Customers’ basic needs

1. Customers’ basic needs • Martin (1981) provides a good model to follow in identifying and describing the needs of customers: • Identify basic human needs • Know the timing requirements for quality customer service • Anticipate the needs of your customers • Identify customer needs by attentiveness • Identify customer needs by skilful listening • Identify customers needs by obtaining feedback

2. Customers’ basic needs • Discuss in small groups what you need as a customer. Make a list: • The need to feel welcome • The need to… • The need for….

3. Customers’ basic needs • The need to feel: • Welcome • Comfortable • The need to be: • Recognised • Understood • To receive help or assistance • The need to be: • Recognised or remembered • The need for: • Timely service • Respect

4. Listening and Attentiveness • Research has suggested that staff occupy their time as follows: • Writing memos, letters etc 9% of their time • Reading 16% of their time • Talking 30% of their time • Listening 45% of their time

5. Benefits of listening and attentiveness to customer needs • Tschohl (1991): • Customer Loyalty and an increase in market share and return on sales • Increased sales and profit • More frequent sales, repeat business, larger sales order upgrading and or reordering • High customer count and more new customers • Savings in marketing, advertising and promotion budgets • Fewer complaints; more complaints resolved • Positive company reputation • Differentiation • Improved employee moral, productivity as customers respond positively to them • Improved staff morale, employee relationships; fewer grievances and absenteeism

6. Factors in Customer Satisfaction • Hanan and Karp (1991) – The big eight factors – musts • Product related factors: Purchase Factors: • Value to price relationship Sales Experience • Product quality Convenience of • Product benefits and features acquisition • Reliability • Service Related factors • Warrant • Response to and remedy problems • Purchase related factors

7. Keeping Close to the customer • Listening to the customer and giving good service • Whiteley (1991) lists seven essential behaviours required by businesses to deliver high quality in both product and service: • Create a customer keeping vision. It is important to have clear and shared aims • Saturate your company with the voice of the customer. Get close to your customers, act on their comments • Study what business winners are doing • Let your employees service their customers. Show them it is their number one job • Eliminate any barriers to customer service • Measure everything you are doing • Out the customer first always- lead by example and ensure the example is seen

8. Leadership in Customer Service • Davidow and Uttal (1989) identify 3 Principles of Leadership in order to shine in Customer Service: • Foster a service orientated culture • Make customer service everybody’s business • Declare ware on bureaucracy

9. Successful Models of Customer Service • Dean Tjosvold in his book Teamwork for Customers, 1993made the point that organisations should move from a ‘push’ system of producing goods and services, to the ‘pull approach.’ • “The pull organisation promotes new attitudes, values, and skills and requires changes in the organisation's roles and structures. Through dialogue and debates, not decrees, employees and managers work together to incorporate new values and crate the forums (networks) that are appropriate to them.” • Refer to Handout.