Marketing

1. Marketing 1.02B Explain the role of customer service as a component of selling relationships.

2. Distinguish between customer service as a process and customer service as a function. • Customer service in selling • Is a process rather than a function • Is a relationship rather than a department • Enhances/Facilitates customer’s use of goods and services

3. Describe how businesses can use customer service to beat their competition • Customer service and competition • Customer service is where the real competition among businesses begins • Product quality and price can be easily matched.

4. Discuss factors that influence customer expectations of customer service • Customer service means different things to different customers. • Every customer has their own unique expectations based on: • Past experience • Repeat customers will expect the same or higher quality or customer service • Comparing one service with the competitors service • Word-of-mouth • Word-of-mouth is extremely powerful in business and sales • Prospects may visit your business based on recommendations from family, friends, and acquaintances • Expect to receive the same quality of customer service that other received

5. Discuss factors that influence customer expectations of customer service • Advertising • A business invests in advertising to let potential customers know that their products and services are the best • Personal Selling • Determine what is of value to the customer and what they need help with.

6. Explain how customer service facilitates sales relationships • Benefits of customer service • Builds profits through: • Partnerships with current customers • Loyalty • Strive to provide high quality customer service • Generating new customers

7. Identify the pre-sales opportunities for providing customer service that can facilitate sales relationships. • Pre-Sale Customer Service • Suggestion Selling • Adds value to a customer’s experience by suggesting additional products or services that will enhance his/her primary purchase • Ex: suggest a strap that goes along with a guitar • Builds solid partnerships with customers

8. Identify the pre-sales opportunities for providing customer service that can facilitate sales relationships. • Product information • Providing help in customers purchase decisions for high priced items • Vacations • Houses • Expensive electronic equipment • Successful salespeople make sure that customers have all the information they need to make a sound, well-informed decision • Happy customers = repeat customers • Promises that can be kept • Customers remember the promises made to them during sales • If you can’t keep those promises, you will have unhappy customers and damaged client relationships

9. Identify post-sales opportunities when customer service can be provided to facilitate sales relationships • A. Post-Sale Customer Service • 1. Order processing • a. It is the salespersons responsibility to ensure customer’s orders are processed correctly • b. Establish a relationship with the people that process orders so you can easily check on the status of orders to make sure customers are getting what they requested. B. Shipping and delivery • 1. Can be a major source of frustration for customers • 2. With so many variables things can go wrong • a. items arriving too early or too late • b. items lost in transit • c. items can arrive damaged or accidentally be shipped to the wrong customer • 3. Even the best salesperson cannot control all the variables or ensure that nothing will ever go wrong.

10. Identify post-sales opportunities when customer service can be provided to facilitate sales relationships • Installation • Salespeople need to stay involved to reduce frustration and minimize problems • Customer is promised free installation, but the delivery person is unaware of this. Salespeople can clear up these kinds of misunderstandings quickly. • Warranty Issues • Successful salespeople take responsibility to make sure customers understand exactly what their warranties cover. • Maintenance and repair • Certain products need routine service and may also need specialized repairs over time • Ex: cars need regular oil changes, and over time, repair work. • May be offered as part of overall sales package • Successful salespeople make sure their customers understand • what maintenance and repair services are available • how to take advantage of them

11. Identify post-sales opportunities when customer service can be provided to facilitate sales relationships • Credit/Financing • Problems with obtaining credit and financing are a main cause of customer-service complaints for sales organizations. • Technical assistance and support • Ex: computers and Internet service • Customer training • Some products require customer training, even classes • a salesperson may need to visit a business to show employees how to use a new copier • hosting a week long conference to facilitate the use of a certain software package • Providing appropriate customer training is a mark of a successful sales organization

12. Discuss actions a salesperson can take to make the most of her/his customer service activities. • A. Solicit feedback • Ask about customer satisfaction • Provide convenient, user-friendly ways for customer to provide feedback. • Solicit feedback on a regular basis • B. Keep in touch • The best salespeople recognize the necessity of keeping in contact with their customers to maintain the partnerships they have established. • a. follow-up phone calls • b. thank you cards • c. personal visits for major clients • C. Be prompt • Extraordinary salespeople can set themselves apart by treating questions and complaints as high priorities and responding quickly • Responding promptly to complaints can be the difference between one time customers and repeat customers • D. Have a good attitude