CHAPTER 5: Understanding Customer Requirements Lost customer research

(Listening to Customers through Research)
SERVICE RESEARCH PROGRAM
- The portfolio of research studies and types needed to address
research objectives and execute an overall measurement
strategy
Criteria for an effective service research program
1. Qualitative and quantitative
2. Includes perceptions and expectations of customers
3. Balances cost of research and value of info
4. Statistical validity
5. Measure the priorities and importance of attributes
6. Occurs with appropriate frequency
7. Includes the measure of loyalty, behavioral intentions or
actual behavior
- Identify reasons for customer defection, assess gaps between
customer expectations and perceptions
- Future expectation research is good for forecast future
expectations, develop new service ideas
What are the attributes of SERVQUAL?
● Reliability
● Responsiveness
● Assurance
● Empathy
“Research is upward communication. “
Executive listening to customers
- Gain firsthand knowledge

What are the types of service research? Research on intermediate customers

1. Customer complaint solicitation - Gain in-depth info on end customers
2. Critical incident studies
3. Requirement research Employee internal satisfaction surveys
4. Relationship and SERVQUAL surveys - Improve internal service quality
5. Trailer calls
6. Service expectations meetings and reviews Employee visits or listening
7. Process checkpoint evaluation - Gain firsthand knowledge on employees
8. Mystery shopping
9. Customer panels Employee suggestions
10. Lost customer research - Obtain ideas for service improvement
11. Future expectations research

What do you do with complaint solicitation?

- Identify and attend to dissatisfied customers, identify
common service failure points

Critical incident studies are good for :

 Identify best practices
 Identify customer requirements
 Identify common service failure points
 Identify strengths and weaknesses in customer contact
services

Relationship surveys
- Monitor and track service performance, assess overall CO
performance to competition, determine links between
satisfaction and behavior intentions, assess gaps between
expectations and perceptions

Post transactions surveys

- Obtain immediate feedback, measure effectiveness in
changes of service delivery, assess the performance of
individuals, input for process improvements

Social media research

- Identify dissatisfied customers, encourage WOM, measure
the impact of advertising

Mystery Shopping
- used to measure individual employees, identify systematic
performance strength and weaknesses

Customer panels
- Monitor changing customer expectations, provide a forum
for customers to suggest and evaluate new service ideas
Chapter – 6: Building Customer Relationships Benefits for the firm
- Economic Benefits
Industry view on CRM - Customer Behavior Benefits
● Helping an enterprise to enable its marketing - Human Resource Management Benefits
departments to identify and target their best customers,
manage marketing campaigns with clear goals and
objectives, and generate quality leads for the sales team.
● Assisting the organization to improve telesales, account,
and sales management by optimizing information shared
by multiple employees, and streamlining existing
processes (for example, taking orders using mobile
devices)
● Formation of individualized relationships with customers,
with the aim of improving customer satisfaction and
maximizing profits; identifying the most profitable
customers and providing them the highest level of
service.
● Providing employees with the information and processes
necessary to know their customers, understand their
needs, and effectively build relationships between the
company, its customer base, and distribution partners

Relationship Marketing
Relationship Development strategies
● Core Service Provision
● Switching Barriers
● Customer Inertia
● Switching Costs
● Time, Money, Efforts (Setup cost, Search cost.
Learning cost, Contractual cost)

Relationship Bonds
Level – 1- Financial Bonds
Level – 2- Social & Psychological Bonds
Level – 3- Customization Bonds
The Evolution of Customer Relationships Level – 4- Structural Bonds
Customers as :
● Strangers
● Acquaintances
● Friends
● Partners

Goals of Relationship Marketing

- The primary goal is build and maintain committed customers
who are profitable for the organization
- Focus is on the attraction, retention, and enhancement of
customer relationships

Customers Goals of Relationship Marketing

● Getting Customers,
● Satisfying,
● Retaining, and
● Enhancing

Benefits
Benefits for Customers and firms Steps in Market Segmentation
- Building & maintain a loyal customer base which benefit 1. Identify the target market
both firm & customers. 2. Identify expectations of Target Audience
3. Create Subgroups
To the Customers 4. Review the needs of the target audience
- Value 5. Name your market Segment
- Long term service relationships 6. Marketing Strategies
7. Review the behavior
8. Size of the Target Market