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When customers have questions, complaints or
suggestions about a company’s products or services, they
turn to customer support specialists or representatives
for answers. Customer support specialists provide
specific information regarding the services, products or
material solutions offered by a company, and relevant
details to the customers. They are sociable individuals
with a knack for providing professional and clear
answers to the customers’ requests. They answer phone
calls, provide troubleshooting information, report
and analyse customers’ information and needs, issue
billing details and open and close customer accounts.
In short, they are the direct link between the company
and its existing and potential customers. A product is
an item offered for sale. A product can be a service or
an item. Every product is made at a cost and each is
sold at a price. The price that can be charged depends
on the market, quality of the product, marketing
and the segment that is targeted. The features of
the product refer to its size, colour, shape, weight,
price, brand name, reliability and durability. Product
information is essential for the customers to determine
the type of product to be used, whether it will satisfy
their needs or not, for its correct handling and usage,
modes of payment and delivery, terms of sale, etc.
The various methods of providing product information to the customers are one-to-one, product videos, web pages, audio tapes, CDs, newsletters, emails, banners, posters, pamphlets, etc.
Every retailer has to formulate a customer service policy, which highlights the policies of the retailer towards the customers. A retailer has to develop a machinery for handling customer complaints. The various techniques of encouraging the customers to use the retailer products include keeping the customers informed, speaking to the customers, greeting them on important occasions, etc.
In this Unit, we will study about the special support services provided to the customers. The Unit has been divided into four sessions. The first session explains providing product information to the customers, the second session deals with the techniques to encourage the customers to purchase products, the third session discusses personalised services, and the fourth session covers post-sales service support to the customers.
Session 1: Providing Product Information
Meaning and features of a product
In marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a market that might satisfy a want or need. In retailing, products are called ‘merchandise’. In manufacturing, products are bought as raw material and sold as finished goods. A service is another common product type.
A product can be classified as ‘tangible’ or ‘intangible’. A tangible product is a physical object that can be perceived by touch, such as a building, vehicle, gadget, or clothing. An intangible product is one that can only
be perceived indirectly, such as an insurance policy. Services can be broadly classified under intangible products, which can be Size
durable or non-durable.
In business, a product feature (Fig. 4.1) is one of the distinguishing characteristics of a product or service that helps boost its appeal to potential buyers, and might be used to
Fig. 4.1 Product features formulate a product marketing strategy,
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which highlights the usefulness of the product in order to target potential consumers. Product features are the characteristics of a product that describe its colour, branding, packaging, labeling, varieties and capabilities. A product feature is a slice of business functionality that has a corresponding benefit or set of benefits for that product’s end user.
Need for product information
Product information can persuade consumers to purchase a product. The product must fulfill a need or solve a problem that a customer may be experiencing. For example, if the customer needs a digital camera for a night time event, he or she will look for a camera that successfully works at night. Therefore, product developers must make it a priority to present accurate product information to the customers.
The customer needs to know exactly what one is getting before purchasing a product. The customer needs to be excited about the possibilities of the product one wishes to purchase. This can be done only by providing the right product information. The customer wants to know what makes the product better than the competition or whether or not it is faster, more efficient or more user-friendly.
Thus, product information helps customers to 1. identify the kind of product they are going to buy, 2. identify if the product meets their needs and interests,
3. understand the size, shape, colour, price, style, brand, availability, etc., of a particular product, 4. understand how to use the product, in the correct manner,
5. compare the product with other products regarding the quality, price, quantity, availability, and substitute product they should prefer,
6. understand the packaging, modes of payment, modes of delivery, any other specification of the particular product,
7. describe the terms and conditions related to returning of the product, insurance, damage, etc., and
8. understand any other information related to the product.
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Specialist Support to Customers
Ways of providing product information
Normally, a sales associate provides product information to the customers to enable them to make the right buying decision. Following are the methods through which information is provided to the customers (Fig. 4.2).
(i) One-to-one: In this method, a customer and sales associate come face-to-face, where information regarding a product is given to the customer.
(ii) Product videos: Video proves to be a great way to communicate how a product works, display its features and appearance.
(iii) Product webpage: A product webpage highlights various product offerings along with its brief description.
(iv) Audio tapes, CDs and podcast: Product information can also be given through tapes, CDs, podcast, etc. (v) Newsletters: The information about a particular product can be provided as advertisements in newsletters.
