TABLE OF CONTENTS:

TITLE
Objective What is customer loyalty? What is customer satisfaction? Need for studying customer loyalty Requirements Network operators under consideration Sample questionnaire Data analysis Findings Conclusion Journals

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3 4 5 7 8 9 15 17 24 25 26

OBJECTIVE: TO CHECK CUSTOMER LOYALTY AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN VIEW OF THE SERVICE QUALITY PROVIDED.

WHAT IS CUSTOMER LOYALTY?

The term customer loyalty is used to describe the behavior of repeat customers, as well as those that offer good ratings, reviews, or testimonials. Some customers do a particular company a great service by offering favorable word of mouth publicity regarding a product, telling friends and family, thus adding them to the number of loyal customers. However, customer loyalty includes much more. It is a process, a program, or a group of programs geared toward keeping a client happy so he or she will provide more business. Customer loyalty can be achieved in some cases by offering a quality product with a firm guarantee. Customer loyalty is also achieved through free offers, coupons, low interest rates on financing, high value trade-ins, extended warranties, rebates, and other rewards and incentive programs. The ultimate goal of customer loyalty programs is happy customers who will return to purchase again and persuade others to use that company's products or services. This equates to profitability, as well as happy stakeholders. Customer loyalty may be a one-time program or incentive, or an ongoing group of programs to entice consumers. Buy-one-get-one-free programs are very popular, as are purchases that come with rebates or free gifts. Another good incentive for achieving customer loyalty is offering a risk free trial period for a product or service. Also known as brand name loyalty, these types of incentives are meant to ensure that customers will return, not only to buy the same product again and again, but also to try other products or services offered by the company. Excellent customer service is another key element in gaining customer loyalty. If a client has a problem, the company should do whatever it takes to make things right. If a product is faulty, it should be replaced or the customer's money should be refunded. This should be standard procedure for any reputable business, but those who wish to develop customer loyalty on a large-scale basis may also go above and beyond the standard. They may offer even more by way of free gifts or discounts to appease the customer.

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY CUSTOMER SATISFACTION?

Customer satisfaction refers to the extent to which customers are happy with the products and services provided by a business. Customer satisfaction levels can be measured using survey techniques and questionnaires. Customer satisfaction, on the other hand, is how the customer feels about the service they receive and the company that provided it. This is your customer's perception and emotional response, and you have no direct control over it. It is harder to measure and even harder to improve. (From Journal 1) Gaining high levels of customer satisfaction is very important to a business because satisfied customers are most likely to be loyal and to make repeat orders and to use a wide range of services offered by a business. There are many factors which lead to high levels of customer satisfaction including: Products and services which are customer focused and thence provide high levels of value for money. Customer service giving personal attention to the needs of individual customers. After sales service - following up the original purchase with after sales support such as maintenance and updating (for example in the updating of computer packages). What is clear about customer satisfaction is that customers are most likely to appreciate the goods and services that they buy if they are made to feel special. This occurs when they feel that the goods and services that they buy have been specially produced for them or for people like them. This relates to a wide range of products such as razors that are designed for ease of use and good quality finish, petrol products that are environmentally friendly and customized to meet the needs of particular types of engines, etc.

What is the Value of Greater Customer Loyalty?

Loyalty behavior is worth almost any effort unless it is achieved by deep price cutting or major promotional giveaways that destroy profits. Loyalty is so valuable because it has a huge impact on market share. It is undeniable that each customer who switches from Telecom Operator A to Telecom B raises Telecom Operator B's market share and lowers Telecom Operator A's market share. In most markets there is a fairly high degree of this brand switching or "churn". Churn is a pool of potential customers that smart competitors pursue. Established repeat customers may often generate superior profit margins. They require less customer care, have less price sensitivity, need fewer advertising and promotional inducements; they refer their family and friends to your brand and so on.

If Loyalty is the Objective, why is it Necessary to Work on Customer Satisfaction?

Loyalty behavior is the RESULT or OUTCOME of very high satisfaction. What has to be worked on and improved is SATISFACTION. As customers become more satisfied they start to take on some loyalty attitudes. In managing a loyalty program it makes most sense to consider loyalty attitudes to be part of customer satisfaction. All your efforts in this field need to be directed at winning more favorable customer attitudes so you can get more loyalty behavior. Don't spend your time trying to "improve" loyalty behavior, it's just the result. It's a metric. Spend you time improving the root causes of customer satisfaction and that will create loyalty behavior outcomes.

