INTRODUCTION

Qua l i t y , p r i c e , and s e rv i ce a r e t h r ee f a c to r s

a r e c r i t i c a l t o t he succe s s o f any expo r t s a l e s e f fo r t . Qua l i t y and

p r i c e a r e t o e s sen t i a l f a c to r s . Se rv i ce i s t he impor t an t f a c to r

wh ich i n de t a i l ed i s exp l a ined he re . Se rv i ce shou ld be an i n t eg ra l

pa r t o f any company’ s expo r t s t r a t egy f rom the s t a r t . P rope r ly

hand l ed , s e rv i ce c an be t he founda t i on o f g rowth . I gno red o r l e f t

t o chance , i t c an cause an expo r t e f fo r t t o f a i l .

Se rv i ce i s t he p rompt de l i ve ry o f t he

p roduc t . I t i s cou r t eous s a l e s pe r sonne l . I t i s a u se r o r s e rv i ce

manua l mod i f i ed t o mee t you r cus tomer ’ s needs . I t i s r e ady acce s s

t o a s e rv i ce f a c i l i t y . I t i s knowledgeab l e , co s t - e f f ec t i ve

ma in t enance , r epa i r , o r r ep l acemen t . Se rv i ce i s a l oca t i on . Se rv i ce

i s dea l e r suppo r t .

Se rv i ce va r i e s by t he p roduc t t ype , t he

qua l i t y o f t he p roduc t , t he p r i c e o f t he p roduc t , and t he d i s t r i bu t i on

channe l emp loyed . Fo r expo r t p roduc t s t ha t r equ i r e no s e rv i ce - such

a s food p roduc t s , some consumer goods , and commerc i a l

d i sposab l e s – t he i s sue i s r e so lved once d i s t r i bu t i on channe l s ,

qua l i t y c r i t e r i a , and r e tu rn po l i c i e s have been i den t i fy

On the o the r hand , t he cha rac t e r i s t i c s o f consumer du rab l e s and

some consumab le s demand t ha t s e rv i ce be ava i l ab l e . Fo r such

p roduc t s , s e rv i ce i s a f e a tu r e expec t ed by t he consumer . I n f a c t ,

f o r e ign buye r s o f i ndus t r i a l goods t yp i ca l l y p l ace s e rv i ce a t t he

fo r e f ron t o f t he c r i t e r i a t hey eva lua t e when mak ing a pu rchase

dec i s i on .

A l l f o r e ign marke t s a r e soph i s t i c a t ed , and each

ha s i t s own expec t a t i ons o f supp l i e r s and vendo r s . U .S .

manufac tu r e r s o r d i s t r i bu to r s mus t t he r e fo re ensu re t ha t t he i r

s e rv i ce pe r fo rmance i s compa rab l e t o t ha t o f t he p r edominan t

compe t i t o r s i n t he ma rke t . Th i s l eve l o f pe r fo rmance i s an

impor t an t de t e rminan t i n ensu r ing a r e a sonab l e compe t i t i ve

pos i t i on , g iven t he o the r f a c to r s o f p roduc t qua l i t y , p r i c e

p romot ion , and de l i ve ry .

An expo r t i ng f i rm’s s t r a t egy and marke t

en t ry dec i s i on may d i c t a t e t ha t i t doe s no t p rov ide a f t e r - s a l e

s e rv i ce . I t may de t e rmine t ha t i t s expo r t ob j ec t i ve i s t he s i ng l e o r

mu l t i p l e oppo r tun i s t i c en t r i e s i n to expo r t ma rke t s . A l t hough t h i s

app roach may work i n t he sho r t t e rm , subsequen t p roduc t o f f e r i ngs

w i l l be l e s s succe s s fu l a s buye r s r e ca l l t he f a i l u r e t o p rov ide

expec t ed l eve l s o f s e rv i ce . As a r e su l t , ma rke t deve lopmen t and

s a l e s expend i t u r e may r e su l t i n one - t ime s a l e s

I f t he app l i ance i s cove red by wa r r an ty , you

w i l l gene ra l l y need t o have r epa i r s done by t he company spec i f i ed

on t he wa r r an ty . Once t he wa r r an ty ha s exp i r ed , you may o rgan i ze a

company o f you r cho i ce t o do any r epa i r work . Bu t i t ’ s o f t en w i se r

t o con t ac t t he s e rv i ce depa r tmen t o f t he manufac tu r e r , o r s e l e c t a

s e rv i ce f i rm wi th wh ich you o r you r f r i ends have had succe s s fu l

dea l i ngs .

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CUSTOMER SERVICE

End u se r s o f many t ypes o f p roduc t ,

r ang ing f rom compu te r sy s t ems t o domes t i c app l i ance s , r equ i r e

cus tomer suppo r t a t some- t ime - a s s i s t ance t o he lp t hem ga in

max imum va lue f rom the i r pu rchase . I n f a c t cu s tomer suppo r t

en t a i l s a l l a c t i v i t i e s “ t o ensu re t ha t a p roduc t i s ava i l ab l e fo r

t r oub l e - f r ee u se t o consumer s ove r i t s u se fu l span”

The concep t o f cus tomer s e rv i ce ha s been a gene r i c t e rm used by

i ndus t ry and academia t o de sc r i be a s e t o f a c t i v i t i e s i n wh ich a f i rm

engages t o w in and keep cus tomer s . S imp ly d i f f e r en t i a t i on o f

cus tomer s e rv i ce r e f e r s i t t o a va r i ab l e t ha t expands t he image o f a

p roduc t and t he r eby o f f e r s t he pos s ib i l i t y o f ma rke t dominance .

I n t h i s p r ime ro l e , cu s tomer s e rv i ce i s

v i ewed a s an o rgan i zed co rpo ra t e ph i l o sophy cons i s t i ng o f a

comprehens ive and r e l a t ed s e t o f a c t i v i t i e s . Spec i f i c a l l y , cu s tomer

s e rv i ce i s no t gene r i c abs t r ac t i on , bu t r a t he r a s e r i e s o f spec i f i c

s e rv i ce s p r i o r t o t he t r ansac t i on , a s “ t ime ly de l i ve r i e s” , “ e f f i c i en t

t e l ephone hand l i ng o f o rde r s and que r i e s” , ” a ccu ra t e pu rchase

s t a t emen t s” , and u se r s r e ce ive cus tomer s e rv i ce no t i n some

abs t r ac t s ense , bu t a s t he “ ava i l ab i l i t y o f an i t em” , “ a f t e r - s a l e s

s e rv i ce s and back -up” , ” compe t en t t e chn i ca l r ep re sen t a t i ve s” ,

“demon- s t a t i on o f equ ipmen t” o r “ spec i a l p roduc t p romot ions” .

Whi l e t he r e i s b road ag reemen t t ha t t he se e l emen t s a r e common ly

a s soc i a t ed w i th cus tomer s e rv i ce , t he deg ree o f impor t ance a t t a ched

t o e ach r e spec t i ve s e rv i ce va r i e s f rom indus t ry t o i ndus t ry and

company t o company , depend ing on cus tomer needs and t he

capab i l i t y o f t he s e rv i ce - p rov id ing o rgan i za t i on .

The re a r e two a spec t s o f cus tomer suppo r t ,

wh i ch pa r t i cu l a r l y de se rve managemen t a t t en t i on . F i r s t , t he r e i s

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need fo r cus tomer suppo r t r equ i r emen t s t o be fu l l y cons ide red a t a

de s ign s t age u s ing wha t a r e c a l l ed de s ign fo r suppo r t ab i l i t y

t e chn iques - i n o rde r t o deve lop p roduc t s , wh i ch a r e e conomica l and

ea sy suppo r t . Second , t he l og i s t i c o f de l i ve r i ng cus tomer suppo r t

t h rough su i t ab l e channe l s i s key . Compan i e s , wh i ch a r e good a t

bo th o f t he se a spec t s have d i f f e r en t i a t ed t hemse lve s f rom the i r

compe t i t o r s and won s i gn i f i c an t ma rke t sha r e .

Acco rd ing t o Epp i en t t e , cu s tomer

s e rv i ce ha s been emerg ing a s a compe t i t i ve weapon fo r bus ine s s

f i rms . He men t ioned “ i t i s becoming ha rde r and ha rde r t o compe t e

on manufac tu r i ng exce l l ence a lone . Manufac tu r e r s who

t h r i ve…….wi l l compe t e by bund l i ng s e rv i ce s w i th p roduc t s . ” Of

cou r se u se o f cus tomer s e rv i ce , a s a f o rm o f compe t i t i on does no t

app ly t o manufac tu r e r s . Wi th t he e conomy becoming i nc r ea s ing ly

s e rv i ce ba sed and new k inds o f s e rv i ce be ing o f f e r ed con t i nua l l y ,

t he i npu t o f cus tomer s e rv i ce may be even more dynamic fo r non -

manufac tu r e r s . I t i s p robab ly s a f e t o s ay t ha t , i n one fo rm o r

ano the r , a l l bus ine s s i s conce rned w i th cus tomer s e rv i ce . As ea r l y

a s 1972 , i t ha s been no t ed t ha t eve ryone f rom bank ing and a i r l i ne s

t o p roduc t - r e l a t ed s e rv i ce s and t he s a l e s r e l a t ed s e rv i ce s o f f e r ed by

manufac tu r e r s and r e t a i l e r s . Obv ious ly , cu s tomer s e rv i ce i s a pa r t

o f a l l f a ce t s o f ou r e conomy and i s e spec i a l l y impor t an t t o t he l ong

t e rm su rv iva l o f compan i e s .

The impor t ance o f cus tomer s e rv i ce w i l l be

more r ecogn i zed when Michae l po r t e r ( 1980 ) cons ide r s i t ha s a

pa r ame te r f o r h i s va lue - cha in ana ly s i s mode l t ha t make marg in fo r

company . Acco rd ing t o t h i s ana ly s i s , wh i ch i s shown in t he f i gu re ,

a l l t he a c t i v i t i e s o f t he en t i t y a r e mapped i n to a va lue a r row . The

r i gh t s i de o f t he a r row r ep re sen t s t o t a l va lue c r ea t ed by t he

o rgan i za t i on ; i n a compe t i t i ve ma rke t , t ha t i s wha t t he cus tomer a r e

w i l l i ng t o pay , i . e . r evenue . To c r ea t e t hose va lue s , co s t s a r e

i ncu r r ed ; t he d i f f e r ence be tween r evenue and cos t s i s t he ma rg in .

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To inc r ea se t he ma rg in , t he en t e rp r i s e c an , f o r example i nc r ea se

va lue fo r cus tomer (p r ima ry ac t i v i t i e s a r e i nbound l og i s t i c s ,

ope ra t i ons , ou tbound l og i s t i c s , ma rke t i ng and s a l e s , and con t i nu ing

s e rv i ce .

Good cus tomer suppo r t i s p r e r equ i s i t e f o r

a ch i ev ing cus tomer s a t i s f ac t i on ; i t c an i nc r ea se t he succe s s r a t e o f

new p roduc t s and d i r ec t l y con t r i bu t e t o compe t i t i ve advan t age . I n

add i t i on , i t c an be a ma jo r sou rce o f r evenue fo r manufac tu r e s . I n

f a c t t he t o t a l wor ldwide marke t f o r h igh t e ch suppo r t i s e s t ima t ed

a t $ 400bn and t he impor t ance o f suppo r t r evenues t o manufac tu r i ng

compan i e s i n a r ange o f i ndus t r i e s ha s been i den t i f i ed . Ove r t he

work l i f e t ime o f a p roduc t , t he suppo r t r evenues f rom cus tomer may

be f a r h ighe r t han t he i n i t i a l p roduc t r evenue . Desp i t e t he

impor t ance o f cus tomer suppo r t a s a sou rce o f bo th r evenue and

p ro f i t , i t i s an a r ea t ha t ha s o f t en on ly r ece ived s can t a t t en t i on

f rom manage r s .

