Page 82 - DMGT308_CUSTOMER_RELATIONSHIP_MANAGEMENT

Unit 4: Customer Retention, Acquisition and Expectation

A number of companies have adopted ‘customer delight’ as their mission, including Cisco, Notes
American Express and Kwik-Fit, the auto service chain. Other pays homage to the goal, but do
not organize to achieve it. In the service industries customer delight requires front-line employees
to be trained, empowered and rewarded for doing what it takes to delight customers. It is in the
interaction with customers that contact employees have the opportunity to understand and
exceed their expectations. The service quality attributes of empathy and responsiveness are on
show when employees aim to delight customers.

Figure 4.2: Customer Delight through Product Quality

Source: https://www.google.co.in/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=.3.3.0.0.0.0.219.604.0j1j2.3.0...0.0...
1ac.1.7.img.lht30OO7YYM

Exceeding expectations need not be costly. For example, a sales representative could do a number
of simple things such as:
Volunteer to collect and replace a faulty product from a customer rather than issuing a credit
note and waiting for the normal call cycle to schedule a call on the customer.
Offer better, lower cost solutions to the customer, even though that might reduce margin.
Provide information about the customer’s served market. A packaging company, for example,
might alert a fast-moving consumer goods manufacturer customer to competitive initiative in
the market.

Customer retention is not only a cost effective and profitable strategy, but in today’s business
world it’s necessary. This is especially true when you remember that 80% of your sales come
from 20% of your customer and clients.
Take for instance the wireless telephone companies; if you sign a new contract you are given a
large rebate or even a free cellular telephone. If you are a current customer you have the
privilege of paying full price.

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