NEED FOR STUDYING CUSTOMER LOYALTY

With cut-throat competition in the telecom sector, and new entrants every passing year, how can the network providers survive? The answer is by creating loyalty. Loyalty comes when a customer feels connected with the brand, or when there is a sense of belonging, or when the customer feels privileged to be a part of the brand. This trust can be converted into more market share. But how can loyalty be obtained? This sense of belonging will come only when the customer is satisfied with the network operator. The customers feel satisfied only when all their needs have been fulfilled. When does a customer feel satisfied (in view of telecom industry)? A customer is satisfied when: The promises made before purchase are fulfilled. The network quality is good. The customer enjoys the option of a wide range of services like sms, mms, email, etc. The operator provides good customer care service. The operator provides pocket friendly plans. But do all networks fulfill these needs? Are the customers satisfied? Is there actually a relationship between customer loyalty & customer satisfaction? To address all these questions we conduct a survey to test customer satisfaction in the Delhi circle.
The only way to get a true assessment of satisfaction is to ask the customer.(From journal 1)

REQUIREMENTS
Analysis of the existing information available for the networks under study. A survey for finding out the current trends and relevant information. Analyzing the data obtained with help of statistical graphs and charts. Journals on customer satisfaction. Material available on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty from internet and books like Marketing Management by P.Kotler. One of the biggest requirements, although not material would be the truthfulness of the respondents. Customer bias can lead to biased results.

NETWORK OPERATORS UNDER CONSIDERATION:

BHARTI AIRTEL

Telecom giant Bharti Airtel is the flagship company of Bharti Enterprises. The Bharti Group, has a diverse business portfolio and has created global brands in the telecommunication sector. Bharti has recently forayed into retail business as Bharti Retail Pvt. Ltd. under a MoU with Wal-Mart for the cash & carry business. It has successfully launched an international venture with EL Rothschild Group to export fresh agri products exclusively to markets in Europe and USA and has launched Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Ltd under a joint venture with AXA, world leader in financial protection and wealth management. Airtel comes to you from Bharti Airtel Limited, Indias largest integrated and the first private telecom services provider with a footprint in all the 23 telecom circles. Bharti Airtel since its inception has been at the forefront of technology and has steered the course of the telecom sector in the country with its world class products and services. The businesses at Bharti Airtel have been structured into three individual strategic business units (SBUs) Mobile Services, Airtel Telemedia Services & Enterprise Services. The mobile business provides mobile & fixed wireless services using GSM technology across 23 telecom circles while the Airtel Telemedia Services business offers broadband & telephone services in 94 cities. The Enterprise services provide end-to-end telecom solutions to corporate customers and national & international long distance services to carriers. All these services are provided under the Airtel brand.

VODAFONE-HUTCH

Vodafone Essar in India is a subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc and commenced operations in 1994 when its predecessor Hutchison Telecom acquired the cellular licence for Mumbai. Vodafone Essar now has operations in 21 circles with over 56.70 million customers*. Over the years, Vodafone Essar, under the Hutch brand, has been named the Most Respected Telecom Company, the Best Mobile Service in the country and the Most Creative and Most Effective Advertiser of the Year. Vodafone is the worlds leading international mobile communications company. It now has operations in 25 countries across 5 continents and 40 partner networks with over 280 million customers worldwide. Vodafone has partnered with the Essar Group as its principal joint venture partner for the Indian market. Essar Global Limited (EGL) is a diversified business group spanning the manufacturing and services sectors of Steel, Energy, Power, Communications, Shipping & Logistics, and Projects. The group has operations and investments in India, Canada, USA, Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean and South East Asia and employs 30,000 people worldwide.

RELIANCE TELECOM

Reliance Communications is the flagship company of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) of companies. Listed on the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange, it is Indias leading integrated telecommunication company with over 60 million customers. Our business encompasses a complete range of telecom services covering mobile and fixed line telephony. It includes broadband, national and international long distance services and data services along with an exhaustive range of value-added services and applications. Our constant endeavor is to achieve customer delight by enhancing the productivity of the enterprises and individuals we serve. Reliance Mobile (formerly Reliance India Mobile), launched on 28 December 2002, coinciding with the joyous occasion of the late Dhirubhai Ambanis 70th birthday, was among the initial initiatives of Reliance Communications. It marked the auspicious beginning of Dhirubhais dream of ushering in a digital revolution in India. Today, we can proudly claim that we were instrumental in harnessing the true power of information and communication, by bestowing it in the hands of the common man at affordable rates. We endeavor to further extend our efforts beyond the traditional value chain by developing and deploying complete telecom solutions for the entire spectrum of society.

