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'Customer service' (also known as 'Client Service') is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.
According to Turban et al, 2002 “Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation”
Its importance varies by product, industry and customer. As an example, an expert customer might require less pre-purchase service (i.e., advice) than a novice. In many cases, customer service is more important if the purchase relates to a “service” as opposed to a “product".
Customer service may be provided by a person (e.g., sales and service representative), or by automated means called self-service. Examples of self service are Internet sites.
Customer service is normally an integral part of a company’s customer value proposition.

Contents

Implementation of customer service

Competitive advantage

Role of technology

Accountability

Customer Perception

Instant feedback

See also

External links

References

Implementation of customer service

Customer service may be employed to generate such competitive advantage as a particular service proposition can be harder to copy for competitors.
The implementation of a particular customer service proposition must consider several elements of the organization.
Customer service means always going beyond the expectation of the customers

Competitive advantage

A company may attempt to differentiate itself from its competition through the provision of better customer service. The consistent delivery of superior service requires the careful design and execution of a whole system of activities that includes people, technology, and processes; although, the rewards will include improved revenue from customers that are impressed with the service provided.The relation should not be only a buyer seller relation but beyond.

Role of technology

Technology has made available a wide range of customer service tools. They range from support websites and the ability to have live chats with technical staff to databases tracking individual customers' preferences, pattern of buying, payment methods etc., and tailoring products and service responses based on this advanced data. Specialist software that is designed for the tracking of service levels and for helping recognize areas for improvement are often integrated into other enterprise operational software tools such as ERP software.
Many companies have started to use new channels to capture customer feedback. With record number of people now communicating through mobile phone and sending texts, many argue that the next wave of customer feedback will primarily be captured through channels familiar to most consumers, such as mobile email and SMS. This will enable companies to track the opinions of their customers much more easily and gain valuable insight into how to improve service quality and enhance the customer experience.

Accountability

Customers tend to be more forgiving of organizations who acknowledge and apologize for their mistakes rather than denying them. Taking responsibility for mistakes and correcting them is considered an important aspect of good customer service. When a customer experiences poor service and is ignored, the customer is less likely to return to that company again.

Customer Perception

In the United States, Customer Service provided over the telephone varies widely in quality and particularly in the wait times experienced by customers. The extremely long wait times experienced when attempting to reach large companies is a common experience shared by many Americans, and often the subject of jokes and frustration. For example, the calm, cool analysis of customer service provided in this article would be scoffed at by many who have actually attempted to obtain such service.

Instant feedback

Recently, many organizations have implemented feedback loops that allow them to capture feedback at the point of experience. For example, one of the UK's leading coach companies invites passengers to send text messages whilst riding the bus. This has been shown to be useful as it allows companes to improve their customer service before the customer defects, thus making it far more likely that the customer will return next time.

See also

★ Customer experience management

★ Customer relationship management

★ Customer service representative

★ Customer survey

★ Service system

★ Institute of Customer Service (UK)

External links

★ Seven Steps to Remarkable Customer Service

★ How to Create a Customer Service Plan

★ Institute of Customer Service

References

★ The Financial Times- "How to find out what's being said about you"