This document discusses how manufacturers can improve customer support services. It notes that product support services are becoming important for competitive advantage. To provide the best support, manufacturers must identify the services customers value most and their relative importance. This will help determine the optimal service mix, which includes both presale and postsale offerings like customer service, repair, and maintenance. Over time, manufacturers typically shift more maintenance to authorized dealers while independent service firms also emerge.

1. How can good marketers improve
customer-support services?
Shubham Goswami
Jadavpur University

2. Manufacturers of equipment must provide
product-support services

3. Product-support service is quickly becoming a
battleground for competitive advantage

4. John Deere derives significant profits from these services

5. Identifying and Satisfying
Customer Needs

6. Traditionally customers have had 3specific worries about
product service

7. Failure frequency Downtime
Out of
pocket costs

8. Purchase
cost
Discounted cost
of maintenance
–
Discounted
salvage value
Life-cycle
cost
A buyer takes all these into account in order
to estimate the life-cycle cost

9. A manufacturer must identify the services customers value
most and their relative importance, in order to provide the
best support

10. Service mix
Presale
Facilitating services
(for expensive equipment)
Value augmenting services
(that extend beyond extend beyond
functioning and product
performance)
Postsale
Customer service
departments
Repair and maintenance
services

11. Postsale Service Strategy

12. Customer-Service Evolution

13. Manufacturers usually start by
running their own parts-and-
service departments
Over time they switch more
maintenance and repair service to
authorized distributors and
dealers
Still later independent service
firms emerge offering a lower
price and better service

14. The Customer Service Imperative

16. However equipment manufacturers must increasingly
make out how to make money on their equipment,
independent of service contracts

18. Summary
Even product based companies must
provide post-purchase service
A manufacturer must identify the services
customers value most and their relative
importance
The service mix includes both presale and
postsale services

20. Disclaimer
Created by
Shubham Goswami, Jadavpur
University, during a marketing internship
by
Prof. Sameer Mathur, IIM Lucknow
(see www.IIMInternship.com)