TATA TELESERVICES LTD

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Communications is the Tata Groups largest investment and the Groups objective is to provide end-to-end telecommunications solutions for business and residential customers across the nation, and internationally. The Groups communications activities are currently spread primarily over four companiesTata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) and its associate Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited (TTML), Tata Communication (erstwhile VSNL) and Tata Sky. Together, these companies cover the full range of communications services, including: Telephony Services: Fixed and Mobile Tata Teleservices is part of the INR Rs. 2, 51,543 Crore Tata Group that has over 80 companies, over 3, 30,000 employees and more than 3.2 million shareholders. With a committed investment of INR 36,000 Crore (US$ 7.5 billion) in Telecom (FY 2006), the Group has a formidable presence across the telecom value chain. Tata Teleservices spearheads the Groups presence in the telecom sector. Incorporated in 1996, Tata Teleservices was the first to launch CDMA mobile services in India with the Andhra Pradesh circle. Having pioneered the CDMA 2000 technology platform in India, Tata Teleservices has established a 3G-ready robust and reliable telecom infrastructure in partnership with Motorola, Ericsson and Lucent. The company has also received the license from the Department of Telecommunications to launch GSM services as well. With this launch set for early 2009, TTSL is on the threshold of emerging as a true-play dual technology telecom operator. Some of the other products launched by the company include prepaid wireless desktop phones, public phone booths, new mobile handsets and new voice and data services such as BREW games, voice portal, picture messaging, facebook, M commerce applications, polyphonic ring tones, interactive applications like news, cricket, astrology, etc.

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IDEA

IDEA Cellular is a publicly listed company, having listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in March 2007. As India's leading GSM Mobile Services operator, IDEA Cellular has licenses to operate in all 22 Service Areas. Presently, operations exist in 13 Service Areas covering the states of Delhi, Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Uttaranchal, Haryana, UP, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Kerala, Bihar & Jharkhand. With a customer base of over 30 million, IDEA Cellular's footprint currently covers approximately 80% of India's telecom population. Services in Tamilnadu and Orissa before end of financial year '08-'09. A frontrunner in introducing revolutionary tariff plans, IDEA Cellular has the distinction of offering the most customer friendly and competitive Pre Paid offerings, for the first time in India in an increasingly segmented market.

Customer Service and Innovation are the drivers of this Cellular Brand. A brand known for their many firsts, Idea is only operator to launch GPRS and EDGE in the country. Idea has received international recognition for its path-breaking innovations when it won the GSM Association Award for "Best Billing and Customer Care Solution" for 2 consecutive years

MTNL
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Mahanagar

Telephone Nigam

Limited (NYSE: MTE)

is

an Indian

Government-

ownedtelephone service provider in the cities of Mumbai, Thane, New Delhi, and Navi Mumbai in India. The company was a monopoly until 2000, when the telecom sector was thrown open to other service providers. MTNL provides fixed line internet telephones, services cellular connection of

both GSM Dolphin(Postpaid) FW And Garuda-Mobile and

and Trump (prepaid)

and WLL (CDMA)

Garuda-

through dialup and DSL Broadband

internet TriBand. MTNL has also started Games on demand, video on demand and IPTV services in India through its Broadband Internet service called Triband. Phone numbers belonging to MTNL start with the prefix 2 infixed line telephonesand WLL & in GSM Mobile servises its start from 9869/9969/9868/9968. MTNL also provides other services such as VPN,Internet Telephony- VOIP and leased lines through BSNL and VSNL. MTNL has been actively providing connections in both Mumbai and New Delhi areas and the efficiency of the company has drastically improved from the days when one had to wait years to get a phone connection to now when one can get a connection in even hours. Preactivated Mobile connections are available at many places across both Metros. MTNL has also unveiled very cost-effective Broadband Internet access plans (TriBand) targeted at homes and small businesses. At present MTNL enjoy's the largest of the market share of ISP services in Mumbai and Delhi.