(vi) Email: Information may be distributed by electronic means in bulk through a mailer.
(vii) Banners and posters: Banners and posters also help in spreading product information.
(viii) Pamphlets, leaflets or brochures: These media of providing information includes the name, price, brand, specifications, terms and conditions, etc.,
More effective Richer mediums
Face-to-Face
Effectiveness of communication
Video conferencing
Telephone
2-way radio
Letters
E-mail Written, addressed documents
information provides many benefits, from helping the sales associate achieve the targets to help a company’s systems function. By giving product information, the company speeds up the
Unaddressed documents
Less effective Leaner mediums
Bulk mail Posters
time it takes to bring a product to the market, decreases th takes to get new products
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placed in catalogues and websites, and increases revenue through high quality product information. The customers need access to this information, so it is critical to place priority on developing better product information for your business.
Activity 1
A field visit to learn about product information
Material required
Notebook and pen or pencils
Procedure
1. Visit a retail outlet or a mall located in your area. 2. Interact with the owner or management and the employees. 3. Ask the following questions and write their responses in 50 words.
A. Questions to the retailer
a. What kind of information do you provide to the customers? b. How do you help your customer decide what to buy?
c. What are the ways you adopt to compare the products to meet customer needs and interests?
d. Why do you think it is necessary to provide information to the customers?
4. Collect the details.
5. Discuss with friends, teachers and authorities at the retail store.
6. Prepare and submit the report to your teacher.
Activity 2
A role-play to learn providing information to customers by sales associate.
Material required
Notebook, and pen or pencils
Procedure
1. Divide the class into groups.
2. Perform the following activities in a retail lab or classroom. Role-play situation
A customer enters the retail store and asks the retailer for information on the products.
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Role of students
1st Group: Customers
2nd Group: Sales associate (Retailer)
3rd student: Store manager
Decide the product you would like to give information about. 4. Write down detailed information about the product. 5. Finish the role-play within the time allotted to you. 6. Discuss the learnings from the activity.
7. Share your views before and after the role-play activity.
Check Your Progress
A. Fill in the blanks
1. A ___________________ provides product information to the customers to enable them to make the right buying decision.
2. ____________________ persuades consumers to purchase a product.
B. Multiple choice questions
1. A _________ needs to know a product’s features, benefits and whether it solves their problems before purchasing it. (a) customer
(b) supplier
(c) cashier
(d) debtor
2. In order to help a customer what to buy, a sales associate must have essential and up-to-date _______________. (a) techniques
(b) product knowledge
(c) Both (a) and (b)
(d) None of the above
3. The information about a particular product can be provided as advertisements in ____________________. (a) newsletters
(b) CDs
(c) audio tapes
(d) None of the above
C. State whether the following are True or False 1. Product is an article that is manufactured for sale. 2. Product information is useful to compare with. 3. Videos are not useful for visual explanation.
4. Information cannot be distributed through electronic mode via email.
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D. Short answer questions
1. Define product.
2. What is product information?
3. What is one-to-one information?
4. How is product information conveyed through web pages? 5. How are product videos useful in giving product information?
E. Long answer questions
1. Explain the features of a product.
2. Why do customers need product information? What are the different types of product information media?
3. How do sales associates help customers in deciding what to buy?
G. Check your performance
1. Draw a chart on the types of product information media. 2. Demonstrate how to help a customer decide what to buy.
Session 2: Techniques to Encourage Customers to Buy Products
Meaning of customer motivation
Consumer motivation is an internal state that drives people to identify and buy products or services that fulfill their conscious and unconscious needs or desires. Customer motivation is driven by a customer’s thoughts, feelings and beliefs. If a product fulfils customer needs, it will motivate the customer for repeat purchase. Hence, a retailer has to understand customers and control their motivations. Depending on how important a purchase is to an individual, his or her motivational levels may vary from low to high. Influences include familiarity with the purchase, status factors and overall expense and value. Where fulfillment rewards are low, such as with groceries, motivation levels are also relatively low and involve little decision-making behaviour.
Ways to motivate customers to buy
We all have needs and wants, and it is the desire to fulfill these needs that motivates our choices. This applies to all aspects of life, from health and fitness to personal
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development — business is no exception. Listed below are some tips on how to motivate your consumers to buy.
