...Serino, President of Express Services, Inc 270 Broadway Everett, MA 02149 Dear Mrs. Serino: Each and every one of us serves customers, whether we realize it or not. Maybe you’re on the front lines of a company, serving the people who buy your products. Perhaps you’re an accountant, serving the employees by producing their pay checks and keeping the company running. Or maybe you’re a company owner, serving your staff and your customers. What follows is a brief examination into the goals and techniques of, and how we may apply, Personalized Customer Service. Introduction: When we’re going to offer customers personalized service, we're letting them know that we care about their specific needs. One way to provide good personalized customer service is to pay close attention to their likes and dislikes, and ask questions about the type of products or services they're looking for. Personalized Customer Service is not possible to be offered in every business, it only means different things to different companies depending on their market and their strategy. Findings: Offering personalized customer service can make your business very attractive to customers. While such service often cost more to produce, which is then reflected in the price, many customers are happy to pay more money if it means they will get exactly what they want. Businesses claim that personalized customer Service can drive revenue, differentiate valued customers, and increase loyalty. But success...
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...our customer needs we have given customer surveys at the store and outside the store. Our surveys contain questions such as cleanliness of our store, hours of operation, competitive pricing, personalized services, product selection, and location of the store. After the surveys are done and the information is gathered we are going to see what are the customer needs. Then we will focus on what we need to change in the store to increase our sales Out of 60 surveys that where handed out 35 where returned. A total of 20 surveys where given to existing customers and 40 where handed out at a sporting event in a park for potential customers. A total of 30 men and 15 women took the survey. When asked if they knew where ABC Sports Equipment was located only 10 said yes and 15 said no. location of the store: 2.9, product selection: 2.5, hours of operation: 2.1, and competitive pricing: 1.8. The mean for possible customers competitive pricing: 4.0, personalized service: 3.8, production selection: 3.0, product selection: 2.5, hours of operation: 2.9, and cleanliness of the store: 2.9. After gathering all data we noticed that existing customers want more personalized service and a cleaner store. We know can work on training our personnel to meet our customer needs. We can assign a cleaning schedule so that the store remains clean at all times of the day. With potential customers we noticed that they want to see more competitive pricing and personalized service. They want personalized service...
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...dedicated to serving customers who are seeking great rates, and excellent customer service. With over 100,000 customers, it is one of the fastest-growing electricity and natural gas providers in the nation. Entrust Energy is committed to providing an alternative to "business as usual." Not only do we offer competitive rates and reliable customer service, we have eliminated all unnecessary monthly customer fees to show appreciation to our loyal customers. Entrust Energy’s Customer Care Center is located in the U.S., and its Customer Care Associates provide personalized assistance to all customers to help reinforce the commitment to upholding the highest customer service standards in the industry. Sign up with Entrust Energy today and experience the difference. Choose an energy provider that will put you first. It's time for a change.Why Entrust Energy? Entrust Energy is a privately-owned retail electricity and natural gas provider dedicated to serving customers who are seeking great rates, and excellent customer service. With over 100,000 customers, it is one of the fastest-growing electricity and natural gas providers in the nation. Entrust Energy is committed to providing an alternative to "business as usual." Not only do we offer competitive rates and reliable customer service, we have eliminated all unnecessary monthly customer fees to show appreciation to our loyal customers. Entrust Energy’s Customer Care Center is located in the U.S., and its Customer Care Associates provide...
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...information about their customers’ merchandise browsing and buying habits Value Proposition Technology needed to improve brick and mortar retailers Personalized recommendations Targeted advertisements Improved cross-selling tactics Tracking customer count inside the store Physical Layout of Stores Personalized recommendations Personalized notifications can be sent to the customer's cellphone device Targeted ads Value Proposition i.e. coupons for shoes if customer has spent extended time in the shoe department Improved cross-selling tactics Up selling, different products that customers are unaware of, a item that compliments another item Tracking customer count inside the store Ensures adequate staffing levels Physical Layout of Stores Helps a retailer develop product placement strategies. Recognize returning shoppers Consumers on average are enrolled in 7.4 loyalty programs 53 percent of these members stop participating in at least one loyalty program a year Irrelevant reward offerings (68 percent) and slow reward accumulation (50 percent) as top barriers Value Proposition Effectively improve the customers in-store experience using technology to benefit and value the customer If customers think that they are benefiting then they will be more willing to provide information. Personalized (targeted) marketing has potential to extend market reach and introduce customers to products that they previously...