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Value Chain Analysis (porter)

Service is valuable for rescuing cost, which finally

increases company’s profit. Many high- performance companies consider service a

vehicle for reducing costs for customers. While many organizations have streamlined

operations or practiced some from of just- in- time production to reduce costs,

relatively few companies look at one of their biggest cost-saving tools: their service

providers. For years, the Japanese have been training bright, knowledgeable service

they receive from customer every day.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF AFTER SALES SERVICES

The importance of after sales services both at the

consumer/industrial markets.

Historically, after-sales service was regarded in most manufacturing companies as a

necessary evil - as a supporting but relatively minor function in the overall structure of

the organization. This also applies in some degree to the channels - in the case of

industrial products, it will usually be the manufacturer who provides service, whilst for

many consumer and other types of goods it is the responsibility of the retailer, dealer

or agent. While it was realised that it was important to provide a reasonable’ level of

after-sales service, the role and function of service was generally viewed purely as a

cost centre. It may well have been the last area for development and investment in

many organisations. Changes came about as a result of increasing consumer pressure

and more intense competition. As consumers grew more sophisticated, they became

less willing to accept poor quality goods and services. Consumer protection legisla-

tion forced firms to take responsibility for after-sales service, but, at the same time,

organisations started to realise that by offering guarantees and service warranties they

could enhance their competitive position. This applies not only to providers of actual’

goods’ but toservice providers as well. If insurance organisati0ns failed to deal with

queries and claims promptly their customers might switch insurers. If a tour operator

promises trouble-free travel and then problems arise (even if they are the fault of an

airline or hotel), the tour operator must take steps to rectify the problems immediately.

Bad publicity resulting from poor after sales service can be the fastest way of losing

custom.

A Service-orientated ApproachSome companies anticipated this, and invested in after-

sales service consistently. They were able to establish a leadingcompetitive position

based on their repu-tation for fair and unparalleled service. Marks and Spencer, the

leading high street retailer in the UK, was providing instant money-back guarantees

long before its competitors followed suit. In the market for photocopying equipment,

which is notorious for breaking down, Xerox, a leading manufacturer, advertises the

fact that wherever their customers are located, throughout the whole of the USA, they

are never more than three hours away from a service engineer.

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In the last few years there has been increasing corporate awareness of the strategic

importance and value of service both as a profit centre and as a marketing tool. As this

awareness has become established, there has been a considerable increase in the

resources being made available to maximise its value to theoverall profitability,

directly and indirectly, of the company.It would be hard to imagine buying a car, a

washing machine, or any other major purchase without some form of guarantee that

long-term service will be available promptly.

After-sales servicehas been part of the augmented product for so long now that it

is no longer a special feature - consumers demand it.

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AFTER SALES SERVICE: BRINGS EVERYTHING UNDER ONE ROOF

The last decades have seen a growing trend towards

aggressive global competition, increased marketplace demands, and accelerated

technological changes. These developments are forcing organizations to take closer

look at their products and offer associated after sales services support. MANY

VALUE-COSCIOUS CUSTOMERS are demanding that a company’s product offer

mare value than it’s competitor’s product not only in design and manufacturing, but

also in product delivery and support. Increasingly, distribution and services support

options available for a product are key determinations in consumers’ product purchase

decisions.

Product sales and distribution issues typically involve

specific mechanism for a pricing product and distributing it to the end customer. On

the other hand after sales service support issues entail all activities undertaken by

service support providers to ensure that a product is available for trouble free use to

customer over its useful life span. Management experts and marketing channel

analysts alike agree that distribution and after sales service support functions do

increasingly warrant significant attention because they make for an integral part of the

product package.

Today competitive market cause that many company re-evaluate their

strategy to more differentiate from others. After sales service is one of the elements,

which help all firms in this matter. Many new breeds of high-tech companies are now

discovering that they need to differentiate themselves from rivals in appealing to

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customers and that technology alone will not do anymore. After sales service being

recognized as one of the competitive differentiators for most firms, which now

produce in the same low cost regions of the world.

After sales service acts as a strong marketing tools, which

help firms to be competitive in the market. Service is proving to be a source of

competitive advantage that enables firms to remain leaders in a highly competitive

market, the outcome of an inadequate balance between the different parties involved in

the “service chain marketing, sales, R&D, production, supply, after sales etc. This may

lead to internal conflicts which progressively intensify, thus reducing the

effectiveness, and profitability, of direct and indirect after sales support activities.

An essential part of marketing strength is service support. When customers

buy a product, they expect certain levels of post purchase support to go along with it.

Defining those expectations is critical to marketing success and will be even more

important when markets mature.

However, industry experts caution that too many companies mismanage the

total cost of providing superior after sales service support and so undo part of the

competitive edge won via technology and pricing.

Customer support, which is also referred to as product support, after sales

service. Technical support, or simply service, its important for because it:

Can be a major source of revenue although it often receives too little

management attention.

Is essential for achieving customer satisfaction and good long term

relationship – as identified by number of researchers.

Can provide a competitive advantage. This is a true most high- tech

industry but also in some low- tech sectors. As product differentiation becomes harder

in many markets, companies are increasingly looking to customer support as a

potential source of competitive advantage. A number of examples of how companies

have own market share through good support can be found in trade press.

Play a role in increasing the success rate of new products.

Needs to be fully evaluated during new product development, as

good product design can make customer support more efficient and cost effective.

Increased competition within many industries has lead to increased attention on

customer service. Various studies indicate that upset customers may have big effects

on sales of company. Therefore, all firms try to put all their attentions to keep their

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customer satisfied and fulfill their needs and wants as much as possible. One of strong

tools which help all companies in this matter is providing best after sales service.

Service is traditionally has been considered a post-sale capability, primarily focused

on problem resolution or providing technical assistance. Now, these definitions are too

limited. Customers – whether internal or external – consider service a collective,

organizational responsibility rather than a functional or departmental one. As the

relationships customer has with company continued to widen, anyone who interacts

with a customer is in a position either to jeopardize or to enhance the relationships. To

ensure customer quality service, every person who interacts with customers anyway

must have appropriate skills to respond, efficiently and effectively, to customer needs.

Providing good and reliable product, which is another main target of each company

can be achieved by good after sales service. Increasingly, after sales service- customer

service is becoming the order- widening criteria for most firms and is now being

recognized as an important research priority. According to a major study conducted by

the conference board, the primary rationale of the manufacturers for offering after

sales service adds the products value and is often treated as integral part of the

product.

Proper after sales service helps companies in customer retention too.

Many companies have begun to align entire organization to deliver excellent service,

since they know their investment will pay off terms of competitive advantage and

customer retention.

Customer long term – retention will really help companies to be more

competitive in the market and enable them to implement their entire marketing plan.

The recent and ongoing changes in the business environment – most notably escalating

competition, increasing globalization of markets, and more demanding customers- are

making it difficult to compete effectively on the basis of traditional marketing mix

variable alone. This is reality perhaps the primary impetus for the increasing attention

that relationship marketing has been receiving from both practitioners and researchers.

And, given that long-term customer retention is a key aim of relationship marketing,

the focus is now shifting from merely to customer to serve ,

After sales service is often in response to a customer problem, e.g.

product failure restoration, problem diagnosis, expert assistance to resolve a problem,

problem with using the product, etc. therefore after sales service is a recovery process

that attempts to resolve a customer problem, which, if not resolved causes

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dissatisfaction and less satisfied customer. The service functions therefore attempts to

recover the customer satisfaction to the level it was before the occurrences of

problems.

The implementation of a superior service strategy strongly depends

on the attitude and behavior of customer contact personnel in service organizations.

However, conflicting demands of organizational constraints, service managers, service

teams, and customers frequently lead to role stress of service employees. In this

article, the authors investigate antecedents and consequences of role stress experienced

in after-sales service management of an international office equipment manufacturer

from a longitudinal perspective. Empowering service employees by giving them

authority and responsibility decreases their sense of role stress and, at the same time,

enhances job satisfaction. Moreover, the authors notice a negative short-term and a

positive long-term effect of the presence of rules and regulations. In the short term,

this leads to higher role conflict. Finally, on the basis of the positive lagged effect of

perceived group cohesiveness on role ambiguity, the authors conclude that creating

"tight-knit" workgroups can actually prove detrimental because the norms they

develop might be hard to change.

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THE IMPORTANT EFFECTS OF AFTER –SALES- SERVICE

Finally, we may see the main important effects of after sales

services in improvement of each firm, which expressed the four main important

aspects of after sales service as follows:

First, service perceived as high- profit, high- growth

opportunity with profit margins for equipment sales under pressure from foreign and

domestic competition, many U.S firms target after sales service as a key area for

investment, a sharp contrast to its historical image as a backwater meriting little

attention from top management.

Second, managers are also beginning to realize that

customers will buy more often and more quantities from a company they feel will

support them and give maximum post sales satisfaction. After sales service, therefore,

is an important aspect of a company’s marketing mix to build loyalty and repeat

business. The market is a crucial ingredient for success in international marketing.

Third, companies are also realizing that technological

and feature advantage is short lived. The rapid diffusion of technological change

makes it increasingly difficult to maintain a competitive advantage based on product

features or design. As a result, both customers and manufacturers focus on service as

the key differentiator. Moreover, firm’s abilities to provide service support have

increased significantly.

Fourth, customer expectations are increasing and buyers

today are demanding ever- higher level of service support. Customer expectations will

create opportunities for innovative products that meet changing service support needs

and will increase competitive pressures to continually improve product reliability and

serviceability. They will make conventional service contracts and endangered species,

force manufactures to unbundled the prices of the product and support service, and

create major profit squeeze in the key segment of such information age industries as

telecommunication, computers, and office automation.

In spite of all above advantages, which push distributors

provide after-sales service there some other reasons are that justify not relying on

suppliers services only and having local after sales services. An important aspect of

customer support organization, or use third parties. If customers are to be provided

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with good product support, company need to select and effectively manage their

distribution channels. Manufacturing companies may have their own direct

organization for customer support, or they may use alternative. The review of the trade

and popular management press confirmed the importance of good distribution

In coordinating distribution channels through contractual

arrangements; manufacturers must deal with retailers who compete not only in price,

but also in important non-price factors such as in- store services; after sales support or

faster check –out. Coordinating the price and non-price competition among retailers

can be a difficult task.

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DIFFERENT WAYS OF AFTER SALES SERVICE SUPPORT

There are different ways of after sales service support for most of

firms and manufacturers which has to be selected: (as per Arvinder {1996})

Offering it directly at the factory

Through their own network of service centers

Through channel distributions

Through authorized independent and third party service centers

By some combination of these organization

For long time, the manufacturers preferred to use either the first

or second above methods. Distributors only had responsibility for selling the products

in local markets and after sales service were handling through manufacturers. But this

method is no longer useful. It was likewise noted foreign customers have not received

effective service from their suppliers the tendency has been to leave the

responsibilities to the importer in the host country.

Besides local competitors have a natural advantage in their

ability to provide such services in their own domestic markets, they can use high

quality after sales services to augment their product, and increase value and quality

perceptions of their products. This natural location advantage allows local competitors

to parlay quality after sales service into competitive advantage relative to foreign

competitors.

There is another classification, which introduced by GOFFIN

(1999). In this he states that there are 5 main choices for customer support distribution

channel and companies need to determine the best combination to meet their need and

customers’ requirement as:

Direct support from the factory

A direct after sales service network

Channel intermediaries

Authorized, independent third parties

Some combinations of the above possibilities

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For selecting one of the above methods, either direct from factory,

local support service or third party, companies have to consider other environmental

factors. More complex products usually require more support and therefore

manufacturers will normally want to exert maximum control over customer support by

having their own direct customer support organization. They also identify the

limitations of particular distribution channels. For e.g. the high cost of a direct

consumer support channel and the lower degree of control resulting from indirect

channels, such as dealers.

The demand for service support in a distribution environment has steadily increased in

recent times and can be another reason for distributors to have their own local after

sales service support. This trend can be accounted for by several factors:

Products are now more complex and, therefore, more service sensitive

Greater customer awareness of rights regarding warranty servicing;

Inflationary pressures creating greater sensitivity to repair costs;

Decline in product consistency as well as instances of poor design;

Inexperienced and unqualified personnel maintaining and servicing product;

Increased, incidents of product misuse by the customer.

