9.1 Identifying and fulfilling customers' needs and expectations
By way of introduction, complete these readings first.
Reading 9.1
Dwyer, J. 2002, "Addressing customer needs and expectations".
Reading 9.2
Horovitz, J. 2000, "Getting to know your customers".
If you want to excel in service, then you have to become an expert on your customer. We covered this briefly in chapter 1. To understand your customers' problems and perspectives, you have to be able to see your organisation and the service you provide through the eyes of your customers. To determine and anticipate the needs of your customers you will need to learn something about the tools you can use to develop a clear understanding of what is "going on in your customer's head".
So, what are these tools, the sources of information of customer needs?
First of all, you may be able to elicit information about your customers' needs and wants by spending time talking with and listening to them. Consider the following example.
In a telephone conversation with a student a lecturer was working through a topic that the student was having difficulty understanding. After we had dealt with the matter, we moved on to a general conversation about the subject and at this point the student suggested that a follow-up on a particular reading would be useful. This extra information was provided only after rapport had been developed.
Spending that little extra time led to an opportunity to elicit some information about the customer's needs and the provision of better service.
Another tool is to "test" your own organisation, department or section to find out if it meets your customers' needs. Have you ever telephoned your own organisation to hear the initial greeting an outside caller hears? What were your first impressions?
At the AMC we have had our own staff take our distance subjects, although they were on campus, and have gathered some valuable information about the service we provide.
When working in the hospitality industry this writer stayed in our own establishment's rooms, ate our meals in the dining hall with the guests on most days and tried out the guest activities - it is amazing when you "use" your service/products how much information you can gather.
What does your company do to find out what your customers need? What do you do as an individual; as a team? Do you encourage your customers to tell you what they want by such means as completing comment forms, writing or telephoning? If your customers are internal to your section do you encourage them to give you feedback and make suggestions for improvement? Do you encourage staff in other sections and departments to pass on any information or feedback they have heard? Do you go that step further to encourage your customers to tell you if there is anything else that you can do for them? Do you ask questions of your customers to elicit any additional information about what they might need? All of these activities are tools for finding out what your customers want.
You may recall in chapter 3 we spoke about the need to identify customer expectations as part of implementing quality? Knowing what your customers think and want is the first step to anticipating and fulfilling their needs. See how Harris (2000) categorises needs into five basic types:
Five needs of every customer
Every customer comes into the customer situation with differing wants. While wants are frequently hard to identify and may occasionally be unrealistic, all customers have the following five basic needs:
- Service : Customers expect the service they consider is appropriate for the level of purchase that they are making. A small, spontaneous purchase may have a smaller service need that a larger purchase that has been carefully planned and researched.
- Price : The cost of everything we purchase is becoming more and more important. People and businesses want to use their financial resources as efficiently as possible. Many products previously considered unique offerings are now considered commodities. This means that while a consumer previously had to travel to the local hamburger restaurant to purchase a hamburger, now one can be acquired at many other locations. This makes the component of price even more important to the customer.
- Quality : Americans are less likely today to think of their purchases as throwaway items. Customers want the products that they purchase to be durable and functional until the customer decides to replace them. This requirement of quality mandates that manufacturers and distributors produce products that live up to the customers' expectations of durability. Customers are much less likely to question a price if they are doing business with a company that has a reputation for producing a high quality product.
- Action : Customers need action when a problem or question arises. Many companies offer toll-free customer assistance telephone lines, flexible return policies, and customer carryout services in response to the need for action. Customers are human beings and like to think that they are an important priority and that when a need or question arises someone will be ready and waiting to help them.
- Appreciation : Customers need to know that we appreciate their business. Customer service providers can convey this appreciation in many appropriate ways. Saying thank you to the customer through our words and actions is a good starting point. Preferred customer mailing lists, informational newsletters, special discounts, courtesy, and name recognition are good beginnings to show our customers our appreciation. Additionally. Letting them know that we are glad that they have chosen to do business with us conveys a positive message. A fast food restaurant has a sign in its drive-through lane that says. "We know that you could eat somewhere else; thank you for allowing us to serve you."
Now go on to read more about what Harris says on understanding and meeting these needs.
Reading 9.3
Harris, E. 2000, "Understanding of expectations".
The following reading starts with a general section of a working relationship, service culture and then moves onto needs and expectations.
Reading 9.4
Dwyer, J. 2002 "A working relationship with clients".
To determine how well you are currently meeting your customers' needs you should attempt to elicit as much customer comment as possible:
- Do you ask other staff how well they consider customers' needs are being met? It is amazing how much staff know about their customers from day to day contact.
- Analyse your complaints and your compliments. What are your customers' feelings about your current performance? Have you ever wondered why so many companies set up a complaints department? Seems obvious you think? How about setting up a "Compliments and Complaints Department"- is this a more modern approach?
- Are there any industry data about customer needs? How do you rate?
- Do any of your colleagues, friends or family use your services? What are their opinions?
You will find that some of the following are what we will call "organisational solutions"; that is, ones that will need to be developed, approved and controlled by senior management. Others are simple techniques and tools that everyone in an organisation can apply.
We will structure our discussion under three main headings. Whilst these areas are a vital aspect of service provision, as there are many training courses and books dedicated to these topics, we will only spend a short time on them below.
- initial impressions: greeting your customers and the use of appropriate non-verbal communication;
- identifying your customers' needs : asking the right questions, listening and observing
- providing the "right" amount of attention.
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