(a) Promote positivity: Positivity is a powerful weapon to motivate the customers. Positivity has the ability to persuade, inspire and motivate. For example, an engaging retail experience with strong customer service will generate positive emotions, and promoting positivity will only encourage sales — it can act as a hook, building customer loyalty.
(b) Inform the customer: When you are attempting to influence a customer’s thinking, it is important that the sales associate focuses on the benefits of the product or service and what it can do for them. Consumers look for trustworthy, knowledgeable individuals to educate them on a purchase. Trust is the most important factor leading to long-term relationships and repeat sales.
(c) Offer testers: There comes a point in the buying process when a decision has to be made. Based on a number of factors, your customer will either commit to a sale or will turn away. Testers enable uncertain customers to try out your product or service before having to commit, giving you the opportunity to build a relationship and convert the person.
(d) Encourage brand loyalty: Brand loyalty is one of the best ways to secure reliable business, and building brand loyalty is the key. Rewarding consumers for their custom with stronger offers or incentives is an excellent way to motivate repeat custom.
(e) To communicate a consistent message: Every business needs a consistent voice. It is important to develop a clear and compelling message that can be delivered consistently across all touch points. If an offer is clear, then it is a much easier sell.
(f) To improve the brand image: Consumers’ decisions are hugely influenced by their awareness
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and relationship with your brand. Not only should the brand image reflect the company’s values and message but it should also engage with the target audience.
Customer service policy
A customer service policy is a written document that employees follow when dealing with customers, who are not satisfied with the company’s products or services. It also lists how employees should behave so as to improve the overall experience for the customers.
Most companies provide a wide range of products and services and employ a sizeable number of employees. A customer service policy ensures that each person within the organisation understands the importance of serving the customers consistently with the same high quality of service — irrespective of which department the employee may work in or at what rank. Such a policy ensures that the employees know that they must put the needs of the customers before their own and that providing empathetic, caring and responsive service is everyone’s responsibility.
Policies for giving information to customers
A well-expressed and written down customer service policy is like a set of rules and a path, which when followed will lead to empowerment of the employees, as well as, ensuring that the customers are satisfied with the services of the company most of the time. While giving information to the customers, the sales associate must:
• be polite and friendly.
• respect customer differences like values, cultures and beliefs.
• respect dignity of all customers.
• listen carefully and respond in an attentive way to customer inquiries.
• protect confidentiality of information.
• acknowledge the customers by name.
• introduce himself or herself by name and role.
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Policies for customer complaints
A complaint handling policy or a complaints policy lays down the process and measures on how to resolve, handle and manage customer-related complaints on products and services offered by a business. The steps of complaint handling and resolving process are as follows:
Step 1: When a customer complains, the sales associate needs to take the matter seriously and ensure that the details being given by the customer are correct. Step 2: The sales associate must take up the matter to the store manager in case of employee complaints. The complaint must be documented in all aspects. Step 3: According to the complaint type, sufficient action must be taken by the sales associate or store manager.
Step 4: If the complaint is not solved at the store level by the sales associate or store manager, then the retailer’s head office must inform and take order from them to solve customer problems.
Step 5: If the same type of complaint occurs on a regular basis, then prepare an action plan for the same. Step 6: Lastly, an evaluation should be undertaken at a pre-determined date to ensure that improvement has occurred.
Techniques to encourage customer loyalty
Following are some of the ways to generate strong customer loyalty.
(a) Keep customers informed: Let the customers know about the business and how the product and service offerings can help them. The retailer should produce a newsletter or greeting card series that can be mailed or e-mailed to the customers regularly and ensure that the website contains plenty of information on customer care services.
(b) Send handwritten notes: There is a lot of power in a handwritten personal note. It is the cheapest and most effective loyalty building and customer retention tool. Handwritten notes leave a positive impact on the customers.
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(c) Talk to the customer: The retailer should give the customers a call to inform them about offers. He or she should make time to chat with them briefly and ask if there is anything that can be done for them.
(d) Remember important occasions: Wish and greet the customers on their birthdays, anniversaries, and other important days. Send personalised cards or letters in conjunction with these occasions.