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17

After sales services necessity and effectivness

Proper and effective after sales service

After sales service methods: Installation Training Documentation Maintenance Online support Warranty Upgrades

Parts supply

Software service

Goffin

(1999 & 2000)

Timothy (1999)

KEY ELEMENTS OF AFTER SALES SERVICE

Providing the pro [after sales service is very important

for firms and customers. Traditionally, support merely constituted maintenance,

service and repair.

However, as the scope of product has broadened over the past

decade, it has also included such aspects as installation, commissioning, training,

maintenance and repair services, documentation, spare parts supply and logistics,

product upgrading and medications, software, and warranty schemes, telephone

support, etc

An after sales support strategy associated with a product may

include elements such as warranty provision, extended service contract provision,

availability of repair service, loan availability, toll-free phones support, etc

According to gulden (1997), after sales service consists of number of elements or

dimensions. It is conceptualized as consisting of the following:

The installation and start up of the purchase product

The provision of spare parts for products

The provision of repair services

Technical advise regarding the product

The provision and support of warranties

Seven elements of the after sales service support which must be provided to customers

over the working lifetime of products as follows:

Installation:

For many products, the first elements of product support

following the sale is installation. This is usually performed for complex products (e.g.

computer systems or dish TV) where safety issues are involved (e.g. medical devices)

by personnel from the manufacturing company, or their representatives. Increasingly,

where product design allows it, customers themselves will install their purchases and

manufacturers make the challenge face making this installation is that IBM recognized

in 1990 that their personal computer customers wanted to be to unpack their purchases

and have them running quickly. This led to products with pre installed s\w and which

consequently could be unpacked, assembled, switched on and in use within 5min. each

18

can be an important considerations in sectors such as networking products, or

computer systems.

User training:

The complexity of some types of equipment necessitates that manufacturers

provide good training for users. For e.g. hospital staff needs to well train in the use of

critical care devices and the successful implementation of process innovations, such as

new manufacturing equipment, depends on extensive training being given over a long

period. Many computer based products include functions which help users learn to use

them more efficiently; these can range from single help functions, to full training costs

can be still be very high business users have to invest significant amounts of money in

training their employees in efficient use of personal computers. For simpler products,

training is not necessary and details of product operation are usually given in user

documentation.

Documentation:

Most products have some formed of documentation and industries

such as medical electronics it plays key role. Typical forms of documentation cover

equipment operation, installation, maintenance, and repair. Good documentation can

lead to lower support costs and increased products are poorly written and hard to

understand. New technology is being applied to documentation and, for e.g. CD-

ROMS are making car services efficient.

Maintenance and repair

Historically, maintenance and repair has been an important element of

product support, which has required companies to invest significant resources. For e.g.

an estimated 500,000 car mechanics are employed in the USA. if equipment fails, fast

and efficient repair is essential in many markets because “down-time costs run

typically at anywhere from 100 to 10,000 times the price of spare parts or service.” In

markets where products failure has strong implications- for e.g. computer systems for

financial institutions – companies need to offer either equipment, which is very

reliable, or a rapid response to expedite repairs. One way to achieve a fast response is

to provide customers with loaner equipment in the event of breakdowns, where this is

19

feasible. Another strategy for maintenance and repair is to design disposable products:

the approach used by some companies for watches, torches and other products. Where

repair costs do not exceed a significant percentage of product replacement costs,

having repairable products is the best strategy for companies. For repairable products,

it makes sense for companies to develop good diagnostics-efficient means to test

problems and identify the causes. However, where products are becoming less viable.

In order to repair faulty equipment, companies need to have efficient logistics for the

management and movement of spares, the parts used in repairs. Some companies have

focused strongly on this area, to gain an advantage over their competitors.

Maintenance also referred to as preventive maintenance is

undertaken to clean, refurbish or replace parts of equipment which otherwise would be

liable to fail. Mechanical parts, for e.g. normally require regular maintenance as in the

case of cars. In the computer sector, where fewer mechanical parts are involved,

remote support technology enables computers to be “updated……………… diagnosed

and repaired” by linking them to manufacturers support center via telephone lines. The

US earth- moving equipment manufacturer caterpillar, which focuses on product

serviceability – products that are easy to maintain and repair – is using similar

approaches. This has led them to develop products, which can be remotely monitored

so that maintenance can be performed before fault occurs.

Online support:

Telephone advice on products is a major element of customer

support in many industries. Product experts give online consulting to customers to

help them use products more efficiently or, sometimes to trace the cause of

(troubleshooting). Whenever problems can be solved over the telephone, costs are

much lower than an engineer having to visit the customer site. Online support is

particularly strongly utilized for software products (software support). For e.g.

companies such as Microsoft have invested significant resources in telephone centers

and support costs are typically 6 percent of revenues in the software industry. Many

software products can now be remotely configured, so that they more exactly match

customer requirements – for e.g. Microsoft Windows 95 product has this capability.

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Warranty

Manufacturers of most products offer warranty and, in some markets

such as automobiles, manufacturers may try to gain a competitive advantage by

offering longer warranty periods. Warranty reduces the financial risk of owning

products and therefore it is important element of customer support. Over the lifetime

of product, support costs may be greater than the initial purchase price. In the

computer sector these costs are referred to as cost- of ownership and “the cost of

buying and operating computer hardware for the office is rather like an iceberg – most

of them are hidden.” Consequently, as products demand more economical and

effective support. To reduce the risk of expensive repairs, more manufacturers offer

customers the possibility to purchase extended warranty. However, in the domestic

appliance sector, manufacturers have been accused of charging excessively for this

cover.

Upgrades

Offering customers the chance to enhance the performance of existing

products can be an important aspect of customer. For e.g. computer manufacturers

offer upgrades because they increase the working lifetime of products and can be

significant source of revenue. Original equipment manufacturers have a competitive

advantage in this business because they normally have records of where equipment has

been sold which could benefit from upgrading.

21

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND LOYALTY IN AFTER SALES

SERVICE

In today’s competitive marketplace, it’s easy for customers to change suppliers if they

find a cheaper, faster or better service elsewhere. Loyal customers are likely to

consider you first when they need something and tend to be more receptive to new and

service.

The study was to gain improved understanding of the forces and factors present in

after sales service activities, and the role of these in enhancing or endangering

business. The objective was to gain a better understanding of how a supplier could

successfully manage its “customer care” activities in the dynamic mobile

telecommunications market. After sales business activities in this industry have

received little systematic research attention. The study described herein focuses on

after sales aspects of business- to – business activities in the mobile Tele-

communications industry, with the emphasis on sectors that provide service. The

method study primarily relied on the case study approach. Some aspects of qualitative

and action research methods were integrated in the formal study process. The study

consisted of study and analysis of five – in depth cases. Qualitative and quantities

information and data were collected from each of the persons interviewed in the

supplier and customer organizations.

The term, “care” is used extensively in the study as a

doorway into the world of after sales service activities as well as an organizing

construct for interpreting what was found. The concept of care includes activities

related to maintenance and preventive maintenance. It additionally includes services

that can link back to help enhance pre-existing capabilities for delivery of products or

systems. Processes and measures of customer satisfaction and loyalty provide two

critical aspects of the study.

The importance of the concept of care and the actions

that define it were found to be critically important for a customer’s total satisfaction.

The importance of the care phase in the total customer process was found to increase

as the customer relationship matures. Different services offer different characteristics

and challenges, while for many customers their satisfaction-loyalty relationship with a

provider tends to be non-linear. The relation between customer needs, satisfaction, and

22

loyalty, and how these ultimately relate to a providing firm’s profitability, were seen

to be linked in complex ways. The complexity can be studied in many ways but herein

the customer satisfaction-loyalty of each service event was first evaluated separately.

Customer satisfaction and loyalty were then related to each other in order to compare

the separate and combined characteristics. This provided the reference basis for

analyzing and forecasting how a customer’s behavior might change relative to their

level of satisfaction. While the determinants from these evaluations present evident

limitations, they were additionally found to provide a basis for better mapping the

more systematic interactions between the many possible kinds of behaviors and levels

of satisfaction.

The study presents information as to how communication between the supplier and

customers was organized. Based on this, it was hypothesized that, as the relationship

between the supplier and customer matures, the interactions become more specialized

around specific around specific activities. Managers, on the other hand, were seen to

give ever-greater emphasis, in terms of their arena of activities. For Example, the

service manager and project manager emphasized certain specific parts of a total

project while an account manager would tend to emphasize those aspects most closely

related to contact-based relationships. This was seen to allow emphasis on service to

be given in terms of modern functional management systems instead of the dynamic

reality of the situation. This was seen to present significant challenges to an integration

of different perceptions of different yet related functions. This was identified as an

area of focus for providing more complete and consistent customer care. This led to

the creation of a new conception of the nature of the nature of the service manager,

which could be extended to the entire supplier company. This work, carried out to

implement this idea, illustrates that there is a great, unrealized potential, particularly in

the creation of a viable model of after sales customer care able to accommodate the

contemporary business development.

Global competition is accelerating. Product margins are decreasing. Customers'

expectations are higher than ever.

Companies looking to grow and increase profits can no longer overlook the untapped

opportunities from their service business. A recent Deloitte Research benchmarking

study of manufacturing companies indicates that the average profitability of service

businesses is more than 75% higher than overall business unit profitability and

23

accounts for 46% of total profits. The study further noted that most service businesses

fail to grow due to the complexity of their operations.

Indeed, traditional after-sales service businesses often rely on disparate systems and

decentralized data. They traditionally fail to obtain accurate information from key

sources within their business network. This impacts their ability to deliver an

optimized level of after-sales service.

By aligning operational processes and systems for comprehensive visibility across the

entire service network, forward-thinking companies are overcoming these challenges

and transforming their after-sales service businesses into profit centers. This end-to-

end approach enables highly efficient operations to develop, market, sell, and deliver

more profitable service offerings while increasing customer loyalty.

How do best-run businesses champion after-sales service to drive higher profits?

A leading manufacturer of scientific laboratory equipment needed to accelerate its

global service business. This world-class company was able to automate its service

business by using SAP Software to streamline key operations. This approach

generated 35% in ROI, thereby transforming what was historically seen as a cost

center into a sustainable revenue-generating competitive advantage.

Solutions Designed for Delivering Efficient After-Sales Service

Solutions from SAP help align after-sales service operations to generate profitable

growth. With highly efficient operations, you can maximize profitability and revenue,

improve customer service, and reduce costs.

Drive Effective Service, Sales, and Marketing

By closing the service, sales, and marketing loop, you can rapidly analyze after-sales

service profit and revenue potential, and directly drive marketing campaigns, turning

leads and opportunities into new service orders and contracts.

Provide Superior Customer Experience

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With consistent service experience across multiple channels, one can improve

customer satisfaction and loyalty, while reducing transactions costs.

Deliver Efficient Field Service

By optimizing performance across the service delivery life-cycle, field service can be

managed with increased efficiency through automated identification and scheduling of

resources in accordance with predefined service level agreements.

Keywords: Customer satisfaction, Customer loyalty, after sales marketing,

telecommunications, services, customer relationship, business-to-business.

25

CUSTOMER SERVICE BEYOND AFTER-SALES AND REWARD

SNCE the early 1990’s the services sector in India has been paying a lot of attention,

or so it would seem, to delivering customer service and satisfaction. Service brands

across categories from banks and credit card companies to airlines and retailers have

been jumping on the our customer is important to us bandwagon. This is most evident

in service brands attempting to impress their target group through brand positioning

that uses customer service as a differentiator. ICICI Bank says “We make banking a

pleasure”. Sahara Airlines signs off all ads with the tag line “Emotionally yours” and

BSNL releases an ad on Consumer Rights Day that states, “We have decided not to

make any tall claims on Consumer Rights Day. Because at BSNL, every day is a

Consumer Rights Day”.

The other evidence that service brands in India have begun to pay

attention to customer satisfaction and loyalty is the growing number of rewards

programmes being offered by airlines, hotels, retailers, credit cards et al. Yet, one

wonders if service brands in India have really come to grips with the fact that true

customer service goes beyond polite personnel, friendly ads and reward programmes.

