Designing and managing services

1. Designing and Managing
Services
How can goods marketers improve
customer-support services?(Refer Q. 2 also)

2. Identifying problems
• Customers have three specific worries:
• Reliability and failure frequency
• Downtime (time taken to fix), service dependability
• Out of pocket costs (for maintenance and repair)

3. Searching the Solution
A buyer takes all these factors into consideration and
tries to estimate the life cycle cost, which is the
product’s purchase cost plus the discounted cost of
maintenance and repair less the discounted salvage
value.
To provide the best support, manufacturers must
identify the services customers value most and
their relative importance. They may also add value
augmenting services that extend beyond the
functioning and performance of the product itself.

4. Post-Sale Service strategy
• Customer service evolution: Initially manufacturers
ran their own part and service departments to stay
close to their equipment. Then they began leasing them
to authorized distributors and dealers. Eventually,
independent service firms emerged.

5. Post-Sale Service strategy
• Customer service imperative: Customer service
choices are increasing rapidly and manufacturers must
figure out how to make money on their equipment,
independent of service contracts.
• Satisfying Customer Complaints: Getting frontline
employees to adopt extra role behavior and to advocate
the interests and image of the firm to consumers, as well
as take initiative and engage in conscientious behavior in
dealing with consumers. Companies are also increasing
the quality of their call centers and customer service
reps.
• Customer training: Training the customer’s employees to
use the vendor’s equipment properly
• Customer consulting: Data, information systems and
advice services that sellers offer to buyers