Activity 1
A role-play to learn the techniques to encourage customers Material required
Checklist, notepad and pen or pencils
Procedure
1. Form a group of 8–10 students.
2. Undertake a role-play on techniques to encourage customer loyalty.
Role of students
a) Sales associate (s): 1–2
b) Customers: 5–6
3. Incorporate the following questions in the role-play: • What are the techniques used to encourage customer loyalty?
• In what ways can we motivate the customers?
• What are the policies for providing information to the customers?
4. Other students of the class can ask questions to the performing group.
5. Finish the role-play within the allotted time.
6. Discuss learnings from the activity.
7. Share your views before and after the role-play activity.
Activity 2
A field visit to learn techniques for encouraging customers to buy new products.
Material required
Checklist, list of retail stores, notepad and pen or pencils
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Procedure
1. Visit a retail outlet or a mall located in your area. 2. Interact with the owner and employees and ask the following questions. Write their replies in 50 words.
Questions to the retailer
• What techniques do you use to encourage customers to buy a product?
• What are the ways to motivate customers?
• What are your policies for providing information to the customers?
3. Collect the details.
4. Discuss with your friends, teachers and owners of the retail store.
5. Prepare a report based on your observation and submit it to the subject teacher.
Check Your Progress
A. Fill in the blanks
1. If the same type of complaint occurs on a regular basis, then prepare an _______________ for the same.
2. A ____________ note leaves a positive impact on a customer. B. Multiple choice questions
1. When _________ customers are in a store or facility, make time to chat with them briefly and ask if there is anything you can do for them.
(a) retail
(b) valued
(c) demonstration
(d) debtor
2. While giving information to the customers, a sales associate must be ______________ with the customers. (a) polite and friendly
(b) angry
(c) rude
(d) None of the above
C. State whether the following are True or False 1. Customer motivation is driven by one’s thoughts, feelings and beliefs.
2. Testers enable customers to try new products. 3. Customers can be motivated with offers or incentives. 4. Customer service policy is an oral document that outlines what an employee has to follow.
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D. Short answer questions
1. Define customer motivation.
2. What do you mean by promoting positivity?
3. What is meant by offering testers?
4. What is brand loyalty?
5. What is brand image?
E. Long answer questions
1. What do you mean by customer motivation? Why is it needed?
2. What do you mean by customer service policy? What are the policies for giving information to the customers? 3. What are the policies for customer complaints?
4. What are the techniques for encouraging customers?
F. Check your performance
1. Perform role-play on need for motivating customers to buy products in a given condition.
2. Classify the policies for providing information to the customers.
3. Demonstrate the steps involved in handling customer complaints and techniques to encourage customer’s loyalty.
Session 3: Personalised Customer Service
Personalised customer service
Personalisation is a means of meeting the customer’s needs more effectively and efficiently, making interactions faster and easier, and consequently, increasing customer satisfaction and the likelihood of repeat visits. Consumers have a lot of choices, and personalised service can set the business apart from competition. For many consumers, a superior level of customer service is enough to sway their decision to shop with a particular store.
Customer service standards
Customer service standards are a company’s rules or guidelines that inform and shape the customer’s relationship with the business at every step throughout the customer experience. Companies adopt these standards to empower customer service employees
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Listen
Understand
to resolve complaints, problems and questions as quickly and satisfactorily as possible for both the customer and the company.
Prevent
Customer Service Standards
Mitigate
Strong customer service standards can help the company retain more loyal customers and increase profits significantly. Customer service
Remedy
Act
Communicate
standards are a set of policies and expectations that have been created and adopted by the company. These
Fig. 4.3 Customer service standards
standards cover all points of contact the business may have with the customer. The standards set by a retailer towards personalised customer services are as shown in Fig. 4.3.
Best practices for providing personalised customer services
People today not only want personal touch from customer service representatives — they expect it. Fortunately, for entrepreneurs, personalised customer service is one area where small businesses can really shine. Following are the ways in which personalised services can be offered:
• Greet the customers
• Listen effectively to the customers’ requests
• Promptly take necessary action
• Inform the customers of unexpected delays
• Touch base with the customers to update
• Respond immediately
Customised sales support
Today, tailoring interactions to individuals is crucial to
make the sale. Customers have too many choices when
it comes to making buying decisions but retailers, who
do not meet the new shopping experience standards
may see a serious decline in sales as a result. These
ever-changing expectations have led the retailers to
create an individualised experience just for them,
i.e., personalised offers and tailored suggestions
based on the specific consumers’ wants and needs.