Judging by the way service brands in India are marketed, it does appear as if most

service organizations and brands have yet to implement the core fundamental of

delivering customer service. Which is that quality service has to be made part and

parcel of the entire business organization starting with corporate policy and

percolating to every other aspect be it product service design, marketing programmes

or service delivery by frontline personnel.

Once a customer is acquired, most marketers of service brands seem

to presume that the intrinsic quality of the product and service will take care of

customer satisfaction and if at all the customer has a problem, the customer relation

department carries the responsibility of ensuring that the customers remains satisfied.

While the aforesaid facts may be true, the marketing function in a service organization

can add tremendously to customer satisfaction through developing marketing and

communication strategies with the sole aim of ensuring customer satisfaction and

retention. And in doing so add significantly to meeting customer acquisition objectives

26

through positive word of mouth from satisfied customers. This is rudimentary to

service businesses- yet most service brands to service businesses- yet most service

brands in India( with a few notable exceptions) seem to focus purely on customer

acquisition with very little evidence of customer retention marketing and practices.

Take, for instance, regular monitoring and benchmarking of customer

satisfaction levels. How many service businesses (other than some airlines and leading

hotel chains) are doing that?

One would imagine that such monitoring exercises are invaluable to

marketers of service brands not just in terms of ensuring that product and service

design are in line with customer expectations but also because the effort contributes to

building of an image of “here’s a brand and service company that cares”. Many

customers may never respond to questionnaires on satisfaction ratings but will

definitely retain a positive image of the company being a service – oriented one.

It has been my observation (purely in my individual capacity as a consumer)

that most service brands ranging from banks and credit card companies to insurance

and cellular service providers send out lot of mails in the form of billing statements,

reward point statement and so on, but other than that, not one of my service providers

has ever made contact on the subject of satisfaction levels. Even on the rare occasions

that I have phoned or visited the office of a service provider I have never been

questioned on my levels of satisfaction. If such service providers are indeed investing

in market research one wonders as to why they have failed to recognize the importance

of actively researching the needs and wishes of their existing customers in a manner

that is visible enough to add to customer retention and satisfaction rates and equally

important to brand image.

The second area where marketers of service brands have a key role to play is in

taking care to segregate marketing to existing and potential customers. Indeed

marketing programmers designed exclusively for existing customers can add

tremendously to customer retention and satisfaction levels. And the failures to do so

can result well in customer dissatisfaction and attrition. This point is best illustrated

through a recent experience I had with the credit card division of standard chartered

Bank (my credit card company since 1995). I hold two gold cards – both master card

27

and visa. Last year I received a complimentary executive card from the bank out of the

blue – a card that I had not asked for or needed! Of course, the card was hand-

delivered by courier, beautifully packaged and presented with a very nicely worded

covering letter, but instead of pleasing me the whole effort only succeeded in highly

annoying me. For one, the incidence clearly told me that the bank had not

distinguished between existing customers and potential customers. Second, I was even

more annoyed because I would now have to take the effort of canceling the credit

cards. Quite obviously, such marketing efforts are the result of what I would term as

‘blind marketing’ in as much that communication ands sales efforts are sent out to

subscriber lists without first checking such lists to weed out existing customers. I

shudder to think about the sheer waste of marketing expenditure and effort. Though, of

course, the real price being paid is in terms of alienated rather than flattered customers.

Just imagine the reaction of gold card member receiving a less premium card with

much lower credit limit, even it is complimentary!

If, on the other hand, my credit card company had acknowledged

that I was an existing customer of theirs but were contacting me to check if I would

prefer to switch to a card more suited to my needs such as, for example, a card that

only clocked ‘frequent flyer miles’ on expenditure, I would be left only not only with a

positive image but an affirmation that I placed my business with the right people. For,

here would have been a service provider who was taking the effort to find out if I

knew about recently introduced options and would prefer to switch or upgrade as the

case might be. While such a strategy involve a cost in keeping up a dialogue with

existing customers, it has been well established by successful service organization

such as southwest airlines in us that meeting customer needs on an individual level

outweighs the cost. For the simple reason that in the final analysis it is far more costly

to continuously acquire new customers to maintain market share. A fact that is already

recognized and acknowledged judging by the fact that most large service businesses

have a unit that focuses only on customer churn and recovery.

What one is suggesting here is that conscious marketing to existing customer

or customer retention marketing using one- on – one marketing techniques can

actually contribute to reducing customer churn and what’s more, also result in tangible

business gains such as higher share of the customer’s wallet.

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One service company that seems to be quite visibly practicing customer

retention marketing is orange. For one, Vodafone customers receive regular booklets

offering discounts on a host of products and services in an effort to enhance brand

value and customer satisfaction. Second and more importantly, Vodafone obviously

instituted systems and processes to track customer usage and preferences that allow

the company to individualize and personalize customer retention and satisfaction

efforts. Recently, the brand invited several of its customers who the company knows

as the cricket buffs to meet Sachin Tendulkar

At the launch of Vodafone’s co- branded credit card with visa and standard chartered

bank. This was done through tracking the use of cricket SMS messages. The brand

also makes regular efforts to gain more business from its exciting subscribers by

telemarketing its other facility such as roaming facility. What is particularly net

worthy is that the telemarketing executives seem to be well trained to interact with

customers with the end result of building highly positive brand associations if not

more revenue. The call routine and procedure have obviously been determined based

on Vodafone’s knowledge of its customers. In this particular case, Vodafone have

taken into account that its customers do not like receiving sales calls on their cell-

phones. Therefore, the roaming tele-marketing call begins with a pleasant voice

identifying the source of call as being from Vodafone, then wishing the customer

followed with an assurance that the call is not chargeable before getting to the purpose

of the call as in seeking subscription to the roaming facility.

A third ands an important aspect and marketing of a service brand is the

need to manage customer expectations. While this may be true for all brands, the

significance of doing so is much more critical in the marketing of service brands since

customers buy into the promise of a service experience making ‘the field into the

product’. Manage customer expectations well and delivering a pleasant service

experience becomes that much easier. Recently, customer of jet airways received a

communication from the airline that requested their co-operation in observing the

revised check- in timings and helping the airline in working towards on-time flight

departures. The communication explained that the need for heightened security checks

was leading to delays and in an effort to prevent this; the airline has revised his check

in- timings. This is very good example of managing customer expectations. In sending

29

out this communication, the airline has placed in perspective the main reason behind

the flight delays ( most airline passengers simply assume that the airline is fault) and

solicited its passengers co-operation in ensuring that flights leave on time. The other

benefit in such an exercise is that the airline frontline personnel would now be more

effectively supported when faced with passengers irate at flight delays as well as late

coming checks- ins. Compare this with ISP cable in Mumbai whose marketing

promises 24 x 7 customer support whereas in reality, the company is only contactable

between 1030 and 1830 hours Monday- Saturday! I don’t think one need to spell out

the consequences of such marketing and I am pretty sure that it will soon discover the

price, as in customer attrition to an ISP more focused on customer service.

A fourth and critical aspect of customer retention marketing is discipline

whereby customer acquisition strategies are evaluated for any possible adverse impact

on customer satisfaction levels. The importance of this best illustrated through a live

example of HSBC – a rather late entrant into the already crowded credit card business.

A year or so ago, HSBC embarked on a drive to increase its credit card customer base

through linking the use of its ATM machines with its credit cards. Now the fact is that

I had been operating my savings account through HSBC for almost a decade largely

on account of the fact that the bank had the best ATM network for a very long time

( of course, today there are many other banks which provide equally wide offers., if

not better one distribution of ATM machines). All those years of HSBC banking and I

wonder why the bank had never made an attempt to procure more business from me

for their other products and services. So when I received a courier with a

complimentary credit card ( yes, I had the dubious honour of receiving five credit

cards in 2001 from different banks – all unsolicited and all of which I had to spent

time and energy in canceling! ), I said to myself, “ well, they seem finally woken up”,

till I read the accompanying letter and saw red! For, the letter informed me that the

credit card would now replace my existing ATM card, which would be deactivated 21

days from receiving the intimation. In other words my bank was forcing me to

subscribe (membership fees of Rs. 2,100 per annum) to their credit card product if I

wanted to continue accessing the ATM facility. The net result? I wrote a very

strongly worded letter to the bank terming their move as tantamount to coercion (even

if the card was free for one year) and threatening to move my account. What followed

was worse. Not only did I not receive any reply from the bank, some months later

30

when I finally got round to canceling the credit card they offered me a debit card with

nominal annual charges. Leaving me to wonder if there where other customers who

were unknowingly living with a credit card that they hadn’t asked for but were now

going to pay Rs. 2,100 as membership fees. The clincher came when I spoke to HSBC

about shutting down my account and was offered reinstatement of my ATM card on

the bank discovering the reason for closing the account. A classic case of ‘Too little,

too late’ since I have increasingly moved all my business to another bank. Speaking of

which would bode well for all marketing people in the service business to remember

that majority of customers never complain. They simply take their business elsewhere!

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AFTER SALES SERVICES

STRATEGY

After selecting the after sales service method it is important that the

company choose the right strategy for after sales service too. Both of these elements

are essential for any company to have the most effective and efficient after sales

service center. For implementing a top quality after sales service plan it is necessary to

select the proper strategy too. The decision of how to distribute products and to after

sales service such as warranty, service contract, repairs, etc. is linked to the overall

strategy of the organization regarding its product and the markets it plan to serve.

After study in various texts on marketing/ logistics /

distribution channels, the element, that manager examine as they formulate their

physical distribution and after sales service support strategies can be grouped into

various dimensional attributes. These include:

Product-related attributes such as its life cycle, complexity, value, physical

dimensions and consumer perceptions.

Firm-related attributes such as managerial objectives, resources, desire for

control, and breadth of product- line; and

Market- or industry- related attributes such as consumer preferences, and

consumer value, organizational consumer, geography, market size,

competition, and nature and availability of channel intermediaries.

There is another classification for service strategies, which is introduced by Milind

(1997). He classified service strategy in 3 basic groups:

Product or design related: these focus on increasing product reliability,

building redundancy, and adopting a modular product design.

Service support system: these concentrate on changing the way of

manufacturers provide service. These approaches can address either

improvements in system design or reductions in equipment repair.

Reduce customer risk: it reduces chiefly through warranties and service

contracts.

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THE “AFTER-SALE SERVICE PROCESS”: STRATEGIES

The after sales service processes was given By

Richard G. McNeill (1999)

During the Implementation Step

. “The After-Sale Service Process,” customers have three distinctive stages of

perspective during “Implementation of the Product/Service” step of the “after-sale

service process:”

(a) The Novelty Stage,

(b) The Learning Stage, and

(c) The Effectiveness Stage.

Sellers must be aware of and have strategies to manage each of

these stages. The most important stage to manage is the “Learning Stage” where the

customer undergoes a concept called the “Motivation Dip.”

The “Motivation Dip” refers to a sharp decrease in the customer’s enthusiasm or

motivation during the “Learning Stage.” Just after the purchasing decision and during

the “Novelty Stage,” it’s common for the customer to have high expectations and

motivation toward the product/service. As the customer enters the “Learning Stage,”

generally enthusiasm will rapidly drop off. This is phenomena is a fundamental part

of psychology; enthusiasm is replaced by the realities of working harder (to learn

about the product/service) and/or having more focus and concern about the success of

the product’s projected successful implementation and results. Once results begin to be

realized (the “Effectiveness Stage”), the customer’s enthusiasm and motivation will

usually climb again to the levels of the “Novelty Stage.”

An illustrative metaphor is the enthusiasm of a New Year’s resolution to “get into

shape” through an extensive exercise program. Enthusiasm is often replaced by a

“motivation dip” as the real work of the exercise program becomes a reality. After

33

results start coming in the “Effectiveness Stage,” (getting in shape), motivation climbs

again. Effectiveness of the exercise efforts becomes the motivation driver.

Three Strategies for Handling the “Motivation Dip”

Strategy One :

Start Before the Contract Is Signed. In the installation phase, an

anxious customer will look critically for any sign that things are going wrong and may

overreact to minor difficulties. The salesperson can look to the “Buying Process” to

guide this strategy.

