Deck 16: Digital Customer Service and Support in the Digital Era

Question 1

Throughout the chapter, reference is made to exceptional customer service as the basis for sustainable competitive advantage. Do you agree with this perspective? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Because of competition, every business struggles to stand out from the crowd through unique products, low prices, etc. Customer service is one way of acquiring competitive advantage. Customers appreciate service, and are likely to do business with companies that offer excellent service. Every customer has a strong image about customer service, and companies who can match or surpass that will retain the customers. Having exceptional customer service, even slightly better than that of the competitors, will be a major differentiator for more sales.
Present day consumers provide and read reviews available on the net. Many customers are buying products based on the reviews, and customer service is one of the components in the ratings. Having high rating in customer service will attract orders from new customers. Customer service is essential for business success.

Question 2

The Internet has the capacity to increase customer expectations about service levels and also to be the vehicle that delivers service that meets or exceeds those expectations. Take a position on this statement and discuss it.

Answer 2

As consumers use the Internet and discover a self-power to contribute to the reviews, likes, comments, etc. about a product, the feeling of controlling the opinion about a brand or product increases with the customer. Hence, every customer's opinion then forces the companies to deliver better services. Similarly, a consumer can quickly know the level of customer service by various companies, and do a comparison on the net. Because of the exposure to excellent service by the competitors, a typical customer's expectation level about service also increases.
The accumulation of a variety of experiences in gathering information, browsing, and negotiating terms with several online vendors, during active and self-initiated interactions makes consumers to expect services with more responsiveness. It also affects offline service interactions.

Question 3

Do you believe that good customer service has a direct impact on the profitability of a business? Can you provide evidence to back up your position?

Answer 3

Excellent customer service to all customers may decrease the profits of a company, because not all customers pay equally to the service. Companies have realized that loyal customers buy more and buy often. Hence, they are cheaper to serve and are more profitable than other customers. Some customers enjoy the service and spend their money elsewhere; such customers may not be profitable for the company.

Question 4

Customer service is less important in B2B markets than in B2C.

Question 5

Moving all service delivery to the web where customers can access it when they need it is the most important aspect of building a successful customer service program. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

Question 6

What channels do consumers find the most satisfactory at present?

Question 7

Are there channels that customers would like to use but find unsatisfactory or inefficient?

Question 8

What are the highest cost service channels? The lowest cost? What implications does that have for effective customer service strategy?

Question 9

Can you identify industries or specific businesses for which mobile customer service apps seem especially desirable?

Question 10

Can you find other examples of companies that are actively using social networks for customer service?

Question 11

How does customer service on social networks differ from customer service provided by communities?

Question 12

How could predictive analytics improve the effectiveness of customer service?

Question 13

Why is omni-channel customer service considered a necessity by many customer service experts?

Question 14

Think about the issue of organizational issues and the impact on the delivery of exceptional customer service. Have you encountered any customer service instances in which people in the same organization seemed to be giving you different information or advice? Why do you think this happened?