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...following: * Groupon identifies and targets customers based on their location, needs, and preferences, this represents a good way of online market research. * Groupon provides access to great deals and discounts which are usable at customer's local and/or national companies. * Groupon creates a powerful communication channels between customers and merchants as well as providing a personalized customer experience. * Groupon develops and maintains customer profiles in order to improve interactions between them and merchants. I believe that these features, which I think is called customer-centric, can be considered as contemporary as it considers the needs and benefit of both customers and merchants. It also keeps up with the recent technologies and helps boosting the e-commerce sector. 2. What value does this service provide subscribing merchants? What value does it provide customers? The value it provides for merchants is reaching the minimum number of customers the merchant need in order to offer a win-win deal! This avoids the risk of not getting enough customers for a certain deal. Furthermore, it gives the merchants valuable data about potential customers and their profiles. This makes it easy for them to create personalized offers to target them when necessary. The value it provides for customers is the attractive deals they find while on the go. They can even compare a number of deals and then go for the best one. Customers in this case can always get discounts...
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...Video Case Questions & Answers 1. List the various ways that DIAD improves customer services. Answer: DIAD (Delivery Information Acquisition Device) improves customer services in so many ways. For one, it has made the job of UPS delivery drivers more efficient and effective, therefore aiding in productivity. In addition, DIAD allows UPS to reach out and offer their services to a larger number of customers. They are able to deliver over 16 million packages daily to their customers in 220 countries and territories. Secondly, DIAD improves customer services since all drivers are connected wirelessly to UPS main database. The built in GPRS and CDMA also facilitates in dial up access if necessary. These features enable UPS’ drivers to transmit real time data to their UPS center and also see updated list of packages that need to be delivered. Constantly updating the database also allows UPS’ customers to keep track of their own packages. Thirdly, the GPS connectivity aids customer services because drivers are provided with detailed directions for pick up of packages thus they are able to reach their customers faster and on time. Fourthly, the bar code scanner, camera and electronic signature feature that the DIAD comes with makes the delivery process to customers much quicker and efficient. Furthermore, the DIAD has allowed customers to receive personalized service like creating personalized delivery options. Overall, the DIAD is robust and it supports real time capabilities...
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...to bring our customers the best food and beverage values and the information to make informed buying decisions. There are more than 2000 unique grocery items in our label, all at honest everyday low prices. We work hard at buying things right: Our buyers travel the world searching for new items and we work with a variety of suppliers who make interesting products for us, many of them exclusive to Trader Joe’s. All our private label products have their own "angle," i.e., vegetarian, Kosher, organic or just plain decadent, and all have minimally processed ingredients. Joe Coulombe, the founder of Trader Joe's, knew that he needed to make a change in his business. He could no longer complete...
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...1 Access * More frequent individualization and communications to build relationships The main benefits and opportunities of using the above are as follows. When you have a customer’s information you can work out what they might like. With this information you can send them relevant product information and special offers instead of sending everyone the same e-mails which they might get sick of and completely disregard or even choose a different business. Using the information correctly will build a relationship with the customer which in turn will build customer loyalty which is a very important benefit considering the amount of competition. Amazon is good example of a business using customer information correctly and individualization for customer relations. They build relationships with customers by monitoring and collecting a customer’s purchase history and sending out personalized advertisements via e-mail, social media and as soon as a customer logs in tin the website. This makes it more personal. * Use of communications to promote e.g. Special offers, product launches The main benefits and opportunities of using the above are as follows. The use of online communications can save a lot of money in advertising new products and offers which if it is not done online then it would need to be done using leaflets and flyers which need to be delivered as well, which is another expense which is unnecessary online. Altogether leaflets are not cost effective; they can also...