The salesperson can begin during the “Evaluation of Options” step in the buying

process. The salesperson can make sure that the customer genuinely feels that the

product service matches customer needs. In other words, ask enough questions and

clearly and honestly demonstrate the product/service as compared to the competitive

offerings.

During the “Resolution of Concerns” (negotiating buyer objections) step in the buying

process, the salesperson can make sure that the customer fully recognizes and sees

ALL potential consequences or concerns. These must be FULLY resolved or they will

become a potential future concern that will exacerbate and accelerate the “motivation

dip.” For example, if the customer feels nervous about the salesperson’s company’s

reputation, it is important to resolve the issue BEFORE signing of the contract, so it

won’t resurface in the form of negative reactions during the “implementation of

product/service phase (Rack ham, 1989).”

Strategy Two :

Involve the Customer. Regardless of how carefully the

installation and implementation of a new product/service, something will go wrong.

While a detailed step-by-step installation plan is essential, it will not guarantee success

or protect against unexpected problems. Build a detailed implementation plan and the

customer will gain a comfort level. Making sure that the customer is involved in the

34

construction of this plan will ensure their loyalty and satisfaction should any

unexpected problems occur. After all, it’s hard to “point the finger” at yourself.

Salespeople successfully implement when they get the customer to play a central role

in the development of the implementation plan. Here the salesperson does not take the

lead in designing the plan and plays the role of a “facilitator” who helps the customer

improve upon their own implementation plan ideas.

Strategy Three:

Put in Effort Early. Understanding that the customer generally

goes through three stages during the implementation phase can help avoid the

“motivation dip.” Salespeople who don’t understand make the mistake of interpreting

the customer’s enthusiasm during the “Novelty Stage” as a signal that all is well and

that this “high” will continue in a positive way. Consequently, they give the customer

less attention and fail to detect the “motivation dip” occurring in the “Learning Stage.”

It’s easier to anticipate and “prevent” problems before they occur than to deal with

something that is quickly deteriorating at a rapid pace (accelerating “motivation dip”).

It’s easier and takes less time to prevent a fire, than to fight one. Early effort will not

prevent the “motivation dip,” however; it will minimize the steepness and severity of

the decline.

Maintenance and Development of the Customer Step

This step begins after the customer has been guided through the

“Implementation of the Product/Service Step.” At this point, the salesperson has:

(a) Successfully obtained a signed contract and

(b) Successfully implemented the product/service.

The goal at this step is to continue the relationship with the

customer and obtain repeat business (maintain) and penetrate the customer account

(develop). In other words, there is a “recycle” back to the first step of the “buying

process;” and, a new “sales cycle” begins. As previously discussed, the first step of

35

the “buying process” is the “Recognition of Needs” phase. Obviously, with successful

implementation in place and a strengthened “relationship” with the customer, the

salesperson should have more familiarity with the customer this second time around

with a more open dialogue with the customer during the crucial discovery of needs

phase. “Maintenance and development of the customer” begins at the first phase of

the “buying process.”

Often after a first purchase, the customer doesn’t seem to have immediate additional

buying potential. Unsuccessful salespeople simply play a waiting game “maintaining”

good relationships while passively waiting until circumstances change. Successful

salespeople, on the other hand, take an active and dynamic approach by using their

initial successful sale to penetrate or “develop” the customer account. They look for

more areas within the account where their product/service may offer a solution.

Generally, they use six strategies (Rack ham, 1989).

Strategy One:

Maintain But Actively Develop. Salespeople can make new

“Persuasive Sales Calls”. Maintenance alone often results in visits, lunches and social

chats. These actions are aimed at protecting existing business from competitors and to

ensure that the customer keeps the seller “in-mind” should buying needs arise. Using

only this strategy is generally ineffective.

Successful salespeople not only maintain their existing customer

accounts, they actively look for new opportunities to penetrate within these accounts.

Their objective is not “to protect” but” to project” or “to sell.” By having an objective

of “developing” during the course of “maintaining” their existing customers,

successful salespeople not only will protect the account but also will obtain more sales

from the account.

Strategy Two:

Document the Good News. Salespeople can make “Reminder Sales

Calls.” Most of the time, the salesperson is in contact with the customer when things

are going wrong. A better strategy is to remind the customer of the benefits that have

36

come from the sale. Stay in contact with the customer when things are going right.

Remember that customers keep a file on correspondence with the selling company.

Imagine what a file would look like to a new decision maker at the customer company

reading a file full of bad news. Shouldn’t the good news be recorded?

Good news such as other satisfied customers can be forwarded “FYI” (for-your-

interest) to your existing customer. Additionally, the salesperson can write to the

customer outlining the positive and successful impact your product has had and

offering any further help and assistance. When it’s time for repurchase, the selling

company is in a stronger position.

Strategy Three:

Educate the Customer on New Developments. Salespeople can

make “Informative Sales Calls.” Related to “developing the customer account, the

salesperson informs the customer of new product/services and changes within the

industry or selling company. The long-term relationship between the customer and

seller is further strengthened in this open sharing of information that affects both

customer and seller.

Strategy Four:

Generate Referrals. Salespeople can make “Lead-Generation Sales

Calls.” Ironically, the more that the salesperson has satisfied the customer’s needs,

the less there is a need for an immediate repeat business from the existing customer.

As mentioned above, the customer account can be further penetrated and also can be a

source of referrals both internal and external to the existing customer. Satisfied

customers are often delighted to help the salesperson. They can give contacts and

introductions.

Remember that the “motivation dip” occurs during the second stage (“Learning

Stage”) of the implementation step, so referrals must be obtained early in the “Novelty

Stage” or late in the “Effectiveness Stage.”

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Strategy Five:

Rethink the Understanding of Customer Needs. Salespeople can

make “Needs Assessment Sales Calls.” Customer needs change. The salesperson

should make periodic calls on the customer to reassess their understanding of the

customer’s needs. Remember that competitors are attempting to or are regularly

assessing your customer’s needs. They can take your existing account away by

uncovering and developing needs that the salesperson has neglected. After all, didn’t

the salesperson also obtain or take away this existing customer from someone else?

Strategy Six :

Influence Future Decision Criteria. Salespeople can make

“Decision Criteria Sales Calls.” Salespeople can help educate or refine the process by

which the customer makes decisions. Perhaps the customer’s level of sophistication is

relatively low. Here the salesperson can facilitate the customer’s learning of

methodologies that help decide on optimal product/service solutions. If the customer

is sophisticated, the salesperson can openly discuss decision criteria. This may be

information gleaned that is useful to the salesperson and/or serve as a “sounding-

board” and idea refinement for the customer. In all cases, the customer will see the

salesperson as a consultant and partner in the relationship. This bond should lead to a

stronger long-term relationship and increased repeat business, referrals, and customer

account development.

After-Sale Service is never static

As discussed, after-sale service strategies formally begin when the contract is signed.

However, in anticipation of after-sale service, the salesperson sometimes initiates

“preventative” strategies even before the contract is signed. After-sale service is

intended to build long-term relationships with customers to ensure repeat business and

referrals, but these relationships cannot automatically be assumed due to the initial

sale; they are never static. They are either improving or decaying. What matters to

customers is not what the salesperson did for them yesterday, although yesterday’s

success is a must. What matters is what the salesperson is doing for the customer

today and tomorrow. The salesperson must never become complacent since

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complacency is an invitation to competitors. Good customer maintenance and

development is about continuously improving service to the customer.

Summary

The goal of Consultative Salespeople is the acquisition and maintenance &

development of customers. Discussed above was the Pre-Sale Phase: “Acquisition of

Customers.” This was followed by the Post-Sale Phase: “After-Sale Service Process”

is composed of two steps:

(a) “Implementation of the Product/Service and

(b) Maintenance and Development of Customers.

39

FACTORS INFLUENCING CUSTOMER SUPPORT STRATEGY

(AFTER SALES STRATEGY)

Goffin (1999) also had a research that determines which factors influence company’s

customer support strategy (after sales strategy). From his analysis, it appears that there

are at least four important components to customer support strategies.

Identifying customers support requirements:

Understanding the customers needs for support

in an intuitively obvious aspect of deriving a support strategy. However, it could

well be that many companies neglect this. Most of the case – study companies said

they actively conduct market research into opportunities. One respondent

summarized this is: “the whole accent on support as far as we are concerned is

getting to know your customer and helping them get the best out of the product. To

ensure this we (the manufacturers) can offer to examine the customer’s operation

and provide advice on how he can get the best from the product. This can be

technical, operational or commercial advice.”

Design for supportability:

Since product design strongly influences how easy it

is to support products, it is essential to consider customer support at the design

stage. Some of the sample companies concentrate significant resources on this and

have been successful at improving the supportability of their products.

Choosing or managing distribution channels:

The distribution channels used for support can

have a strong influence on the quality of support received (and perceived) by the

customer. Therefore, the choice of the channel is an important one and sometimes

the high costs of the direct channel are more than offset by the revenues it

generates and the competitive advantages it creates. Once a channel or channels

have been chosen, companies face the challenge of ensuring that all customers

40

receive good support. This requires good logistics: for e.g. in the management of

spare parts ensuring that customers support engineers are quickly available to

conduct maintenance and repair. Companies also need to invest in systems for

monitoring the performance of their customer support organizations.

Promoting support for competitive advantage:

Inspection of company and product brochures from the

sample companies showed that they all promote the quality of their support to their

customers to some degree. However, customer support needs to be skillfully

marketed and one respondent company stated they needed to improve in this area.

So all firms who are offering service must consider one or

some of above factors and select the best and appropriate service strategy for their

firms. Choosing the right strategy may give a good opportunity to company to

supply best service and get maximum satisfaction from customer and finally be

successful in the market.

41

RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES

PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH:

Research can be divided into different categories of studies. The

different types of studies may be categorized into following three groups:

Exploratory research:

This type of study aims to explore what really is

happening and seek new insights. Further the explanatory research is especially

useful if you expect to clarify the understanding of problem. The purpose of an

explanatory research is to gather as much information as possible about

specific problem. This type of studies is often used when a problem is not

known or already available is not complete.

Descriptive research:

This type of study aims to provide an accurate picture

of market environment. It can concern past or existing relationship and is

recommended when searching data. Often secondary, in order to describe

aspects of a clearly structured problems. Descriptive research is used to

determine answers to: who, what. When and how questions. Normally, the

descriptive research is used when a problem is well structured and there is no

intention to examine the casual relationships. In this method, researchers want

to know which aspects of problem are relevant and want to describe these

aspects more thoroughly.

Explanatory research:

Research with an explanatory approach establishes

casual relationships between variables. It also mentions that for explanatory research

we should focus on cause- effect, relationships, explaining ad show which cause

produces which effect. In this method, researchers make assumption on what kind of

correlation exists between variables. The thesis is partially exploratory since the

42

companies are trying to explore the purpose to gain a deeper understanding of why the

computer hardware should provide after sales service. The study is also descriptive as

well describe what proper types of strategy and methods of after sales service must the

companies choose to have the best performance.

Research approach:

The definition of qualitative versus quantitative research explains the

researchers approach to the study. When conducting research there are 2 different

methods that can be used; Qualitative and Quantitative. These methods refer to the

way researchers ‘treat and analyses the collected data’. By using these approaches the

researchers will know how to treat and analyze the gathered information.

Qualitative research:

This research approach is less formal and based on

unsystematic and unstructured observations. This can be example in-

depth interviews or an interview guide with open answers. Qualitative

verbal analysis is often used in order to gain better understanding. The

purpose of this approach is to understand and analyze the situation as a

whole. The qualitative research must be kept flexible and the

possibilities to change the planning open during the whole research

process.

Quantitative research:

The quantitative research is based on numerical data,

which then are analyzed and presented in figures with statistics. For the

reason that the quantitative research often is more structured than

qualitative one, the planning of quantitative research is more

standardized. A positive aspect of quantitative approach is that it is

rather easy to generalize from the gathered information. It must be kept

in mind that the gathered information should always be relevant for the

problem definition.