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The customer needs support from the customer sales associate in the following areas:
(a) Respond as quickly as possible: One of the biggest factors in customer service is speed, especially when a client is requesting something that is time sensitive.
(b) Know your customers: Great interactions begin with knowing the customers’ wants and needs. Customers love personalisation. It is important to know the customers, remember their names and previous conversations. The sales associate can even make a note of what was discussed previously to refer to it the next time they meet the same customer.
(c) Create and maintain a rapport with customers: Trust builds rapport. Customers learn to trust the retailer if they keep their commitments. A retailer should build trust by demonstrating that he or she is interested in the customers’ well-being — beyond their own profit potential. Little things like finding information for the customers or putting them in touch with other suppliers tend to make a big difference.
(d) Identify customer needs, preferences and priorities: Identifying customer needs involves researching the industry and asking the customers lots of specific questions. To identify the needs, the customer sales associate must both listen and ask the right questions. After identifying the needs, he or she should always check for additional or related needs. Following this, the sales associate must use his or her knowledge and experience to identify and present the right products, services and solutions to meet their customers’ needs.
(e) Ask the customer to know amount of their disposable income: People and businesses want to use their financial resources as efficiently as possible. Many products previously considered unique offerings are now considered commodities. This makes price even more
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important to the customer. Therefore, the customer sales associate must ask the customer how much he or she would like to spend on the purchase.
(f) Provide information on sale of additional or related products: In order to sell additional products available in the store, the sales associate should provide information to the customer regarding the same, irrespective of the need of the customer.
(g) Encourage customers to advise on purchase decisions: Purchase decision is a process of thinking that leads the consumer to identify the need, generate choices and choose a definite product. The sales associate must encourage the customers to advise on purchase decisions.
(h) Maintain good relations with customers: The act of maintaining a relationship with customers is an essential part of a business strategy. Listening and providing support to the customers is an easy way to maintain customer relationships. For example, if the customers are having issues with any product, the sales associate must always provide an honest answer and not make fake promises. Building customer relationships is one of the customer retention strategies.
Steps involved in personalised sales support
A ‘personalised service’ is a service which is made-to measure for the customer. Personalisation positively drives key returns, such as revenue, conversion and average transaction value. Personalised sales support is a method, whereby the sales associate tries to customise as per the unique needs of a specific customer or specific subset of customers. Following are the steps involved in a personalised sales support:
(a) Track consumers’ actions: Behavioural tracking and price targeting have grown rapidly in popularity among marketers and are likely to continue to gain acceptance. It is done to identify the items the customers have enquired about. There are potential increases in sales revenue
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and profits inherent in tailoring offers and prices to the buyer’s behaviour.
(b) Analyse customers by context: Customer analysis is a process by which data from customer behaviour is used to help make key business decisions via market segmentation and predictive analytics. This information is used by businesses for direct marketing, site selection, and customer relationship management to provide a highly personalised shopping experience.
(c) Use individual targeting rules: Individual targeting is a technique used by sellers to increase the effectiveness of their sales and marketing. Through information collected on an individual’s behaviour, such as the products they express interest in and/or the searches they have made, sales associates select which products to display to that particular customer.
(d) Create rules-based ‘cross-selling’ recommendations: Cross-selling is the action or practice of selling an additional product or service to an existing customer. Cross-selling is profitable for sellers as it allows them to sell more, closely tie customers to their products, and make them purchase again. However, it is also advantageous for the customers since they can buy the required supplementary products at one place and save time.
(e) Mobile commerce personalisation: Many top retail marketers are revising their digital marketing strategies to focus on engaging the mobile shopper and strengthen their mobile commerce (m-commerce) personalisation plans. The consumers have shifted from primarily researching products via mobile, and then, switching to desktop or tablet to make purchase to now completing the entire shopping journey on their smart device.
Nowadays, retailers are taking advantage of this market surge and connecting with consumers through an enhanced, personalised mobile site. Leveraging m-commerce personalisation allows
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retailers and brands to deliver tailored content and recommendations based on browsing behaviour and contextual data, such as location, weather, and time of day.
