Exceptional Customer Research Articles

Reading between the lines: Uncovering customer insights to deliver exceptional customer experiences

Customer insights are critical in the quest to deliver an exceptional customer experience. There is, however, a science and an art to uncovering insights that can get lost in a data-centric world. This paper discusses five cogent facts that can act as a guide to ensure the whole brain approach (balancing data with human-centric skills) to uncover the insights necessary to deliver exceptional customer experiences.

Engagement and Retention of the Millennial Generation in the Workplace through Internal Branding

Within the strong competitive world of organizations, the provision of exceptional customer experience is the key driver of performance. In this context, many organizations invest in their brands and, try to create a positive image of them, not only in the minds of their external customers, but also in those of their employees, because they are conceptualized as internal customers. Effective involvement of the human resources function for helping them to internalize the brand identity in their work behaviors has been an emerging area of study over the last decade. This has brought forward the notion of internal branding-a strategy through which organizations encourage all their employees to become involved in the nurturing of a brand through their engagement. Meanwhile, the organizational workforce is dynamic and constantly changing owing to a younger cohort entering the workplace. This renewal in the workforce demographics has led to differences in their characteristics and work orientations and consequently, has changed the rules of engagement. This paper outlines some emerging evidence about the HR-internal branding relationship. It brings together diverse sources of literature from organizational and generational studies to illustrate the characteristics and work orientations of the Millennials and the potential challenges posed by this generation. This article also provides the readers with specific recommendations for developing new practices and policies designed to attract, develop and retain this cohort so that it contributes internally to strong brand engagement.

Application of K-Means Algorithm for Efficient Customer Segmentation: A Strategy for Targeted Customer Services

The emergence of many business competitors has engendered severe rivalries among competing businesses in gaining new customers and retaining old ones. Due to the preceding, the need for exceptional customer services becomes pertinent, notwithstanding the size of the business. Furthermore, the ability of any business to understand each of its customers’ needs will earn it greater leverage in providing targeted customer services and developing customised marketing programs for the customers. This understanding can be possible through systematic customer segmentation. Each segment comprises customers who share similar market characteristics. The ideas of Big data and machine learning have fuelled a terrific adoption of an automated approach to customer segmentation in preference to traditional market analyses that are often inefficient especially when the number of customers is too large. In this paper, the k-Means clustering algorithm is applied for this purpose. A MATLAB program of the k-Means algorithm was developed (available in the appendix) and the program is trained using a z-score normalised two-feature dataset of 100 training patterns acquired from a retail business. The features are the average amount of goods purchased by customer per month and the average number of customer visits per month. From the dataset, four customer clusters or segments were identified with 95% accuracy, and they were labeled: High-Buyers-Regular-Visitors (HBRV), High-Buyers-Irregular-Visitors (HBIV), Low-Buyers-Regular-Visitors (LBRV) and Low-Buyers-Irregular-Visitors (LBIV).

Wooing fans back into Ghana stadia – in the wake of the globalization of football

Subject area Marketing Strategy and Marketing Management. It can also be used to illustrate the application of specific concepts and frameworks, such as “revenue (demand/Capacity) management” in services marketing and “Integrated Marketing Communication” under marketing communication. Study level/applicability Postgraduate and Final Year Marketing Majors. Case overview The case describes how the Ghana Premier League (GPL), the flagship football product of the Ghana Football Association, continues to record low attendances at various league centres since the turn of the new millennium. The case highlights the effects of global forces (both macro and micro factors) on the patronage of GPL matches. It also brings into focus the effects of professionalization and commercialization of the league, especially, on traditional football clubs. It presents discussions on the need for football clubs to adopt sound management principles, such as market-orientation in response to the dynamic global forces. Apart from illustrating the effects of globalization on football, the case can also be used for teaching topics on integrated marketing communication/brand management and revenue management for perishable services. Expected learning outcomes To enable students to appreciate how the forces of globalization affect businesses in developing countries; to enable students to apply strategic marketing frameworks (PEST, Porter's five forces Model, SWOT, etc.) to analyse business situations; to enable candidates/students to understand the use of services management principles to address problems relating to perishable demand and unused capacity; students should understand the importance of quality products/services and branding to an organization's ability to deliver exceptional customer experience; to enable students apply the elements of integrated marketing communication to address organizational problems; andto sharpen students' critical thinking and innovative problem-solving skills. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

A Study on the Sectors of Economy Serviced by Pre-Industry System Developers among Companies in Metro Manila : A Tool for Business Reengineering

In the emergence of transformative global economy, information system has became a necessity in businesses to obtain organizations operational excellence, adaptation to new business models, improved decision making and providing exceptional customer service, and eventual competitive advantage of the enterprise setting while keeping business alliances. This paper presents sectors of economy serviced by the pre-industry developers, explores the evolution of computer-based information system designed and developed by pre-industry system developers, and examine the effects of an information system in business to countervail indentified recurring problems. Nineteen of forty-six identified sectors of economy falls in the categories of primary, secondary, tertiary, quarternary and quinary were the recipient of computer-based system designed and developed. There have been several effects of computer-based systems to organizations, including the implied relevance to their business processes, continuum process improvement, business process reengineering, business driver and facilitator, and customer satisfaction.