The quantitative approach has been used in this

thesis, since deeper and broader understanding is aimed to be reached

within the research area. From our point of view, it is necessary to let the

43

interview respondent freely describe the entire research area from his

point of view. The reader should however keep in mind that the

empirical data in this thesis is highly based on the company’s and the

respondent’s attitudes and perceptions, and therefore the empirical data

will be easier to demonstrate in words instead of statistics.

Research strategy:

There are 5 strategies to choose among when conducting social

sciences. These are experiments, surveys, analysis of archival information,

histories and case – studies. Each strategy has advantages and disadvantages and

can be used for the same research purposes. The differences between the strategies

is the different ways of collecting and analyzing the empirical evidence.

The type of research question

The level of control an investigator has over actual behavioral events.

The focus on contemporary as opposed to historical phenomena

Relevant situation for the research strategies are illustrated in the below figure.

Strategy Form of research

questions

Requires control

over behavioral

events

Focuses on

contemporary events

Experiment How, why Yes Yes

Archival Analysis Who, What , Where,

How many, How

much

No

Yes / No

History How ,Why No No

Case study How ,Why No Yes

Fig: relevant situation to different research strategies

An experiment is a term, which implies that only few variables are

studied. Other things that might affect variables must also determine. Surveys are

conducted with help of questionnaire or an interview and the goal of the survey is to

44

reach a large demarcated group. Survey researches give the possibility to gather

information about a greater number of variables, as well as lot of information about

limited number of variables. Archival analysis is based on secondary data that was

developed for another purpose than helping the problem at hand. However, it does not

necessarily mean that focus is given to past events. A historical strategy is not focused

on contemporary events. Case studies aim to gain an extensive knowledge about a

small case or a small number of cases. The main advantage with this approach is that

researchers can gain a rich understanding of the on text of the research. The case study

can be single or multiple. The single case study investigates on an entity, a company, a

decision or a region, in depth. In multiple case study, two or more entities are studied

which gives the opportunity for comparisons. On the other hand, each entity will be

less in depth investigated.

In our study, the research questions are based on “how – questions”,

which we will have no control over the actual behavioral events and our focus on the

study will be on a modern event. We can either conduct a survey or case study. As

stated earlier in our thesis we will have a qualitative approach so a survey is not

suitable, as surveys are quantitative in nature. For this, reason our selection of research

study is to work with the case studies. Besides, the qualitative approach calls for a

more fully understanding of our purpose, which can be best achieved by implementing

this strategy. The characteristic for a case study is that it comprises a large amount of

details, which a survey is usually not capable of.

45

DATA COLLECTION METHOD

To be able to understand the research area more in detail, the

empirical data must be collected. There are 2 different types of empirical data that can

be collected: Primary and Secondary. The primary data is collected for specific

problems, while the secondary data is collected for a more general purpose.

When collecting empirical data, the researchers has to choose

between using questions methods: like questioners, personal interview, using

observations or documents. The questions are often less structured in a questionnaire

and the respondent answers to them without explanations and without any influence

from the researcher’s part. However by using telephone or personal interviews the

researchers can pose more complex questions and explain possible misunderstandings.

The duration of an interview is often limited when doing telephone interviews:

therefore personal interviews are from this point of view more referable. Concerning

observations the researchers can only observe ongoing processes, situations and

behaviors. The positive aspect of observations is that they do not depend on the

respondent’s willingness to reveal more personal information. Documentations are

primarily used to collect secondary data. For e.g. statistics, registrations, official

publications, letters, diaries, newspapers, journal, branch literature and brochures can

be used for collecting secondary empirical data.

The documentary information is likely to be relevant in every case study. Documents

can take any forms, such as administrative documents involving for e.g. progress

reports and other internal documents.

Validity and reliability

According to Erikson and Weidersheim – Paul (2001), reliability

and validity of the information received within a research a highly important aspect of

scientific study. Reliability shows the trustworthiness of the measuring instruments

this means that another researcher with the same approach should be able to come up

with the same results. Validity is a ability of the chosen instrument to measure what it

is supposed to measure. According to Yin (2003), the reliability is often difficult to

ensure when conducting qualitative research. The subjects and variables in a

qualitative research are often abstract.

46

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

47

10 WAYS TO WIN GLOBAL CUSTOMERS AND INFLUENCE

THEM TO BUY AGAIN

Implement an extraordinary after sales service plan. The relationship

between your company and your overseas customers shouldn’t end when a sale is made.

If anything, it should be just start of a long relationship that requires more of your

attention. The “care and feeding” of your customers will determine if they keep coming

back for more.

A customer in United Kingdom whom a person been dealing with for

about five years recently emailed them an order for a product which he knows nothing

about. Completely bewildered, the person emailed back, saying that there must be some

mistakes. He replied, “There is no mistake. I want you to take care of this because I

don’t know the supplier and I trust you to conduct this business properly. Take a

reasonable percentage. After your last shipment, you shocked me when you emailed a

week later to ask if there was anything you could assist my marketing efforts on the

product received. I will never forget this. Most American companies don’t communicate

with us after the sale unless we place another order, but you were different”. I would

have thought that standing behind my product and taking professional responsibility for

my customer’s satisfaction and success was the obvious thing to do, but apparently I

was wrong!

Think of your after sales follow up as part of your product. If this

attitude is as rare as my English customer says it is, you will be setting an unprecedented

standard of professionalism. Your customers will be deeply impressed, and they will

never again want to settle for less.

Here are 10 tried and true global strategies for after- sales service

success

1. Make customers your business:

Let’s go back to basics for a minute. What drives your

business efforts? What are you really in it for? To make a ton of money? To achieve

total quality control? To order around a bunch of employees and be the big fish in

your pound? Whatever your motives, if you want to stay in the game, you had better

be in it for the right reasons: to get and keep customers worldwide.

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Without customers, there is no business. Never forget who’s driving the deal. You

can explain to the customer all you like about your company policy and why things

are the way they are when it comes to pricing, packaging, product design or anything

else. But if the customer doesn’t like what he hears, there’s no deal. If the price is

too high, there’s no deal. If product quality is insufficient, there’s no deal. If you

can’t show them a market, there’s no deal. If they don’t see value, there’s no deal.

The customer – not you, not your company policy, not the economy, not Congress –

dictates what you will provide. So pay attention to your customers. They know what

they need and what they want. Do your best to make it happen for them.

You won your customer over with the first sale. If you don’t follow

up with ongoing service, you may lose her future business. Whether you lose a

customer a block away or 12,000 miles away, she is still a lost customer- something

you cannot afford. Don’t think of customer service as a sprint, in which you go all

out and then drop in exhaustion. It’s a marathon without a finish line. So if you want

to keep her on your team, begin your relationship all over again after the sale!

2. Keep in touch with your customer.

The first step in after sales service is to say, wholeheartedly and

in- person if possible, “Thank you for your business!” then follow up by expressing

further sincere appreciation in writing. These are musts. Don’t fail to do them just

because they seem as obvious as to be insignificant. Your customers will notice.

They will they also notice if you don’t do these things. What you might classify as

“NBD” (no big deal) might be just the “NBD” your customer needed to convince

him to do business with you again.

After that, plan for regular communication. If you have

the time and energy, contact them everyday. If that’s too burdensome, communicate

regularly on a schedule that’s workable for you and sufficient to inspire your

customer’s confidence.

When all else fails, communication might be all you have offer your customer. But

that offering is a service. And for your customer, that service is as good as a product.

3. Satisfy your customer.

You can deliver the right product, the right service, the

right price – but do you deliver satisfaction? The only way to find out is to follow up

49

and ask, “Are you satisfied with my product or service?” if the answer is “no”, you’d

better have a plan. Remember: a complaining customer is a customer about to leave.

And when they do, they’re sure to tell 10 other people about it! Hang in there, and

talk it through until you’ve restored, and even strengthened, the bond with your

customer.

What about the customer who hasn’t reordered after

several months? This doesn’t mean there are no more orders top are had. It means

that you must take the initiative to find out why they haven’t reordered! If your

customer doesn’t tell directly that there is a specific problem marketing your product

in his homeland, learn to read between the lines and pinpoint it. Then rethink your

product, or offer sales support, as needed.

4. Deliver on your promises.

If you promised the moon, deliver it along the handful

stars. You want to shine in your customer’s eye.

Delivering on your promises is doing what you say you will do, when you say you

will do it. Every time you follow through on a commitment, small or large, you build

trust. If you say you will fax prices to your customer by tomorrow, try for today. If

you say you will air ship sample products within a week, ship within a week (or

sooner). If you say you will reduce prices because of local competition, reduce

prices. Don’t just talk about it, do it. Keep supplying and standing behind what you

promise again and again, over and over.

5. Go beyond expectations.

Delight your customer beyond all measure. You’ve sold

them your product or service; now astonish them with your out of the box thinking

by going way beyond the call of duty. If your customer wants ordinary service, let

them do business with your chief rival. Don’t waste time worrying about whether

they will appreciate it or not. Let them shop elsewhere and see how bad it really can

get. They’ll back, a little humbler and wiser, and eager to do business. When you

give your customer more than they ask for, that’s value- and value is hard to walk

away from.

For example, if your customer asks for product samples,

send them product samples. But send them super fast (efficient!), individually

50

wrapped in color tissue paper (memorable!), accompanied by a handwritten note

expressing your hope that they find them appealing (personalized!), and a coupon

worth 10% off on their first order (extra value!). Customers are impressed by

vendors that go beyond the obvious and safe ways of conducting business.

6. Involve your customer.

Don’t just get your customer to purchase your product, give

them a reason to care. In other words, get them involved. If you are considering a

new product for market, ask your customer for comments about the packaging,

pricing, flavors, technology, and distribution so you can determine whether or not

the product will be a good fit for their sales and distribution channels.

It’s all important to keep your customer posted if you’re having trouble

meeting a commitment. No need to burden them with your life story, though. When

a problem arises that they to know about, keep the explanation concise and

purposeful. You want your customer to know if factors beyond your control are

standing in the way of your usual top – notch performance. But provide just enough

information to develop an understanding and, where applicable, give them

alternatives. That’s all they need or want.

Involving the customer means letting them have a say in the course of

events. A customer who perceives his or her input as having contributed materially

to a desirable outcome feels very secure and positive about the relationship. Don’t

wait for them to speak up. Solicit their input regularly.

7. Become your customers partner.

One of the best ways to strengthen ties with your customer

is to develop a product, market, or distribution channel together. Pooling resources

like contacts, skilled staff, production facilities, or joint financing for a project can

kick a business relationship into high gear. When you work together to make your

efforts succeed, you both win. How might you create opportunities to join forces

with your customer? The easiest and quickest scenario goes like this: After exporting

a product to your customer for a few years, you might consider producing that same

product with your customer’s name on it as opposed to the manufacture’s .

Naturally, you’ll need to check with your supplier to get their approval for the

private – label scheme. There is a lot involved in this type of operation, so make sure

51

the manufacturer has a standard procedure that can easily be implemented,

particularly overseas. Once you’ve got their backing, suggest it to the customer.

8. Exchange information with your customer:

There are always opportunities for you

to become your customer’s “partner” in many of their endeavors. Just keep an eye out

for how you can help them to get where they want to go, not only in terms of business

but personally, spiritually, and intellectually. Give them something to reach for. For

example, let’s say you sold your customer a container load of hammers. Later, you

read in the International Daily Herald about a company that makes colorful textured

plastic sleeves that slip onto the handle of a hammer, allowing the home partner to get

a better grip while pounding away. You call your customer to tell him about it and fax

him a copy of the article. Your customer is impressed because you appear to be one

step ahead of him, and pleased to see that you are keeping him, and the growth of his

business, in mind.

Offer your customer fast- breaking news, Ideas and useful contacts that will help their

business, even if they don’t have anything to do with yours. If you provide them with

grocery foods but they are trying to get non- food grocery items, point them to good

supplier you’ve heard about. The more you do for your customers, the more valuable

you become to them, and the more secure a foundation you will have built.