(f) Generate loyalty through personalised services: Following loyalty strategies are used in a personalised way to strengthen the customers’ devotion to the retail business:
• offering rewards for new customers
• starting to offer discounts for store members • sending special and seasonal offerings
• inviting customers to keep in touch
(g) Generate repeat sales: It refers to using every opportunity to communicate the upcoming sales offers to the existing customers. Repeat sales can be generated by:
• telling customers about promotions
• selling gift cards
• promoting sales by sending periodical updates and latest offers
• offering product demonstrations
• drawing the customers’ attention with additional benefits
In recent times, personalisation through emerging technologies has enabled the retailers to create loyal customers and boost revenues.
Activity 1
A role-play to offer personalised services to customers Material required
Checklist, notepad and pen or pencils
Procedure
1. Form a group of 5–6 students.
2. Undertake a role-play on providing personalised service to customers by sales associates.
Role of students
(a) Sales associate (s): 1–2
(b) Customers: 3–4
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3. Other students of the class can ask questions to the performing group.
4. Finish the role-play within the allotted time.
5. Discuss the learnings from the activity.
6. Share your views before and after the role-play activity.
Activity 2
A field visit to identify the personalisation of services to customers Material required
Checklist, list of retail stores, notepad and pen or pencils Procedure
1. Visit a retail outlet or a mall located in your area. 2. Interact with the owner and employees.
3. Ask the following questions and write their replies in 100 words.
Questions to the retailer
• What kind of services do you provide to the customers? • What are the steps you follow in providing personalised services to the customers?
• What customer service standards do you maintain? 4. Collect the details.
5. Discuss with your friends, teachers and retail authorities. 6. Prepare a report and submit it to your subject teacher.
Check Your Progress
A. Fill in the blanks
1. Tailoring interactions to individuals is crucial to make the _____________.
2. For many consumers, a _____________ level of customer service is enough to sway their decision to shop with a particular store.
3. ______________ through emerging technologies enables retailers to create loyal customers and boost revenues.
B. State whether the following are True or False 1. The increase in sales depends on the personalised sales support provided to the customers.
2. Repeat sales can be generated by telling customers about promotions.
3. Maintaining good relations with customers will help in gaining long-term profit.
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C. Match the columns
D. Short answer questions
1. Define personalised service.
2. What are customer service standards?
3. What is meant by maintaining a good relationship with customers?
E. Long answer questions
1. What are the standards set by the company towards personalised customer services? Explain in detail.
2. Why do you mean by personalised sales support? 3. What are the steps involved in personalised sales service?
F. Check your performance
1. Perform a role-play to explain the customer service standards and standards for personalised customer service.
2. Demonstrate the steps involved in personalised sales support.
Session 4: Post-sales Service Support
‘Post-sales service support’, sometimes called ‘after-sales service’, is a service provided after a customer has purchased a product. After-sales support may be provided by a retailer, manufacturer or a third party customer service or training provider, and may include warranty service, training, repair or upgrade, or various other services. After-sales support may be considered to be part of a company’s overall marketing strategy. Some customers might seek a company’s products based on its after-sales service.
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Types of post-sales service support
After-sales service refers to all the things a retailer does to take the care of valued customers after they buy a product. This type of customer aftercare is important for any business. The various types of after-sales support may consist of the following:
(a) Online or technical support and help desk: It includes assistance with technology merchandise, such as PCs, software products, mobile phones, television sets and most electrical or mechanical products.
(b) Onsite or customer support: Onsite or customer support includes services that help the customers with products in the store, mall, etc., at the time of sale. It is a range of customer services to assist the customers in making cost-effective use of products.
(c) Customer training: It refers to providing information to the customers regarding the knowledge, skills and competencies required to use the product. Customer trainings help the customers to know the actual utility of the product.
Today, post-sales service support continues to be an important tool for both the consumers and manufacturers. A customer expects a cost-effective and reliable after-sales support service. Manufacturers also rely on consumer satisfaction to maintain business and sales. Without a good after-sales support service, a product can be difficult to sell.
Customer data
Customer data is information held on file about customers by a store or other business, usually, including names, contact details and buying habits.
Customer data are the first-hand responses that are obtained from customers through investigation or by asking direct questions.
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Collecting and storing customer information
Collecting and storing information about customers is essential for retailers to tailor customer service programmes and grow the business. When collecting information about the customers, the sales associate should try to find out what they are buying, why, and how often are they buying. Any potential customers who have made enquiries about goods or services can also be included.