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***SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE***

SHRI RAM COLLEGE OF COMMERCE

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEY

NAME AGE SEX PHONE NO. :___________________________ :___________________________ : M F

:___________________________

MOBILE CONNECTION :___________________________ PAYMENT PLAN : PREPAID POSTPAID

MONTHLY EXPENDITURE ON MOBILE: LESS THAN 500 1000.1500 500-1000 1500 OR MORE
QUESTIONS Q1. On a scale of1-5, how much would you rate your network

operator? (1=bad234..5=excellent) Q2. On a scale of 1-5, how helpful is the customer care service? (1=bad234..5=excellent) Q3. Have you ever been disturbed by mindless ads, to buy ring tones, pictures, etc. In the past 6 months? Yes No

Q4. Have you registered with the national do not call (NDNC) service provided by the network operator? Yes No

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Q5. If yes, what was the result. No more pesky calls Less telemarketing calls but problem persists No change Q6. Compared to other networks, what would you say that your connection is.. Better Almost same Worse

Q7. Will you purchase this mobile connection again? Yes No Maybe

Q8. How likely are you to recommend it to others? Will recommend Not recommended Maybe

Q9. In the next 12 months, how likely are you to replace your network provider with another one? Will change Wont change Not sure

Q10. Have you ever been misled by your network operator i.e. providing incomplete information, changing plans without informing, etc.? Quite often Once or twice Never

Q11. Did the provider stick to its promises, after you purchased the connection? Yes No

Q12. On a scale of 0-5, how would you rate your usage among the following services? (0=no usage12345=maximum usage) Calls Sms Other services THANK YOU

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DATA ANALYSIS
GENERAL INFORMATION 18 out of 20 users wee in the age bracket of 18-21 years. Majority of the respondents have Airtel and Vodafone numbers, both of them being established players in the market. The number of prepaid users was more than postpaid users. In the chart below we can see that maximum no. of respondents have monthly expenditure between Rs.500-1000 & Rs.1000-1500 bracket.

MONTHLY MOBILE EXPENDITURE(IN %)

10 15 35 Less than 500 500-1000 1000-1500 1500 or more 45

SPECIFIC INFORMATION

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Q1. On a scale of1-5, how much would you rate your network

operator? (1=bad234..5=excellent)

USER SATISFACTION WITH NETWORK 5% 20% 10%

1=BAD 2 3 4 5=EXCELLENT

25%

40% 40% of the users think that their network is good (i.e. rating of 4),20 % think that their network is excellent & only 5% think that their network is really bad. Q2. On a scale of 1-5, how helpful is the customer care service? (1=bad234..5=excellent) USER SATISFACTION WITH CUSTOMER CARE SERVICE 0% 11% 26% 16%
1=BAD 2 3 4 5=EXCELLENT

47% Majority of the users i.e. 47% have access to just average customer care service (i.e. a rating of 3). None of the users surveyed has experienced excellent customer care service (i.e. rating=5).

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Q3. Have you ever been disturbed by mindless ads, to buy ring tones, pictures, etc. In the past 6 months?

10%

YES

NO

90%

The verdict is clear i.e. a whopping 90% of the respondents have been affected by ads and spam messages.

Q4. Have you registered with the national do not call (NDNC) service provided by the network operator?

45% 55%
YES NO

Majority of people i.e.55% have not registered for National Do Not Call service. While those who have registered comprise 45%. 18

Q5. If yes, what was the result.

22%

22%

No more irritating calls Less calls but problem persists No change

56% Out of the 9 respondents who had registered for NDNC service, 56% believed that marketing calls had been reduced, but still there was more to be done. Q6. Compared to other networks, what would you say that your connection is..

20% 35%
Better Alm ost sam e Worse

45% Majority believes that all the networks are almost same. While a significant 35% believe that their network is actually better than other networks. 19

Q7. Will you purchase this mobile connection again?

30%

35%
Yes No Maybe

35% We have mixed results here, therefore no clear winner.

Q8. How likely are you to recommend it to others? 25% 40%

Will recom mend Not recom mended Maybe

35% 40% users are likely to recommend their network operator to others and an almost equal percentage i.e.35% may not recommend it.

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Q9. In the next 12 months, how likely are you to replace your network provider with another one?