How Well Are We Preparing Them?: An Assessment of First-Year Library Student Assistants’ Information Literacy Skills

Most libraries have fully integrated cadres of student assistants into their daily operations, including helping at points of service. As libraries rely more and more on student assistants, we must maintain exceptional customer service to our users. This requires our student assistants to possess information literacy skills that exceed those of our users. This assessment investigates the information literacy skills of first-year library student assistants when compared to the general first-year student population, and it examines if first-year library student assistants’ information literacy skills increase more than those of their peers during their first semester at college.

Managing clinic recruitment: sourcing the right skills for administrative roles

Receptionists and administrators often serve as the ‘face’ of a clinic, giving clients the first impression of your practice. Exceptional customer service is key, so the person in this role needs to be friendly, professional and welcoming. In this series discussing recruitment for specific roles, Clinic Manager Barbara Deakin advises on the steps to take to find the perfect administrative employee

“How May I Help You?” Improving Telephone Customer Service in a Medical Clinic Setting

The current study was carried out per management request to improve the overall quality of telephone customer service among appointment coordinators in a medical clinic. Exceptional telephone customer service included (a) using a standard greeting, (b) speaking in the appropriate tone of voice throughout the call, and (c) answering every call received by the unit. A preintervention analysis suggested that performance deficiencies resulted from weak antecedents, poor knowledge and skills, and weak performance contingencies. Task clarification, goal setting, feedback, and performance-contingent consequences were combined to improve these customer service behaviors for 20 full-time appointment coordinators at the clinic. The study used an ABÁ reversal design with weekly maintenance and 5-month follow-up observations. Introduction of the multicomponent intervention produced visible improvements in greeting (38% increase) and friendly voice tone (22% increase) behaviors; performance was maintained above baseline levels at 5 months postmaintenance. Abandon rates (the percentage of calls not answered by a live voice) remained fairly stable, on average. Findings support the use of a multicomponent intervention to increase telephone customer service behavior in medical clinic settings.

THE STUDENT-AS-CONSUMER PARADOX IN ONLINE HIGHER EDUCATION

In the business world, exceptional customer service is vital to customer satisfaction, retention, and loyalty. Until recently, colleges and universities had a monopoly on higher education in their protected territories. Today, they are facing extreme competition from online interlopers encroaching on their formerly exclusive target audiences, necessitating a shift in how they react to students’ newfound power to choose how and where they obtain their education. This paper will provide: an analysis of the arguments for and against viewing students as consumers; student perceptions on what customer service should look like in online courses; and a common-sense approach to merging best practices of customer service quality to best practices in online instruction.

News & Products

News & Products

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Understanding the business of contact lenses

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Understanding the business of contact lenses

Job involvement, commitment, satisfaction and turnover: Evidence from hotel employees in Cyprus

The study of attitudes at work seeks to enhance organizational knowledge and capabilities in developing an ‘ideal’ working environment that delivers exceptional customer service. The current study investigates the causal relationships of job involvement, organizational commitment (normative and affective), and job satisfaction (intrinsic and extrinsic), with the intention of hospitality employees in Cyprus to either remain at or leave their job. Utilizing structural equation modeling, positive associations were found between job involvement, affective and normative commitment, and intrinsic job satisfaction. Positive associations between affective and normative organizational commitment, and intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction were also found. In addition, negative associations between affective organizational commitment, extrinsic job satisfaction and turnover intention were revealed. However, a negative association between intrinsic job satisfaction and turnover intention was not supported. The implications of these results for future research are also discussed.

Training returns DHL Express to the road of exceptional customer service

PurposeThis paper aims to chart the success of employee development at DHL Express.Design/methodology/approachIt explains the background to two training programs at the company, the form they take and the results they are achieving.FindingsThe paper reveals that, when employee engagement showed signs of dipping among the company's 100,000 employees, it sought training that would ignite the inspiration, know‐how and passion of its people. It commissioned learning and development agency NKD Learning to help.Practical implicationsThis study highlights the key roles played by the chief executive and the board, who were not only involved in the design and development of the programs, but also trained and certified by NKD as facilitators of each module. They deliver the launch programs to their top 150 executives – with the expectation that they then train their direct reports – and run train‐the‐trainer events with NKD facilitators.Social implicationsIt stresses the importance of training in improving customer service, employee morale and company profits.Originality/valueThe paper gives the inside story of the development and application of employee training at a major international company.