You can find appropriate and professional ways to contribute to

your customer’s personal interests as well. If your customer mentions an interest in

aerodynamically designed boats, you might advice him of a boat industry trade show

soon to be held in your city. Arrange for hotel accommodations, tickets or admission

to the show, and dinner. Don’t look at it as wasted time. Look it as an investment. The

rewards bonding with your customers are exponential.

You have leaded before your customers can follow. You have to act before your

customers can react. Help your customers find their way, and they’ll stay with you.

9. Arrange introductions for your customer:

Arranging an introduction to an important

business contact is a gesture that demonstrates the utmost respect and appreciation in

the global marketplace. Such information can be the one of the most important and

valuable services you can offer your customers. Remember the time and trouble it took

52

you to build the solid foundation you have the right now with your customer. What

would it have been worth to you to have a mutual associate smooth the way? Give

your customer this benefit – and strengthen your ties further- by making a few key

introductions.

This service holds particular value in Japan, where business is conducted primarily

through an official introducer, called a shokainin. A shokainin not only introduces, but

also vouches for the integrity of the individual they are introducing. If you make an

attempt to call on a customer in Japan on your own without the assistance of the

shokainin, he or she may agree to see you as a courtesy gesture, but its unlikely that

business will develop as a result of this meeting. Cold –calling for a business may earn

you reputation as a bold and energetic salesperson in America, but this is viewed as

offensively aggressive in Japan. If you want to do business in Japan, enlist the help of

a shokainin. Even in countries that don’t run on such a tight network of relationships,

an introductions can still open doors of your customer. Once you have undertaken this

responsibility, you must monitor the situation to make sure all goes well. If completed

diplomatically and successfully, it gains you the utmost respect in the global market.

10. Build interdependency with your customer:

You have served your customer, satisfied them, gone

beyond their expectations, and helped them to grow. But have you built a bond with

them that encourages them to look to you when there is a problem, or when they need

an experienced internationalist’s advice? In other words have you build a sufficient

interdependency between yourself and your customer? This may seem hard to grasp,

especially from an Americans perspective. We are encouraged to conduct our business

lives with an all – capable, self- sufficient, every man for himself attitude, that was

fine for the driven, boom – and- bust entrepreneur of the 80’s. but for the global

entrepreneur laying the groundwork for the 21st century by building a worldwide

network of close connections, after sales service should be geared toward fostering a

healthy give- and –take, an interdependency, with your customer.

Knowing that you have a friendly associate out there pulling

for you is comforting and adds to your confidence in everything you do. Support your

customers’ success in any way you can, you will be building a constructive

interdependency that can become your gateway to the world.

53

ADOPTING PROPER FOLLOW – UP TIPS ( AFTER SALES

PROCESSES)

By Darrell Williams

It's easy to turn these first time buyers into future customers with a little follow-up.

Sending out a letter may seem simple, but it can do a lot to bring customers back and

get those customers to refer you to new ones.

Most experts recommend at least a 10-10-10 pattern when following up with a

customer. Send out your first letter within 10 days. In another 10 days, contact them

again. Then in 10 days contact the customer again. If you send a snail mail letter for

the first contact, you could use email or telephone for the following two.

Always have an offer or some other incentive that is time sensitive included in your

letter. This creates a sense of urgency. It will get people to contact you because they

don't want to miss out. Use the same offer through all 3 letters with the wording

becoming more urgent in each one.

The 10-10-10 method is also recommended for people who are inquiring about your

products and services. Statistics bear out that all kinds of companies, who don't get

back to people making inquiries, lose a customer. These customers tell other people

about the bad service and businesses lose even more potential customers. It seems

most businesses do not understand how important this is. It is a great way to make

future sales and it also shows that you care about not only your customers, but your

potential customers.

So what exactly should you put in your letter? Here are a few things that can be put

into the first follow-up letter. The second and third contacts should contain the same

information written in a fresh way.

54

1) A thank you; a heartfelt thank you for choosing your company for their purchase. A

little appreciation goes a long way. You don't have to gush, just state your thanks

simply and to the point.

"Thank you for allowing us the opportunity of providing a great product to you. I am

confident that you will be happy with your purchase and I appreciate your business."

2) A re-enforcement of why choosing your company was a great idea in the first place.

This will cut down on "buyer's remorse". Help them to feel their purchase was

necessary and buying from you was the only way to go.

3) A time limited offer. Offer them something to complement their original purchase.

In the case of a customer who has already purchased your product or service, you

could offer them a limited time offer on another one of your products or for your

service in the future. Develop a sense of urgency so the customer acts within the

"limited time".

Each time you contact the customer, enhance the sense of urgency. The second contact

should build on the urgency of the first and so on. The third time you contact them you

can even say something like "Only 3 days left to take advantage of this great offer."

4) Refer them to another product or service (not that of a competitor) that would

complement their purchase. Suggesting other products shows them you not only care

they bought from you, but that they are happy with their purchase. This could be an

offering from an affiliate program you belong to so that you can still make money.

5) Ask for referrals. A simple "If you like our service tell others, if you didn't tell us!"

might be enough. You can offer a percentage off their next purchase for referring a

new customer or a special offer for those they refer.

6) You should include a coupon for your services. You could encourage them to pass

it on if they are not going to use it themselves. They may know someone who needs

your services and this could mean the difference between their friend purchasing or

not.

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7) Attach a business card to the letter. This gives the customer something to give to

someone else when they tell them about your company. You never know how many

times that little card can get passed along.

8) Another option is to send a survey or customer feedback form. Again, offer some

incentive to fill it out. It will give you both the bad and the good of the customer's

experience with your company. This will give you information to use in your next

contact letter.

Contact your customers. Make them loyal customers who keep

coming back for more and bring new customers with them. This can be achieved by

providing after sales services to the customer by adopting the proper follow up tips.

56

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

(CRM) is broad term that covers concepts used by companies to manage their

relationships with customers, including the capture, storage and analysis of customer,

vendor, partner, and internal process information. The latest CRM should incorporate

features that extend the CRM functionally beyond sales, marketing, and customer

support.

There are three aspects of CRM which can be implemented in isolation from each

other:

Operational – automation of customer processes that offers support to a

company’s sales or service representative

Collaborative – the program communicates to customers without a company’s

sales or service representative (self service)

Analytical – analysis of customer information for multiple purposes

Thus customer service can be effective in this modern era with the use of

customer relationship management, after sales service can be done effectively by

the company only when it has proper customer relationship management.

How to Generate Money with Customer Satisfaction by giving after sales

services

As pere Earl Maghirang

Customers are the lifeblood of any business. Without customers to purchase wares or

services, it is imperative that a business would soon fold. A great way of not only

retaining old customers as well as hooking in new ones is through good customer

service before as well as it is very essential to provide after sales services for the

further expansion of the business or enterprises.

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There are many success stories that can be found where the company has gained a lot

through good customer service. One solid example is UPrinting. This online printer

has made it a lifetime commitment to provide customers not only with good high

quality printed services but also provide them with customer service that they would

surely remember. Aside from the prints for posters, postcards, business cards and

canvas prints or hang tags, this online printing pioneer also assures clients that there

would always be a highly trained customer service representative waiting to help out

with even the most simple problems in their printing orders.

Customer satisfaction should always be placed in high regard in order to help earn

more money for business. If a business gives nothing but the best quality of customer

service, both during and after sales, they raise the chances of customers returning to do

business with them again. Compared to a business that only cares about making a sale

rather than taking care of their customers, the former is likely to succeed and earn

more.

Following or ensuring customer satisfaction also means that the customers are happy

and may tell other people of what they think of the service. Some companies such as

UPrinting gives clients the chance to air their happiness and satisfaction over the

service that they have received by putting up a specific page that shows reviews and

praises from satisfied clients.

There are a lot of things to remember in running a business but it is always important

to remember to make sure that each sale or each business transaction should leave a

client happy and willing to return in the future. This makes sure that the business lasts

longer as well as strengthens customer’s loyalty towards the product or service.

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COMPANIES CHASE SUCCESS IN AFTER SALES SERVICE

The quality after sales experience is a key factor in customer loyalty.

That’s exactly why brand- owner companies should pause and ask themselves: do

we really want to outsource a process that can make or break a customer

relationship? Considering the level of co- ordination required among customer

contact centers, field- service operations, repair depots, warehouse operations, and

transportations logistics, improving the after sales experience can be challenging

for any company. Add antiquated IT systems to the equation, and it’s easy to see

why, despite misgivings, companies often outsource after – sales operations.

On the other hand, some companies choose to manage their own after sales

operations. For them, following industry best practices is vital to achieving a high

level of success. In a report out of Cambridge, Mass Based Forrester Research,

“Taking control of your after market supply chain, best practices to build a

foundation for reverse logistics success”, Patrick Connaughton, senior analyst,

notes that winning companies not only enhance the customer experience, but also

find ways recoup lost profits on returned goods by taking advantage of secondary

markets to resell repaired and refurbished products.

“It’s been estimated that up to $10 0 billion in products move through the reverse

logistics (RL) pipeline each year in the U.S., with average return rates ranging

from as low as 3 percent to as high as 40 percent, depending on the industry. Even

with this high volume, many companies still do not invest heavily in their

aftermarket or reverse logistics operations, “Connaughton says. “Traditionally, RL

hasn’t been viewed as a core competency by the brand owners, which results in an

appetite for outsourcing.” Managing the aftermarket supply spans functional

areas, and requires redefining customer service and inventory management

processes. Forrester Research cites three steps that enable an aftermarket supply

chain transformation:

Move returns validation and “avoidance” upstream.

Automatic reverse logistics processes with technology.

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Measures and report on performance to drive improvements.

First of all, returns can be significantly reduced by implementing additional

validation checks upstream of the distribution centers (DCs) either online, in the

retail store, or in the retail store, or in the customer call center, Connaughton says.

For instance, companies can head off costly invalid and unauthorized returns by

implementing an online pre- authorization or “gate- keeping” solution that

validates the return before it hits the store or warehouse. As a part of online

authorization, customer’s print bar – coded shipment labels that streamline the

warehouse receiving process and tie the customer to the returned goods for better

case management and tracking.

Forward thinking retailers and after sales service operations also have integrated

their pre- screening systems with OEM’s returns authorization systems.

Connaughton says, consequently, when UPC or serial numbers are scanned,

warranty eligibility and product exchange rules are automatically checked to

authorize the return.

The second key best practice is to automate- the reverse logistics processes using

information technology. “The reality is that without right technology in place, it’s

practically impossible to enforce the standard processes required to drive costs out

of aftermarket operations, “Connaughton says.

According to Forrester, companies that have been successful in reducing

aftermarket costs have focused on automating key areas with technology. They

typically include:

Use a best – of breed warehouse management system (WMS) to

automate the DCs standard reverse logistics processes.

Integrate the WMS and accounting systems to trigger faster credits

improve customer satisfaction.

Apply a service part optimization solution to reduce stock – outs for

service and repair operations.

Activate electronic RL B2B messaging to identify backhaul

opportunities and significantly reduce transportation costs.

Finally, as is the case with other operations, it’s also essential to first measure

performance, and then report on it to drive improvement.

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“No matter how much is invested in automation and process changes, the only

way to drive improvement is to measure the success of each program and make

adjustments as needed, “Connaughton says, “without this level of visibility,

operations managers navigate without a map”.

Performance measurements, as noted by Forrester’s research, span from the executive

level to the warehouse floor – and reach back to the product manufacturer. Successful

companies start in a few key areas:

Make someone accountable for each return, and measure their success to help

drive initiatives to consolidate systems and processes;

Close the feedback loop to improve product and operations quality

using product life cycle management software that not only centralizes

return- reason codes to drive design improvements, but also identifies

non- design – related return trends to help determine the root cause: and

Insert quality checks for outsourced processes, such as through use of

their own employees as quality assurance within an outsourced DC

operation.

AFTER SALES SERVICE BY PROFESSIONALS

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As well as producing high quality forklift trucks, Jungheinrich also

provides first class after sales service for every aspect of your truck. So when

selecting the most appropriate truck for your application, don’t just compare the

engineering and purchase costs of the truck, but consider after sales service support

you will receive with it and be sure secure your investment in the long – run!

