CUSTOMERS Customer service is what an organisation does to meet customer expectations and produce customer satisfaction

Types of Customers Internal customers - employees External customers – consumers, other businesses

Customers Cheaper to retain existing customers than attract new ones Attracting new customers is more expensive due to costs of increased/wider promotion to inform potential customers about your business/product If a business deals with customers effectively it is more likely to keep them

Customer Service Value Added Value added means what an organisation does on top of the basic product/service Customer service is a value added Effective customer service can give a firm competitive advantage Effective customer service encourages customer loyalty

Customer Service Characteristics of effective customer service can be summarised under three main headings: Timeliness – eg calls answered in 20 seconds Accuracy – eg giving customers the correct order 100% of the time Appropriateness – eg if a customer has two issues, both of them should be addressed Customer service is the responsibility of everyone in an organisation Businesses should have a Customer Service Policy/Charter

Customer Service Procedures should be in place to deal effectively with customer complaints More than half of people now complain if they are unhappy with a product/service Dealing with complaints effectively has a number of benefits for a business: If the complaint is resolved efficiently customers will recommend the business to their friends 80% of customers would tell others if a complaint had been handled badly

Relevant Websites www.instituteofcustomerservice.com