There are many ways to collect information on the customers, including:
(a) Order forms: Order forms let the customers order a specific product or service that the business is unable to supply immediately, and are a good way to collect customer information. If the business stocks products with specific ‘release dates’, the sales associate must consider using pre-order forms to collect customer information. By filling in a pre-order form, a customer makes a commitment to buy a product and will often pre
pay for it.
(b) Enquiries: Such business practice helps to record the details of any customer enquiries to follow-up with them. Enquiries also give an opportunity to collect customer information and mention the company’s website, mailing list or social media pages.
(c) Recording complaints: Customer complaints can be used as a way to collect customer information. Not only does the complaint get recorded but things like who made it, why, which staff member heard the complaint and what was done to resolve the problem are also recorded.
(d) Warranty cards: If the business has products or services that come with a warranty, warranty cards can be used to collect and store the customers’ information.
(e) Customer satisfaction surveys: To collect the information on customer satisfaction, survey cards can be used where the customers rate, for
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example, aspects of your service out of 5. The back of the card can ask for the customers’ personal details.
(f) Feedback: Feedback cards can also be used to collect information. Feedback can be asked on specific aspects of your business or leave it open-ended like a suggestion box. Again, the back of the card can request personal details.
(g) Company website: A business website can be used to collect customer information through a ‘contact us’ form for general enquiries or by allowing customers to sign up to a mailing list (if you have regular news or updates).
Storing customer information
Customer information is confidential and must be stored securely. A simple way to store customer information is to use an electronic spreadsheet. If there is detailed information, a customer relationship manager (CRM) database might be more suitable. The CRM can help the sales associate analyse customer information to find purchasing trends and identify their best customers.
Maintaining customer information
Customer information is only useful if it is up-to-date. It is important to regularly check the accuracy of the customers’ information, and update it where necessary.
Using stored customer information
It is important to ask the customers if they would like to receive information or updates, and give them the option to opt out. If a business spams customers without their consent, they may react negatively to the business.
Benefits of maintaining records of customer information
Maintaining a quality database with accurate customer information pays dividends in the end. The benefits of maintaining records of customer information can be explained through the following points:
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• helps to work more efficiently
• protects the interests of the government and the agency
• protects employee and citizen rights
• displays cost and its impact on the business • enables re-examination of processes and decisions • helps in research and development activities • enables steadiness and stability in the business
Customer data protection
Customer data protection needs to be right up there with product quality, safety, environmental protection, and anti-corruption processes. The information that is entrusted to the business by its customers must be protected not only for the sake of the brand but also any breaches could result in heavy fines. Businesses must take all possible action to protect the data they collect from the customers. Data in your business can be compromised in a number of ways, such as exposure of sensitive data by employees, virus and malware attacks, lost or stolen data, data lost in transit, etc. The following steps can ensure that the customers’ information is always safe and secure:
• All of the IT systems’ anti-virus and firewall protection should be up-to-date.
• The staff should be educated about a good data security policy, which means locking computers when not in use.
• Removal of sensitive customer data on removable media, such as USB drives, should be prevented. • Mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablet PCs should use secure connections — such as a VPN (Virtual Private Network) — when they connect with the company’s servers to access customer data.
• Backups of customer data are vital to carry out on a regular basis. Using an off-site data backup service can provide a level of redundancy to allow the business to protect customer data.
Sales Associate – Class XI
Company laws and policies on data protection
The data collected by retailers include customer information that makes a person identifiable, such as details of name, address, contact number, etc. It is important to understand what level of detail a business can hold on its customers. The business must have legitimate reasons for collecting and using the personal data. The business should not use the data in ways that have unjustified adverse effects on the individuals concerned, and should be open and honest about how it intends to use the data and ensure that nothing unlawful is done with the data. Upon receiving the data, the following policies must be followed:
The collected data should be
• accurate and up-to-date.
• gathered for lawful purposes only.
• processed within legal and moral boundaries.
The collected data should not be
• communicated informally to the customers. • stored for more than a specified period of time. • transferred to other retailers that do not have adequate data protection policies.
• distributed to entities other than the parties that have been agreed upon by the data owner.