Jungheinrich after sales service offers you many advantages:

Manufacturer’s competence

Our service engineers are regularly trained to an excellent

standard. This ensures that any problem with your equipment can be quickly

diagnosed and rectified. From hand pallet trucks to a horizontal order picker- no one

knows our trucks as well as we do!

Mobile workshops

Our service engineers are constantly out in the field, operating from

a mobile workshop. Tools and spare parts are carried on board, and in most cases

allow the fault to be repaired first time. Fault finding and spare parts ordering are

supported by state of the art IT solutions, so that your trucks can start operating

again within the shortest possible time.

Fast and flexible

A member of the Jungheinrich after sales service network of over

3,100 mobile service engineers can be with you within only hours 15:00 hr, required

spare parts can be delivered to you or to our service engineer the next day.

Many requirements- one solution: Jungheinrich after sales service

Jungheinrich after sales service offers a wide range of flexible services. From battery

charger services to a complete full service. With such a support network, you can

rest assured that Jungheinrich will offer solution to your requirement, leaving you to

concentrate fully on your core business

AFTER SALES SERVICES OF BAJAJ ELECTRICALS

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INTRODUCTION:

Bajaj Electricals Limited (BEL) is a part of the Rs. 20000

crore "Bajaj Group" who are in the business of steel, sugar, two wheelers & three

wheelers besides an impressive range of consumer electrical products. It is a 70 year

old company with a turnover of over Rs. 1404 crores aiming to be a Rs. 2001 crore

company in the next couple of years.

Bajaj Electricals has 19 branch offices, a chain of 600 distributors, 3000 authorised

dealers, over 2,50,000 retail outlets and over 230 service franchises spread across the

country. BEL today has five major strategic business units comprising of home

appliances, fans, lighting, luminaires and engineering & projects. We are also in the

business of manufacturing, erection and commissioning of Transmission Line Towers,

Telecom Towers, Mobile Telecom Towers and Wind Energy Towers. Export of all

BEL's products except of its engineering and projects business unit is taken care of by

group company Bajaj International Pvt. Ltd.

istory of Bajaj Electricals

The ' Bajaj ' group of India owes immense gratitude to their founding fathers whose

vision and dedication over the years has greatly helped to build a business house that

can set standards in Indian Industry.

years..

Mr. Bajaj is the Chairman of Bajaj Group companies Bajaj International and Hercules

Hoist Pvt. Ltd. and on the Board of Directors of Bajaj Auto and IDBI Bank. He was

the President of ASSOCHAM, former President of Indian Merchant Chambers (IMC)

and Council for Fair Business Practices (CFBP)

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Bajaj Electricals’ 230 service centres and 19 branch offices in order to cater to the

after-sales service requirements for ‘Bajaj’

.

Bajaj Electricals or Bajaj Electricals Limited (BEL) is an India-based consumer

electrical products manufacturing company. Bajaj Electricals has 70 years of

experience in the electrical market and is known for being an innovator and market

leader in the Indian consumer electrical manufacturing sector.

Further, the company is a part of the legendary US$ 3 billion Bajaj Group. The parent

group of Bajaj Electricals covers areas like steel, sugar, two-wheelers, and three-

wheelers. BEL has aggressive expansion plans and it plans on becoming a Rs. 2001

crore company in the next couple of years. The company is headquartered at Mumbai,

India and has 19 branch offices, 600 distributors, 3000 authorized dealers, around

120,000 retail outlets, and over 200 service franchises spread across India. Bajaj

Electricals has registered net sales of Rs. 1078.86 crore for the year ended 31st March,

2006-2007 and the company's net profit stands at Rs. 38.61 crore for the same period.

Bajaj Electricals has 5 major strategic business units like:

Home appliances

Fans

Lighting

Luminaires

Engineering and related projects

Bajaj Electricals product lines include the following -

Appliances - microwave ovens, mixers, irons, toasters, electric kettles, room heaters,

water filters OTGs, and gas stoves

Fans - ceiling fans, table fans, pedestal fans, wall fans, fresh air fans, and mannifique

ceiling fans

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Lights - fluorescent tubes, GLS lamps, and compact fluorescent lamps Consumer

luminaries, miniature lamps

Luminaires - modern workplace lighting, Legend luminaires, commercial decorative

lighting, retail lighting, area lighting, roadway lighting, industrial lighting, hazardous

area lighting, Le Magique Luminaires, and Renaissance Luminaires

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THE GROWTH OF BAJAJ ELECTRICALS AFTER ADOPTING

EFFICIENT AFTER SALES SERVIECE

Electric Fans is a high market penetration product category and is very high in terms

of purchase priority amongst durables. It is a matured product category with a stagnant

growth rate during the period 1990-2002. it adopted efficient after sales services like

providing guarantee, warranty, replacement of the product. It adopted proper reverses

logistics which enhanced for overall development and growth of the bajaj electrical

equipments.

There are 6 major brands in the organized sector namely:

Crompton

Orient

Polar

Khaitan

Usha

All large players in the industry have their own manufacturing facility,

which is helping them in reaping the benefits of economies of scale. Intense

competition in the market has transformed the fan industry into a high-volume, low-

margin business. To remain profitable and competitive, it becomes imperative to have

high-volumes and a reasonable market-share, to enjoy the related economies of scale.

In this severe competition too the bajaj electricals had a healthy and high profit margin

which was able because of adopting proper after sales services and adopting efficient

service centers and as per the customer satisfactions.

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The Sales have grown from Rs 5730 Lacs in 1999-00 to Rs 9350 Lacs in 2002-

03. In 2002-03, achieved CAGR over 1999-2000 of 17.7 per cent and the

projected CAGR in 2002-03 over 1999-2000 is also 17.7 per cent. This

achievement, in a sluggish market situation has been an extraordinary

performance.

Total Sales in 2002-03 achieved a CAGR over 1999-00 of 20.1 per cent &

projected CAGR in 2003-04 over 1999-00 is 19.7 per cent. The contribution of

Trade to Total sales has increased from 55 per cent in 1999-00 to nearly 80 per

cent in 2002-03.The Trade sales being sustainable and repeatable, shows a

basic strengthening of the brand and greater channel and customer acceptance.

The consistently high growth rates also reflect the above.

Growth of Bajaj Fans higher than the Industry Growth in all the years except

2001-02 & expected to be higher in 2003-04. 2001-02 was impacted due to the

high growth in the previous year and poor Institutional sales.

In 2001-02 Trade Sales grew at 10 per cent. However, lost Sales of 40,000 fans

sales (decline of 20 per cent) in CSD and 19000 fans sale (decline of 27 per

cent) to Institutions, as Bajaj was not awarded D.G.S & D Rate contract.

After sale service (is their prime motive):

Bajaj Company attaches great importance to after-sales service. We regard customers

as our god and serve them thoughtfully and whole heartedly. We have a professional

after-sales service team, including engineers, technicians and interpreters.

We provide our customer’s free installation and commissioning of equipment, free

training of operators on site; one year guarantee of free after-sales service, including

free parts replacement if there is any malfunction but consumable material like filter

element is not included） . Beyond the one year free service, we still provide all life

long service, including different kinds of spare parts supply at ex-work price.

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BAJAJ ELECTRICALS TO ALIGN BUSINESS NEEDS WITH IT

Bajaj electrical operates through a comprehensive network of branch

offices, dealers, distributors, retail chain outlets and service franchises across India.

The company is progressing at a rapid pace recently, completed the first phase of

evaluating it business processes. Biztech2 spoke to Pratap Gharge, VP and CIO,

Bajaj Electricals, to get a better understanding of the company’s plans to align

business needs with the IT infrastructure.

How does the top management assure that the IT architecture is in sync with the five

business units at bajaj electricals?

For this, we have framed an IT task force headed by our executive director and the

team including the CFO, head of commercial department, and heads of other support

functions and

We hold a monthly meeting to review the ongoing initiatives and how should they

be prioritized. Apart from this, there is a strategy meet of each of the five business

units in the first month of the year, which is attended by the IT department to

understand the pain areas of the past year. Myself.

Finally, the IT department holds a meeting and mulls over all the pain areas faced by

the business units to come up with recommendations, based on which IT budgets are

sanctioned.

How has the networking infrastructure been scaled up, considering that bajaj

electricals operates a country wide network?

Bajaj electricals runs operations through twenty branches across the country that are

connected via converged network of point- to point lease lines to our data in

Mumbai. The branches in metro cities are connected on 500 kpbs lines followed by

tier I cities on 128kpbs. Small branches in Raipur, Wardha are networked through

64kbps lines. Our six go downs and twenty branch godowns are connected on Tulips

wireless VPN on 16 kpbs, as there is not much data traffic to handle.

We have two lease lines for internet; one for employee usage and other to connect

the dealers and suppliers to the company through their respective extranets.

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The company’s central data center has shifted to Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge

Center. How does u plan to eventualise a smooth transition?

The data center has recently shifted during the previous diwali holidays. There is three

day downtime. But before we physically have shifted the hardware, there was a test

conducted for the connectivity and various other configurations. We had made sure

that the hardware is shipped after being dismantled in the right way.

Could you comment on the recent IT innovations at bajaj electricals?

We have developed customer care software to enhance our information gathering

about after sales service. Bajaj electricals operates 250 outsourced after sales service

centers across India. The customer care software to be used at these centers will allow

the company to capture the business information of the service center.

The software is offline; however there is ‘synchronies to central server’ functionality

that allows user to get online four times a day and transfer the call –m logs to the

central server. It will enable information gathering about customer interaction and

customer product failure analysis.

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CASE STUDY: WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO PROVIDE AFTER

SALES SERVICE.

Below is a situation I‘ve met recently.

Early last month, me and my fiancé went to a furniture shop to look around for

our new house.

Upon reaching the shop at chon pang, a popular place in Singapore, a lady

approached us politely and passed us some files with pictures of the furniture.

We browse through the files and she even offer to help us look for the color

and design of our requirements. In between, we make some changes on the

color we want but she is still give us that smiling face and continue helping us.

Well this is good customer service. Don’t you agree? Of course, we’ll make

some bargains seeing our idea furniture. After some discussion, she agrees to

give us some discounts as we are going to buy two products from them. After

paying a deposit we, decided to browse for our next purchase for our next

purchases of our master bedroom since we received good customer service.

She shows as around to cupboard and dining table. There’s also discount on the

items we prepare to buy. She even wrote down the details of the items on offer,

in case when the time we come to buy, it’s not offer anymore.

So happily, we left the shop and decided to buy all our other furniture from this

shop. Until here, we received before sales service.

Let’s see how our after sales service is like……….

On the delivery day, they sent the first item to our place; we paid the balance

amount as we are satisfied with it. Later that day they sent the second item, we

found faults on it and want to change.

We called the company next day and they agreed to change another one for us

by that week. But after a week passed, still no news from the company. No

choice, we gone down to the shop again to inform them of the faults, they

agreed to send someone down to see.

A couple of days later, no one came. We called again and finally someone is

here to check. That guy said that the piece we received is a display set and it’s

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the last one in the factory so he agreed to change for us. But we’ve totally

change our view on this shop’s service.

SWOT ANALYSIS:

Strength:

1) Furniture shop provided good before sales service.

2) Sales person was very helpful by guiding what he wants.

3) Furniture shop provided on time delivery.

4) Customer plans to by furniture from the same shop

Weakness:

1) After sales service was not satisfactory

2) Customer relationship management was not effective and appealing

one.

Opportunities:

1) After sales service which was not proper which was one of the major

weaknesses of the shop should be converted into one of their strength

by responding to the customer in time after the sales in case of some

problems with the delivered furniture.

Threats:

1) If the shop fails to convert its weakness into their strength in the

coming days, therefore sales service and decide by future furniture from

the same shop changes in mind because of unsatisfactory after sales

service.

Conclusion:

From the above case study we can see the big difference between before

and after sales service. When a customer steps into your shop, you need to

provide both before and after sales services to assure your customers will

come back again. Does u just want to keep a customer just once or forever?

Does u know customer can become ten, hundred or even more customer’s

in future through word of mouth?

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In order for growth in your business, grab hold of every opportunity when a

customer approaches you.

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