This article is the best example of
how a dissatisfied customer can damage your goodwill and cause reduction in
your company’s profits. Now, this article is available on the internet and can
be accessed and reviewed by thousands of people resulting tangible and
intangible loss to the Skype Company. It clearly shows that one dissatisfied
customer can spread around a word and tells other 20 people not to pursue this
product.
Therefore, customers’ satisfaction
should always be kept on TOP priority. Company should exert optimum efforts to
satisfy its customers. Manufacturing or developing companies should bear in
mind that there are three levels of a product which are -
1.
Core Product – Benefits
2.
Actual Product – Quality, Branding,
Colour, Features, Style
3.
Augmented Product – Customer Care,
Warranties, Delivery, Installation
Skype Company’s representative or the
customer care unit failed to render the expected quality services resulting in
the dissatisfaction to the customer. Customers are more concerned with the
product and the services provided to them when they have paid for that product,
the same incident experienced by Michael in this article. Therefore, to succeed
in this global village, Skype needs to improve its services to generate more
satisfied and contented customers.
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION:
The customer satisfaction is
defined as the degree to which customer expectations of a product or service
are met or exceeded.
Corporate and individual
customers may have widely differing reasons for purchasing a product or service
and therefore any measurement of satisfaction will need to be able to take into
account such differences. The quality of after-sales service can also be a
curial factor in influencing any purchasing decision. More and more companies
are striving, not just for customer satisfaction, but for customer delight,
that extra bit of added value that may lead to increased customer loyalty. Any
extra added value, however, will need to be carefully coasted.
The strong relationship between
customer satisfaction and loyalty is widely known, as are the dramatic financial
benefits of keeping existing customers versus acquiring new ones. I am quoting
the saying of Professor Claes Fornell, Director of the National Quality
Research Center, University of Michigan and Chairman of CFI Group, “as long
repeat business is important and as long as customers have choice, there are no
shortcuts: you have to satisfy your customer or they will find someone else who
will.” Therefore, companies have to pay significant attention on the customer
satisfaction which leads to the customer retention.
There is a famous saying that
“Customer is always Right.” In today’s competitive global market, companies
have to provide the best quality product and other augmented services in order
to satisfy the customers and also to retain them resulting increase in the
profits.
If I compare the Skype product of
Online Chatting Service Software with the MSN or Yahoo Online Chatting Service
Software is almost the same or even the Skype product is slightly on the better
edge but the thing which has made the major difference is the Customer Services
rendered by the MSN and Yahoo Companies, is exemplary. They are achieving
customers’ loyalty by providing them the satisfied services.
Following are the few suggestions for
the Skype Company to excel in this highly competitive global marketplace –
1.
Skype Company should provide the
relevant information readily available to its valued and esteemed customers for
the ease of communication.
2.
Skype Company should initiate the
training programs for the improvement and development of its staff members
specially who are in direct customer contact.
3.
Skype Company should adopt the
proactive approach of handling customers by calling and asking them the
assistance, if needed any.
4.
Significant importance to be given to
the customers.
5.
Customers’ feedback and suggestions
should always be happily accepted and welcomed as it provides you the platform
to understand the customer wants for further improvements.
In the last, I will sum up my review
on the attached article by saying that it is far less costly to keep existing
customers than to win new ones. Loyal customers buy more products and help in
bring in more business by recommending your product to others. So if customer
loyalty is the goal, then the company’s efforts should begin with the knowledge
of what constitutes value to his customers and the market.
Company
should always keep on improvising so as to achieve a greater profitability.
This can be achieved by knowing the market well, i.e. understanding exactly
what the customer needs. By discovering what the customer’s needs, the company
can begin to understand how its products and the services provide value for its
customers leading to the customer satisfaction and resulting in the retention
of the customer.
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