30%

35%
Will change Won't change Not sure

35% The results are mixed here, as a result there is no clear majority.

Q10. Have you ever been misled by your network operator i.e. providing incomplete information, changing plans without informing, etc.?

25% 35%
Quite often Once or tw ice Never

40%

40% i.e. a majority of users have been duped by the operator atleast once. 21

Q11. Did the provider stick to its promises, after you purchased the connection?

30%

Yes

No

70%

Majority i.e. 70% believe that they have got a fair deal from the operator and all the promises have come true.

Q12. On a scale of 0-5, how would you rate your usage among the following services? (0=no usage12345=maximum usage)

As expected we find that maximum users use their mobiles for calling only. Next in usage comes SMS service. The last position is taken by other services like MMS, GPRS, etc.
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FINDINGS
60% of the users are happy with their network and are likely to show loyalty to the operator by recommending it to others. Customer service is not something network operators in Delhi circle can boast about, as a majority of people experienced just average customer care service. 90% of the people are affected by spam messages and the problem is common to all networks. Hence the solution does not lie in changing the no. Registering with NDNC service may lower the no. of telemarketing calls but it has not been completely effective. 45% people believe that the quality of their network is the same as others, while 35% people believe that their network is better. This indicates that the customers are biased towards their own network, and this loyalty may be converted into more market share by the referrals provided by the customer. 35% people are likely to recommend their own network to others, which is in sync with the 35% people above who believe their network is superior. This clearly proves that customer satisfaction may lead to customer loyalty, which in turn means growth for the operator. Almost the same percentage i.e. 30 % people are likely to buy the connection again. When we see the group of customers who have been duped by the network operator, we find that 65% people have been duped at least once. But again we notice a group of 35% people who have not been misled by the operator and hence are satisfied.

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CONCLUSION
From the above findings, it is very clear that all the customers who have been satisfied by the network operators by ways of providing better network, better customer care, better services, and etc.have turned loyal to the operator. The customer satisfaction has been converted into customer loyalty. This conversion is very important as these days customers are known to change numbers every 6 months. This will greatly reduce the number of people dumping the connection and at the same time increase the number of new buyers, as the loyal customers also act as an agent for word of mouth publicity (Journal 2). Hence all the network operators should avoid dissatisfying customers as it involves huge losses (Journal 3).

JOURNAL 1
Friday, August 11, 2006

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Leading Edge

Moving from customer service to customer satisfaction

Jacksonville Business Journal - by Harold Resnick

Companies often use the term customer service and customer satisfaction interchangeably, but they are very different. Customer service is what an organization provides to its customers and is relatively easy to measure. Typical measures include response time, time required to provide service, ability to address a customer's issues on the first call, procedures for handling customer complaints or returns, etc. Customer service is important and companies should examine all the ways in which they touch their customer, the service they provide and their measures to continuously improve that service. Customer satisfaction, on the other hand, is how the customer feels about the service they receive and the company that provided it. This is your customer's perception and emotional response, and you have no direct control over it. It is harder to measure and even harder to improve. The only way to get a true assessment of satisfaction is to ask the customer. This is best done through independent parties employing customer surveys. When designed well and conducted honestly, customer surveys are a very valuable tool. Unfortunately, they are often manipulated by company managers who are under pressure to deliver a prescribed level of customer satisfaction. The classic example of a manipulative customer survey is what is given to passengers at the end of most cruises. The captain and senior staff bring the passengers into the auditorium on the last night, hype up the excellent job each of them has done, tell the passengers how critical their response is to their survey and that anything less than a nine on a 10-point scale is considered bad. The expectations are preset, and a combination of manipulation, coercion and guilt is used with the passengers. The purpose is not to get real feedback; it is to give their corporate management the scores that they have been required to achieve. Most companies assume there is a direct relationship between customer service and customer satisfaction, which is often the case. But there is no guarantee that good customer service will create high customer satisfaction. Good technical service delivered with an attitude can leave a customer dissatisfied. Timely replacement of a defective product can be listed as good customer service, but the customer may still be unwilling to trust your company with future business. The reverse is also true. Difficult situations can be converted into extraordinary customer satisfaction if the customer is handed with care and sensitivity. Some companies train