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...Unit 4 E-Commerce E - Business •E-business is the use of internet and other networks and information technologies to support e-commerce, enterprise communications and collaboration ,and web enabled business processes, both within a networked enterprise and with its customers and business partners. •E- business includes e-commerce Electronic commerce (e-commerce) •Process of buying, selling, transferring, or exchanging products, information and services through computer networks •Use of the Internet and Web to transact business •The fundamental purpose of e-commerce is to execute transactions •Digitally enabled transactions •Transaction involve the exchange of value (money) across organizational or individual boundaries in return for products and services •Allow a business of virtually any size that is located virtually anywhere on the planet to conduct business with anyone ,anywhere •Allows geophysical barriers to disappear, making all consumers as potential customers e-Commerce Process Model Marketing Advertising Customer Interaction Negotiation Payment Ordering and processing Servicing Problem solving Support Delivery Processing Dispatching Customer Acceptance Customer Customer Scope of e-Commerce l e-Commerce Technologies l Why e-commerce is different •Ubiquity- available everywhere at all times •Global Reach- potential market size for e-commerce is roughly equal to the size of the world’s online population •Universal standards- technical standards for...
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...used to link with customers, bringing considerable cost savings. This activities are mainly directed towards enhancing links with customers Now, the IT is not only serving company, but it benefits customers. The major challenge was changing attitudes, insights, and getting people to understand and accept that this is the part of their work. They avoided channel conflict, and not bypassed traditional channels. Sandvik Steel plans to offer to each customer a personalized web page, due to enhance its online service to customers. Question 2: What is the core element of Sandvik's e-business strategy? The core element of Sandvik’s e-business strategy is Customer Relationship Management. Question 3: In the online context, how do you understand the process of customer relationship building? I think that the best way to stay focused on customer needs is to ask customers about their satisfaction with the products/services they receive and to seek suggestions for improvement on a regular basis, or customizing customer contact (mentioned in text personalized web pages). Question 4: Describe briefly Web tools that helped Sandvik to build online customer relationship, what are the benefits for customers? They made a extranet site, where users can obtain worldwide stock information, catalogues and training aids, or take part in online discussions. They allows customers not only to buy tools over the net, but also to design them online – customer can save around...
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...introduced by Neil Borden in 1953, while Jerome McCarthy refined the 4Ps of the marketing in 1964.The term ‘Marketing Mix’ meant the mixture of elements used to in viewing a certain market response. (waterschoot, et al, p 84, 1992). The primary objective of the article by E. Constantinides is to state the current view of 4Ps as the marketing model. The author tries to justify the above objective by taking a review on various theories and academic models. Every theory or model which is assigned is divided into sub-disciplines: consumer marketing, relationship marketing, services marketing, retail marketing, industrial marketing and e-commerce. There is also another sub-discipline , the E(lectronic) marketing, which came as an emerging market in the management domain. . Objective 2.1Groonroos(1994) In the modern research, the most lurking angle is building the relationship in the management in industrial and service marketing. As mentioned in the article of E.Constantinides, an example by (Alsem et al. 1996), there was a research carried out which revealed that around 70% of the companies used formal marketing planning as their primary operating plan. According to the same study the leaders of the market have faith in the primary operating plan which is based on 4P pattern more than the followers of the market. To elaborate it reveals that the marketing mix has been widely accepted due to a better understanding of the concept. The description of the 4Ps as tractable framework will...
