Strategic Management and Strategiccustomer Services and Retail Selling Competitiveness

Chapter 12

Customer Services and Retail Selling

Customer Service

* High quality service: delivering service that meets or exceeds customers’ expectations

Relationship retailing programs

1. Relationship retailing- activities designed to attract, retain and enhance customer relationships

Benefits:

* Financial benefits: An example :frequent –purchaser discounts and product upgrades

Three basic tasks of retailing:

1. Getting consumers into your store

2. Converting these consumers into customers

3. Operating as efficiently as possible

Retailers must differentiate themselves by meeting the needs of their customers

1. Customer service- all the activities performed by the retailer that influence:

a. The ease with which a potential customer can shop or learn about the stores offering

b. The ease with which a transaction can be completed

c. The customers satisfaction with the transaction

2. A customer who visits a store and finds the service level below expectations or the product out-of-stock is likely to become a transient customer.

Three general categories of customer service:

A. Pretransaction services: are services provided to the customer prior to entering the store.

1. Convenient hours

2. Information aids

B. Transaction Services

1. Credit

2. Layaway

3. Gift wrapping and packaging

4. Check cashing

5. Gift cards

6. Personal shopping

7. Merchandise availability

8. Personal selling

9. Sales transaction- the two most overlooked problems regarding transactions services are having clean restrooms and minimizing dwell time, which refers to the amount of time a consumer must spend waiting to complete a purchase

C. Posttransaction Services

1. Complaint Handling- the customer deserves

a. Courteous treatment

b. A fair settlement

c. Prompt action

2. Merchandise Returns- (merchandise management) The retailer must be aware of fraudulent returns and abuse

a....