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employees in how to use poor service issues as an opportunity to turn a situation around and create a raving fan. The ultimate measure of both customer service and customer satisfaction is customer loyalty. An excellent new book titled "The Ultimate Question" by Fred Reichheld describes customer loyalty, how to measure it and how to achieve it. Reichheld suggests you ask customers two core questions: Would you do business with this company again, and would you recommend them to your friends? Strong "yes" responses to both questions define loyalty. Ask these questions to a hundred of your customers. Take the total of all the yes responses, subtract the total of all the "no" responses and create your customer loyalty index. To achieve customer loyalty, a company must have a senior management team that genuinely wants to know and improve customer service and satisfaction with a sincere commitment to developing customer loyalty. This often requires a cultural change, and all the elements that create culture must be aligned. These include:
A powerful vision that is translated into specific goals for employees and suppormechanisms to

help achieve those goals, A measurement and monitoring system, and Aligned reward and recognition systems.

Employees cannot implement changes if they do not know what the consequences of their actions generate -- they need to know how customers react and feel about what they are doing. Finally, the organization must have a culture based on honesty, openness and trust. Feedback will be delivered or received openly only if there is no fear that the messenger will be killed. Companies that drive short-term business results at the expense of their customers usually end up with short-term lives. Companies that deliver legendary customer service also enjoy legendary performance and business results.

Harold Resnick is a Jacksonville-based organizational development consultant and author of "Sustainable Breakthrough Results." hal.resnick@comcast.net |

JOURNAL 2
Friday, October 5, 2007

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Focus on Sales

Best referrals come from making sure customer is satisfied

Orlando Business Journal - by Dave Rothfeld

Some people think of me as a savvy marketer, but I try to be a no-nonsense fellow who insists that everything must pass the very difficult "good sense" test. Strong sales are built on a foundation of solid marketing, but it is good referrals that lead to the best sales. But most salespeople may be shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to obtaining the right type of referrals -- those that lead to getting the order. Customers quickly toss out a few names just to get the salesperson off the phone or out the door, but even the neophyte sales representative realizes these 'referrals' are nothing more than cold calls. A story in the Wall Street Journal talked about how expensive techniques for controlling the spread of disease in hospitals, day care centers and health care facilities failed to produce the desired results. Nothing seemed to work very well in controlling infection until someone made sure the workers started washing their hands regularly. It was the most obvious solution, but was overlooked. You can't ask for referrals, you must earn them. Most salespeople are taught to go after referrals at the wrong time. They seek names from the customer as soon as the order is signed. Good referrals come at particular moments and savvy salespeople make sure they are in the right place at the right time to catch the diamonds when they start falling from the table. Good referrals come about at those moments when the customer is particularly pleased with either a company's service or the performance of its product. They're so pleased, sometimes even excited, that they are ready to tell the world about you and your company. This is the time to ask for a referral because the customer is motivated to go to work for you. You've got to catch the customer at the right time in order to get reliable referrals. When a security system deters a break-in, a good salesperson would follow up to make sure the customer is satisfied. After a false alarm, the salesperson uses this opportunity to review with the customer suggestions for avoiding false alarm activity. These referral opportunities are often missed because salespeople fail to take advantage of them. Creating a referral climate is quite easy, although it takes work and continuous attention. A referral moment opportunity is created when the customer is pleased, delighted, satisfied or particularly appreciative.

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For example, there is the insurance representative who works closely with insurance companies so he can deliver checks covering losses within 24 to 48 hours. Or, the auto repair shop that has a loaner car waiting for customers when they arrive to drop off their vehicles for repairs. When customer satisfaction is at its peak that is the time that the salesperson should be talking about referrals. Satisfying the customer can be accomplished if you do these things.

Do everything you told the customer you were going to do. Stay in close touch with the customer after the sale. Follow up when there has been a problem. Suggest new solutions to problems; don't wait for the customer to ask. Check to see if everything is going planned.

It is while working closely with the customer at just the right moments that the referral moments are felt. What salespeople must do is develop what I like to call a feel for referrals. The real referral test comes when a customer spontaneously talks to an associate about your product or service. These referrals fit perfectly into the consultative selling strategy of salespeople working in any field. The salesperson who delivers the customer's car to the door after it is serviced, sends a powerful message that will produce great referrals. This is another example of the referral principle. The best referrals come from satisfaction, not a signature on a contract. It's very basic. This is why it works.

