Ultimate Broadening of the Concept of Marketing: B-to-O-to-C Training Service Professionals Not to Inadvertently Kill Their Clients

Abstract

ABSTRACT Purpose This précis on recent service breakdown prevention (SBP) theory and research advocates innovation organizational leadership and actions via business-to-organization (B-to-O) training focusing on how to manage face-to-face server-client encounters by designing/engaging in effective processes to achieve highly desirable outcomes. This research note advocates the use of role-playing training in experiencing simulated disastrous processes and how-to-avoid such outcomes. Focus This research note builds and extends prior research on “broadening the concept of marketing” to organizational-client contexts beyond retail store setting, telephone, and website-e-mail interactions by recognizing and adopting B-to-O-to-C frontline engagement in server–client interactions – where “B” includes effective trainers/firms helping organizations (O) (e.g. police departments) to SBP tools with civilians (C). The research note briefly reviews available (numerous) videos of uninformed frontline services attempting to enforce unlawful procedures and bad organizational policies with highly knowledgeable clients (e.g. bodycam videos of servers offering unsolicited help and by “first amendment auditors”). “Client” is used broadly here to include consumers and citizens performing naturally occurring “normal” acts and legal acts appearing unusual to servers, as well as consumers engaging in purchasing/returning products and services. Recommendations This research note points out the general absence of scholarly research in relevant literature comparing the effectiveness of alternative training program designs focusing on delivering high-quality serving. Managerial implications The research note here provides clues on how to move forward in providing effective training of both high-quality service and decreasing bad service practices – by first recognizing that these two objectives have asymmetrically different configurations of causes.