Tài liệu Study Meeting on Customer Satisfaction in Competitive Markets

Study Meeting on Customer Satisfaction in Competitive Markets

Introduction

With the increased globalization of markets, competition among market players has become more severe. In this competitive market, one of the most important factors is the achievement of customer satisfaction and excellence in service. Although the concept of customer satisfaction in customer-oriented management is not new, the relationship between customers and corporations has been changing almost daily. Customers are becoming the absolute entity for corporations as the final decision makers for business deals and purchases of products. Peter Drucker, the highly regarded management scholar and writer, stated, “The only valid definition of business purpose is to create a customer.” Successful organizations of the future will be those that can provide goods and services to the customers who want it, where they want it, and in the quantity and at the price they want it, thereby delighting rather than merely satisfying customers. Customer delight will lead to loyalty, which is one of the critical indicators used to measure the success of a marketing strategy. Services cannot, however, be performed without some form of relationship between the producer and the consumer and cannot be stored and retained for later use in the way typical of many tangible goods. Business corporations make efforts to create and provide their customers with higher value added, which consists of elements such as lower prices, additional benefits, and uniqueness in services. With rapid advances in information and communications technology, corporations can take advantage of the emerging IT systems to create infrastructure within the organization to improve responsiveness to customer needs and to track those needs, thereby improving customer satisfaction significantly. Top management should be aware of how to tap the power of IT to enhance customer services, resulting in better service quality and streamlining of processes. With advanced technology, competing organizations can rapidly duplicate another organization’s services and products. This process is now accelerated by the Internet and e-mail and can be achieved in much less time than was possible a few years ago. Organizations are also dealing with more highly educated customers who are aware of the varied services and levels of quality available. There is a myriad of options for the customer. However, competitors cannot duplicate another organization’s customer relationships. Therefore customer satisfaction becomes the key ingredient of continued success. Corporations should identify and focus on the key emotional drivers that lead to customer satisfaction, examine the impact of branding, and formulate value-centered strategies leading to service excellence.