needs of the customers. If a business wants to deliver costly goods that, does not work and make late delivery, this affects consumer service in the same way as the effects of rude sales representative will do. The entire business should consolidate its efforts to offer adequate and effective customer service. The paper will investigate different ways of enhancing customer service to enhance the profitability of an enterprise. Discussion In a bid to compete effectively in a real customer-driven way, a business must integrate its whole business operations around meeting the needs and wants if its customers – not marketing, selling and client service, but logistics of production and financial infrastructure and metrics. Business exceeds expectation of their clients by focusing innovation attempts in different areas such as creating friendly customer process, ensuring workers commitment to services of customers and client dialog, (James, 2009, p.12). A business attains some excellence in these areas to attain effective customer service. Businesses with better customer services comprehend that providing a superior experience for clients’ triggers loyalty and enhance combine results. Effective customer service tends to include intensive training of workers and project of managing talent. They additionally seem to treat employees well by offering them motivation, effective career enhancement, motivation and related benefit. The image of the business is as crucial as its customer services. The experience that clients have with an organization, and what information they hear from colleagues and family shape their view of the organization and their tendency to purchase from the company. Managers should understand and improve clients experience with their products and overall business transactions and services, (Kerr, 1996, p41). Similarly, business should streamline its resources without compromising its essentials. The company should maintain close contact with its clients on a regular manner, update them with free product and service information and ensure client satisfaction. This is because mood and perception of customers truly matters in any business transaction. For instance, if one is operating a healthcare company, he should understand that his clients are dealing with emotional aspects such as medication and illness, (Leone, 1999, p.45). Therefore, the employees should offer the client with emotional support and offer empathy dimensions to motivate and retain customers. Clientelling model is an effective mechanism used by large-scale companies. It entails pairing a client with a representative or employee who signs in the customer’s actions into the company database and meets future customer services accordingly. This is effective in creating connections with profitable customers, (Macphee, 2011, p.89). A company can improve customer service using cost-cutting strategies that balance the budget without terminating fundamental service, for instances, acting on the terms of the clients. This will involve interacting with clients in appropriate ways. Instead of employing a customer greeter whom clients mainly dismiss, the managers can instruct workers throughout the company to welcome incoming customers. This is about providing services based on the client’s terms. Additionally, create a strong customer service by allocating resources optimally. For instance, extensive businesses notoriously flood mailboxes with various catalogues, which go for waste and waste large sums of money, as a result. The company should utilize customer data to indicate the catalogue (kid’s toys and dolls, baggage and jewelry) every household should send and obtain, (Jacka and Keller, 2002, p.25). Similarly, offer various means to buy a product – online database, store and customer catalogues – to enhance the tendency of a sale. Companies should take time to employ appropriate employees and ensure that employees understand the company brands and customers. Positive attitudes towards customers – and the capacity to remain positive even under pressure – are crucial aspects of a better employee. In addition, the company managers should ensure that all employees are clear on their duties and tasks so that client concerns and problems are effectively addressed, (Stevens and May, 2004, p.56). Effective customer service reduces delays, improves customer motivation, attracts and retains customers. Business managers should ensure that all people involve in client services – ranging from front-line representatives to technical assistants and all people with extensive knowledge of the brand – should have regular meetings to discuss customer concerns and create effective relationships, (Smith, 2009, p,37). Companies should take additional steps and incorporate technological advancement in their client service. For instance, online advertising, selling and promotions are some of the factors of improving customer services. A manager should also ensure his customer services comprises of all channels - such as mobile phones, personal contact, websites, mobile promotions, social media such as Facebook, twitter and blogs – and record the companies achievements and failures to evaluate the working and non-working processes, (Selley, Baker and MCkay, 1997, p.78) The business managers should ensure that products are well stored and arranged to facilitate easy shopping and time saving, (Hui and Jha, 2000, p.19). Customers are attracted and enticed if the products are visible and well arranged - in shelves - to facilitate easy picking. Finally, offering unique treatments (discounts, subsidized prices, product information and promotions) to customers to make them feel appreciated and cared for will be effective in improving customer service, (Cater and Cater, 2007, p.74). This will also build a strong customer base for the business compared to competitors offering similar products. Conclusion In conclusion, therefore, experts agree that effective and strong customer service entails attracting and bring clients back. It also involves sending clients away happy and satisfied – satisfied enough to share and create a positive image and feedback about the company along to friends. A positive reputation – created by customers – may attract more clients to try the company products and experience a healthy customer services preached about the company. Improving customer services allow the business to retain customers, produce various positive advantages for the company and attack customers. Bibliography C?ater, T., & C?ater, B. (2007). Improving business-to-business services: a study of the influence of actor bonds, activity links and resource ties on customer loyalty in market research services. EURAM 2007. Hui, S. C., & Jha, G. (2000). Application of data mining techniques for improving customer services. 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BT TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERIES. 14, 111-130. Smith, M. (2009). Service is improving everywhere...but what about EMS? Ems Magazine. Stevens, T., & May, A. (2004). Improving Customer Experience Using Web Services. BT Technology Journal. 22, 63-71. Zemke, R., & Woods, J. A. (1999). Best practices in customer service. Amherst, Mass, HRD Press. . Read More