Customer Service Improvements: Enhancing Satisfaction and Competitive Edge

1. (PC 1.1, KE 7.7, 9)

a. Importance of consultation

While a consultation or survey can be construed as a mere process, it is a great asset that may significantly influence our enterprise. It enables us to cater to their needs appropriately and even develop a way that will make them feel like they have been valued. It is why it's essential to identify their needs and preferences for several reasons:

1. Understanding the Sales Decline: Based on our business's current progress, sales have been generally good, though recently, they have slightly dipped. We should source direct consumer feedback to understand the causes of this appropriately. It can address some of the issues interior analysis could have missed, while their perspective is valuable and would offer a broader and more inclusive approach (Bharadwaj et al. 2022).

2. Driving Customer Satisfaction: When it comes to understanding how our customers feel about our products, services, and customer service policies, there's no better tool than direct customer feedback. It's a direct line to their thoughts and feelings, and it's our most effective way to ensure their satisfaction. By understanding the aspects that may dissatisfy our customers, we can make the necessary adjustments to retain their loyalty and attract new customers to our industry.

3. Understanding the market: Competitive analysis provides us with valuable insights into our competitors' strengths and weaknesses, as perceived by our customers (Qussous et al. 2022). This knowledge allows us to enhance our products and services to meet our customer's needs better, thereby maintaining our competitive edge.

b. Requirements for good customer service

As our valued team members, you play a crucial role in delivering excellent customer service. Your quality approach and good customer relationships are the critical factors for their satisfaction and loyalty. Here are five essential requirements for delivering excellent customer service:

1. Effective Communication: The following communication guidelines must be considered: Brief and accurate; people-first language. Staff should show respect, ensure the customers are capable of handling all the information relayed to them, and show courtesy when addressing their complaints. This can help promote individuals who have been given a voice, especially the customers, thus improving their experience (Kalogiannidis, 2020).

2. Knowledgeable Staff: The employees must be professionals who know a thing or two about what is being sold in the market. Working in teams, they are in a position to offer relevant information, fix an issue, or offer the right recommendation, thereby gaining trust and credit from the customers (Rashid and Rasheed, 2023).

3. Responsiveness: Speed is appropriate to customers' requirements when they are making inquiries, complaints, or booking services. It also shows that the customer's time is important since problems are solved within a short span of time and could frustrate the customer if they go unnoticed.

2. (PC 1.2, PE 1, KE 6, 7.2)

Reflecting on the above feedback

The business plan should include the following two key initiatives:

1. Expand Communication Channels and Reduce Waiting Time:

Action Plan:

• Install Additional Phone Lines: To counter the long average waiting time, customers who call inquiring about products or support purchase additional phone lines or opt for outsourcing the companys call centre. It will spread the call densities and reduce substantially the response time during the peak periods (Kiran Kumar et al. 2022).

• Implement a Callback System: Implement the "Take-me-Calling" option, where customers can opt for a callback rather than challenging waits in line. This option seems convenient and makes the overall package and journey for the customers more appealing.

• Enhance Digital Communication: Some of these include real-time support apart from the telephone, for instance, live chat support on the website, and provision of support through email and social media. This will also generate how customers can access the business, and at the same time, it will lessen dependence on the phone lines (Ivan et al. 2020).

2. Improve Delivery Efficiency for Online Purchases:

Action Plan:

• Partnering with faster couriers is a feasible and effective way to improve our delivery efficiency for online purchases. By developing relationships with couriers, we can ensure they deliver within the business day, which should be at most two business days before the shipment date. This can be achieved without overstating the company's budget and expenses by coming to better negotiations with logistics providers.

• Streamline In-House Processes: It is, therefore, the responsibility of top and middle management to examine the internal order processing activities closely to see how they can be done faster and better (Jiang et al. 2021). This can range from using integrated software systems to fully automate some of the steps in order fulfilment to more effective methods of managing inventory.

3. (PC 2.1, PE 2, 4, KE 7.5)

Establishing the sales guideline

The following sales guidelines are established:

1. On-Site Assembly Service:

• Offer Technician Home Visits: Technicians must offer the service of home assembly and take computers to the customer's homes for assembly. This point of sale should be emphasised, and appointments should be geared towards the customer's timetable (Baird et al. 2020).

• Professional Setup: Ensure that the technicians fitting the products are also skilled enough to answer any technical questions that a customer may have and install the products professionally.

2. Backup Computer Policy:

• Transparent Communication: The company has stated that although it offers repair services, it cannot provide backup computers since it has to adhere to arrangements made under insurance and privacy policies and procedures. One should apologise for any inconvenience and explain how the issue can be resolved, such as by mentioning quicker repair options or advising the owner to turn to the local companies that provide rentals (Petersen et al. 2021).

• Quick Turnaround: Incorporate the duration of repair activities in decision-making decision-making and prioritise reproductions that take more than one day to ensure limited customer disruption. Add an option of expediting the services since there might be instances where a client needs the process done faster.

3. Warranty Information:

• Proactive Warranty Communication: As a standard, guarantee that all sales representatives always remind customers and make them aware of the warranty periods on all the products and on-site services. Shoppers should also be provided with clear aspects on coverage, tariffs, and policies when tasing the devices, as well as whenever they call (Liao, 2022).

• Warranty Documentation: The particular details of the warranty should be presented in writing and, where applicable, either in-store or online.

4. Product Unboxing and Seal Verifin:

• In-Presence Unboxing: It is suggested that a policy be set to ensure that all the products sold are unwrapped in the consumer's presence, either at the physical store or in their home. The customer, whether technical personnel or salespeople, should confirm the seal's validity.

• Customer Assurance: It helps minimise the risk of purchasing counterfeit goods and thus enhances brands' images, allowing consumers to verify the authenticity of products they wish to buy (Adeoye et al. 2024).

4. (PC 1.3, PE 5, KE 2, 4)

a. Explanation through table

b. Why to implement this improvement

Implementing this improvement is crucial for several reasons:

1. Enhanced Customer Satisfaction:

It directly mitigates the main CPOQ item, which records that customers, when phoning in, can wait for up to 20 minutes on average for their call to be answered; the use of telephony systems will reduce this to about 5 minutes. By responding to them instantly, the clients' satisfaction improves, improving general customer satisfaction and increasing loyalty (Simanjuntak et al. 2020).

2. Increased Sales and Profitability:

They believe this will lead to additional sales of $400,000. This proposed $100,000 investment in sales promotions and advertising campaigns would be ideal since the current profit margin rate is 32 %, making this an ideal place to increase the sales volume and, thus, a parameter to heightened profitability.

3. Competitive Advantage:

Reducing response time and improving customer service enhance the business's competitive advantage over closer rivals. At or above the level of the competition, the company can have more people use the services and gain a competitive market advantage (Farida and Setiawan, 2022).

This innovation demonstrates compliance with the above recommendations and signifies the organisation's receptiveness and focus on customer needs, which should be an essential cornerstone in today's business world. By providing the best customer service by attending to customer's complaints and providing solutions, the firm demonstrates that it places customer satisfaction as the top priority. This proactive approach helps maintain healthy relationships with the existing customer base and the attention of new customers towards those who care for them and aim to serve them in the best possible way. Moreover, challenging and exceeding the industry averages is a good strategic move, as the company sets the bar high for competitors to imitate in terms of high-quality client care. In the long run, the investment directed towards making changes and enhancing the quality of customer service results in a devoted clientele base, continued organic growth, and a favourable market image that applauds the company as a dependable carrier of services.

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