Improving customer care is the best way for companies to beat competition according to a business consultant. He stated that in competitive markets, where product features are similar, superior customer service can help companies win sales and build their customer base. However, simply stating a commitment to excellent customer service is not enough - companies must understand customer expectations, identify gaps in meeting those expectations, and make concerted efforts to address issues through feedback. A local university study found the top three reasons for customer defection were poor complaint handling, return and refund policies, and indifference from frontline staff. Establishing clear customer service standards and training staff is crucial not only to beat competitors but also for a company's survival in today's social media environment where bad experiences

1. Improving customer care is the best way to beat competition
Maxwell Ranasinghe,BusinessConsultantatarecentlyheldworkshoponCustomerCare Excellence said
that ina verycompetitive market where product features and benefits of all the marketers are similar
and difficulttodifferentiate,customercare of yourstaff wouldbe the unique advantage inwinningsales
and developingyourcustomerbase. He furthersaidthatdeliveringasupercustomerservice happensto
be in mostof the visionmissionstatementsinalmostall the companies in the market place. In order to
achieve thatimportantobjective,anorganisationshoulddevelop Customer Defined Service Standards.
It has to be integratedintoall itsoperations. Justhavingastatementona boarddisplaying “We provide
you a with quality products backed by an excellent customer care service “will not deliver results.
He articulatedthatinsettingupan organisationtodeliversupercustomer service, the company should
understand the customer expectations first, and then it should find out the gaps in the delivery and
expectationstodothe needfultofill the gaps.There could be many reasons for the gaps such as lack of
physical infrastructure and technology, problems in procedures, returning policies, weak complaint
handling etc. A company has to make a concerted effort to find such gaps through observing what is
takingplace inthe company and by getting feedback from its customers. This is often overlooked but
keepsonpromisingthroughadvertisingthatthe companyisoffering superior service but finally to find
that theircustomersare leavingthemandbuyingproductsfromothercompetitors. He further said that
a studydone by a local university highlightstopthree problems forcustomerdeflection as bad handling
of customercomplaints, poorreturnandrefundpoliciesandindifference inthe frontline staff. Unlike in
the past, customershave opensocial mediaplatforms suchasfacebook to discuss their bad experience
witha company.Bad newsgoesviral andit coulddamage the reputationof a company within few days.
Therefore establishingcustomerdefinedservicestandardsandtrainingstaff oncustomercare shouldbe
given priority not only to beat competition but also for its mere survival. He emphasized the fact that
although few academic programs have included Service Marketing as a subject, they do not provide
skillstohandle customersatthe operational level.Suchskills have to be obtained from special training
programs and practicing the job of customer care.