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...Generic approaches to service system design production-line approach routine services can be delivered through this approach, services are provided in a controlled environment to ensure consistent quality and efficiency of operation. a service taking this approach could gain a competitive advantage with a cost leadership strategy. this approach attempts to translate a successful manufacturing concept into the service sector. limited discretionary action of personnel a feature that contributes to the production line approach's success. standardization and quality (defined as consistency in meeting specifications) are the hallmarks of a production line. for standardized routine service, consistency in service performance would be valued by customers. because of this, employees have little power to make decisions in producing a product or service and the customer can thus expect identical service at any location of a particular operation. division of labor a feature that contributes to the production line approach's success. the production-line approach suggests that the total job be broken down into groups of simple tasks. task grouping permits the specialization of labor skills, and the division of labor allows one to pay only for the skill that's required to perform the task. this raises criticisms of many service jobs being min-wage, dead end, and low-skill jobs. substitution of technology for people a feature that contributes to the production line approach's success...
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... The chain was founded by Chris Sullivan, Bob Basham and Tim Gannon when they realized an untapped opportunity existed in serving quality steaks at affordable prices. The chain differentiated itself through its consistent high quality food, dinner only timings, and unique “buy in” concept with managing partners, suburban locations, stringent hiring practices and a high emphasis on the quality and degree of personalization of service it provided. Although initially company owned and managed, based on requests from known acquaintances, the chain cautiously embarked on the franchisee route as well. By 1995, Outback acquired rights to develop Carrabba’s Italian Grill as part of its diversification strategy. In 1994, Hugh Connetty was appointed to lead Outbacks overseas expansion and charter out its future direction. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS: The industry has been analyzed using Porters’s Five Forces framework in APPENDIX1 .The food service industry in the U.S although lucrative, is highly concentrated and is mainly comprised of large chains competing for customers. There is threat from an increase in competition locally, from local and international chains and can be classified as medium. As an industry the bargaining power of suppliers is low to moderate. However, for specialized restaurants such as Outback Steakhouse, suppliers have...
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...training, fitness conditioning and exercise equipment to the general public * The Fit Stop plans to specialize beyond equipment to provide customers with personalized advice geared to customer’s specific training/conditioning needs * It will be starting out with stores in major cities in Ontario and in four western provinces – with plans of expanding to Quebec and the Atlantic provinces * Stores will be located in shopping malls, operating 7 days a week: 9am – 9pm weekdays, Saturdays: 9am – 6pm, and Sundays noon – 6pm. Employees: Employees will range from highly educated (degrees) to high school educated * total employees per store will be 11 to 15 fulltime employees * each store will employ physiotherapist and a person with a Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology. * each store will have a Manager with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree * each store will employ sales staff with a minimum high school diploma (8 to 12 per store) Challenges The Fit Stop knows that even though their competitors will sell their equipment at a lower price, none will have the range of equipment that they do and none will provide the personalized service like “The Fit Stop” will. This creates a challenge for “The Fit Stop” to not only provide a wide range of products, (which is very expensive), but also to provide the best customer service in the industry. To do this, Fit Stop needs to hire the right people, for the right position at the right time. * The Fit Stop...
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...Boston Boxing and Fitness? The mission of Boston Boxing is personalized workout for trainers, and put customers in way of professional athlete like training, put pressure on athlete and also help them to find out their potentials. The goals of Boston Boxing and Fitness is offers classes, weight training and personal training And through these classes trainers will learn boxing skills. 2. Does Boston Boxing and Fitness qualify as an entrepreneurial venture? Explain why or why not. As a matter of fact an entrepreneurial venture is normally small, involving risk, creative, innovation and also need to create niche among current industry. Entrepreneurial business run with new idea and try to grow the idea of business in the market. Actually in this movie Boston Boxing is a kind of small business and also includes creative, innovation, more importantly involve risk. For this case, running women’s boxing programs is kind of innovation and also personalized training and have non- commercial approach that make different Boston boxing in comparison with other gyms. 3. What is the essence of Boston Boxing and Fitness, in the eyes of owner Ed LaVache? What does he think he is selling to his customers? Explain. From the viewpoint of Ed LaVache, Boston Boxing is like one-stop shop for all physical fitness. He also thinks that he is selling personalized services. It means that trainer pay attention to their customer and teach them how to box and also care about to their progression...
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