Customer centricity for growth – Yes Bank experience

Subject area Marketing, strategy. Study level/applicability This case is suitable for post graduate and executive development students. Case overview The case provides perspectives of customer centric practices of Yes Bank which has the objective of becoming the best quality bank of the world in India. The case study outlines how Yes Bank has become the fastest growing bank by its strong focus on customers through its committed and innovative employees. The customer centricity develops strong existing relationships and focuses on providing exceptional customer service, leading to better financial performance. Expected learning outcomes These include: highlighting the characteristics of customer centric organizations; discussing how Yes Bank practised customer centricity despite the limitation of being a new bank with no experience; describing the key differentiators and comparing with those of other banks; and establishing the relationship between customer centric practices with financial performance. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

The effect of implicit service guarantees on business performance

Purpose – Although service guarantees are generally believed to give firms a competitive edge, much remains to be learned about the value of, and return on, this customer relationship management strategy. This study aims to examine the influence of implicit service guarantees on two important aspects of business performance: customer satisfaction and return on investment. Design/methodology/approach – The study hypotheses are tested utilizing three different sources of secondary data to assess the study variables. Findings – Over a four-year period, top implicit service guarantee provider firms generated superior market and financial performance in terms of customer satisfaction and return on investment than their industry peers . Research limitations/implications Research limitations/implications – The number of top implicit service guarantee provider firms used to test the study hypotheses is relatively small due to inherent constraints associated with using secondary data. Testing more exemplar firms against their respective industry averages would have been preferable and may have yielded even more robust findings. Practical implications – Firms recognized for leveraging customer service skills and resources to “make right” any sources of customer dissatisfaction may achieve positional advantages associated with superior business performance. Therefore, focusing on building a firm's reputation for exceptional customer service provision may be a more effective approach than offering an explicit service guarantee. Originality/value – This research offers support for contentions that customers value the implicit service guarantees associated with firms recognized for outstanding customer service and responds to calls for research that evaluates the specific information that must be communicated to customers to enhance the credibility and effectiveness of service guarantees.

Nespresso: Branding the "Ultimate Coffee Experience"

Nespresso: Branding the "Ultimate Coffee Experience"

Identification of Industry Needs for Baccalaureate Hospitality Graduates: A Delphi Study

The purpose of this research was to identify the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) expected of students graduating from baccalaureate institutions conferring four-year degrees in hospitality management. This study provided a confidential online forum, using Delphi methodology, to identify needed KSAs. Findings of this study suggest the top five KSAs students graduating from baccalaureate programs in hospitality management need for success in the industry are: good communication skills (oral), delivery of exceptional and consistent customer service, a commitment to high performance, people skills, and the ability to multi-task.

Global education in manufacturing strategy

Since the onset of the global economic crisis, manufacturing organizations in developed economies such as Europe, Japan and the United States are in the process of transition. This transition is made even more marked with the economic downturn taking place across the world. There is a strong movement of cost based manufacturing to offshore and low wage economies. The remaining onshore manufacturing activities now focus on innovative new processes and exceptional customer service. The technology and processes required for onshore manufacturing can be complex and challenges the existing skills of engineers and managers to continuously operate and change such systems. Educational bodies struggle to keep up to date. The pace of change has meant that curricula in universities are frequently out of date and the skills of teachers, researchers and even some professors are out of touch with reality. These and other issues were discussed recently by leading experts from academia and industry from around the world. Their deliberations coupled with a number of related sources of documented research are presented in this paper. The main findings reiterate that high-tech manufacturing will continue to be a major player in the landscape of developed economies but that the research thrusts and skill sets of young engineers and how they receive these skills will need to change. The paper provides a number of suggestions for strategic change to research and education in manufacturing in the future.

Connected Commerce: The intersection of e-commerce and e-communication

Only a handful of brands are providing their customers with highly personalised digital experiences. From their website, to email and mobile messaging, they've put the customer's interests at the forefront of their digital strategy. They've changed the fundamentals of their digital communications with their customers by creating an environment of Connected Commerce. The results have been exceptional customer loyalty, sales growth and profits that outpace those of their peers. The vast majority of companies are, however, still playing catch-up. Many have ‘customer-centricity’ somewhere in their vision statements, but they've not yet made the necessary commitments to bring customer relevance to the face of their digital brands. Their results reflect this in dwindling loyalty, sales and profits. The good news for these companies is that it's not too late to make the shift and push to the front of their industries. This paper explores what it takes to move from internally driven promotions to customer-centric interactions. This shift requires taking advantage of technology advancements and process improvements, but also a new mindset about one's marketing approach.

The Effects of a Combined Task Clarification, Goal Setting, Feedback, and Performance Contingent Consequence Intervention Package on Telephone Customer Service in a Medical Clinic Environment

Appointment coordinators at a mid-western medical clinic were to provide exceptional telephone customer service. This included using a standard greeting, speaking in an appropriate tone of voice during the conversation, and using a standard closing to end the call. An analysis suggested performance deficiencies resulted from weak antecedents, poor knowledge and skills, and weak performance contingencies. An intervention package consisting of task clarification, goal setting, feedback, and performance contingent consequences was designed to improve customer service behaviors of four participating appointment coordinators. An ABAB reversal design was used, and overall performances of all four participants increased during intervention phases. This study indicates that a multi-component intervention may be an effective strategy to increase telephone customer service behavior in medical clinic settings.