Some additional policies to be followed • Allow customer to know the collected data • Update the customer on how the company will process their data
• Update the customer about others who will access their information
• Have terms in case of lost or corrupted data • Allow customers to modify, erase or correct the data contained in database
Promise to customers
Keeping promises to customers is a business necessity today, in order to achieve customer loyalty. In today’s competitive business scenario, the customers have a
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You get
great offer
You get
easy
shopping
You get
reliable quality
You get
competent
service
huge number of choices and they are unlikely to stay with a company that is unable to inspire confidence and trust. When beginning association with a new customer, it is imperative for a company to set clear expectations. It is vital that the customer is kept informed in case of inadvertent delays, such that the customer is not kept waiting and guessing. Customers do not like to wait, especially if a company may have promised certain deadlines and service level standards. In order to remain consistently successful in keeping promises to customers, companies must promise only as much as they can deliver.
Types of promises to customers
There are four types of promises made to customers as discussed below (Fig. 4.4).
Type 1 – Offer-related promises: Here, a sales associate can promise different offers that are to be offered by the company to the customer. Offers may include trade discount, cash discount, free shipping, free gift, weekly discount, discounts on special goods, etc.
Fig. 4.4 Promises to customers 116
Type 2 – Quality-related promises: Here, a sales associate can promise about the different qualities of a product, such as usability, appearance, reliability, operability, stability, durability, etc.
Type 3 – Promises related to easy shopping: Customers should be promised an easy shopping experience, in terms of flexibility, availability, transportation, durability, delivery, efficiency, reputability, etc. These qualities of a product make its shopping process easy.
Type 4 – Promises related to competent service: Lastly, promises related to after-sale service, such as delivery of products, support by phone calls, follow-up with the customer and any technical support, are made.
Sales Associate – Class XI
Notes
Activity 1
A role-play to learn the assessment of creditworthiness of
a customer
Material Required
Checklist, notepad and pen or pencils
Procedure
1. Divide the class into groups.
2. Undertake a role-play on providing post-sales service support
to customers by sales associates.
3. Make two groups in the class. One group will do the role-play
and the other will judge the performing group based on the
objectives of the session.
4. Other students of the class can ask questions to the
performing group.
5. Finish the role-play within the stipulated time allotted to you.
6. Discuss the learnings from the activity.
7. Share your views before and after the role-play activity.
Activity 2
A field visit to identify the methods used to store customer data
Material required
Checklist, list of retail stores, notepad and pen or pencils
Procedure
1. Visit a retail outlet or a mall located in your area.
2. Ask the following questions to the owner and employees and
write down their replies in 100 words.
Questions to the retailer
• What records do they maintain for storing customer
information?
• What are their policies for protecting customer
information?
• What are the promises they made to customers?
3. Identify the post-sales services support offered by them to the
customers.
4. Observe the data protection techniques adopted by them to
collect the details.
5. Discuss the findings with your friends, teachers and
retail authorities.
6. Prepare a report and submit to your teacher.
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Specialist Support to Customers
Notes Check Your Progress
A. Fill in the blanks
1. ________________________ refer to teaching customers the
knowledge, skills and competencies required to know the
use of a product.
2. ______________________ lets the customers order a specific
product or service that the business is unable to supply
immediately.
3. Customer information is recorded and maintained by
__________________ in different ways.
B. Multiple choice questions
1. Today, ___________________________ continues to be an
important tool for both consumers and manufacturers.
(a) post-sales service support
(b) phone call
(c) customer data
(d) trust
2. A ____________ to customers is a business necessity today,
in order to attain customer loyalty.
(a) support
(b) sale
(c) promise
(d) retail
C. State whether the following are True or False
1. Post-sales service support includes guarantee.
2. Online support includes assistance with technology.
3. Customer training refers to providing customers with the
knowledge, skills and competencies required to know the
use of the product.
4. Maintaining records of customer information enables
re-examination of processes and decisions.
D. Short answer questions
1. What is post-sales service?
2. What is online support?
3. What is customer information?
4. What is protection of data?
5. What are the promises related to easy shopping?
E. Long answer questions
1. What is post-sales service support? What are the types of
post-sales service support?
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Sales Associate – Class XI
2. What do you mean by customer information? What are ways of maintaining customer information? What are the benefits for maintaining records of customer information?
3. What are the company’s laws and policies on data protection?
4. Why is promise to customer important? What are the various types of promises made to a customer?
F. Check your performance
1. Demonstrate the customer service standards and standards for personalised customer service.
2. Draw a figure on steps involved in personalised sales support.
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