Dave Rothfeld is a sales, service and management consultant, and founder of Creative Sales + Management Inc. He can be reached at (407) 660-6688 or via e-mail at dave@csm4tqs.com.

JOURNAL 3
Friday, August 31, 2007

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World-Class Selling

Don't repeat seven deadly sins of customer service

Poor customer service is making headlines these days. We have all read about the shock waves from the recent Sprint/Nextel "firing" of their customers who complained too much via a now infamous severance letter. Recent surveys have highlighted the worst customer service offenders, and the public outcry over the Chicago landmark Marshall Field's conversion to Macy's has been well publicized. A lot of attention is being paid to the fact that customer satisfaction seems to have fallen to the bottom of the list of priorities for many companies today. Are those companies paying attention to all the press? In a marketplace as competitive as ours, it's a wonder so many companies choose to treat their customer like the enemy. Can dropping of a few hundred "high maintenance" customers compensate for an ineffective customer service procedure? Is it the customers who are in need of improvement -- or is it the companies? In a recent statement, a well known CEO of a Fortune 500 company said his job would be easy if it weren't for having to deal with customers. What if every business "fired" customers they didn't want to deal with? Imagine if your mechanic dropped you because your car had too many problems. What if your local grocery store started locking the door when they saw you coming because you kept asking for items they didn't have or had to special order? It sounds absurd but this is, in essence, the approach that companies like Sprint/Nextel have taken. More and more, businesses are simply choosing not to put the time, money and effort into improving what isn't working. They want a quick fix and they want the difficult people and their problems to go away. Unfortunately, when the customers go away, so do the profits. No company can expect to be profitable when customers have been treated as expendable and bad press is all the press they seem to be getting. No matter how much money is spent trying to help needy customers, it's insignificant compared to lost future business because of a poor customer service procedure. This is especially true for publicly held companies. While these firms have an important financial responsibility to their stockholders, they cannot escape the fact that without a strong customer base, their stock is not going to be worth much. Without effective sales, marketing and customer-service procedures in place, new customers can't be cultivated and the existing ones will be alienated. When we see a breakdown of customer service effectiveness within a company, it's usually because they are committing one or several of what I call the "seven deadly sins of customer service." They are:

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1. It is not company policy. The truth is, the customer doesn't care if it is company policy. The customer has a problem and it needs to be taken care of. 2. That is not my department. Again, the customer doesn't care if it's your department. When you receive a complaint, you need to own it. The customer wants the problem solved and for someone to take responsibility. Following through is the only way to ensure the customer's complete satisfaction. 3. Not listening to understand. Many times the customer feels the service rep is not listening. Even though the rep may be hearing the customer's words, he or she is failing to comprehend the customer's feelings. How the customer feels is far more important than the facts. 4. There's nothing I can do. There is always something that can be done, even if it's only to effectively communicate to the customer that there really is nothing you can do. When that is communicated properly, however, the customer will know that someone cares and that person tried to offer solutions. 5. That is not correct. The No. 1 rule in customer service is that the customer is always right. If you think the customer is wrong, refer again to the No. 1 rule. 6. Tell me again. Customers resent having to explain their problems several times, to several people, in a long, drawn-out effort to get satisfaction. Many times the frustration caused by this becomes more of a problem than the original problem itself. 7. Prove it. When you tell the customer to prove it, what you're saying is, "We don't trust you and we assume you're either incompetent or lying" and yet companies ask customers to trust them to take care of the problem. If the customer has to be trustworthy and competent, so does the company. Take the recent outcry in Chicago over the changeover of historic Marshall Field's to Macy's. Customers asked, among other things, for the name of the store to remain the same, to continue to carry some of the same brands and to, above all, retain the level of customer service which has placed Marshall Field's at No. 2 in customer service among department stores nationally. Macy's parent company's response? An accommodation that included keeping the Marshall Field's signature mints and bringing in a few celebrities for the Macy's grand opening. Not surprisingly, according to The Wall Street Journal, polls of Midwest shoppers indicate that, based on the name change alone, nearly 20 percent of the existing Marshall Field's customers don't plan to shop at the new store. If they can't trust that their requests will be met or that the company will be honest with them, why would customers be motivated to shop there? Companies who continue to make the top 10 "worst" customer-service lists and who alienate customers have a limited shelf life. Just like the top 10 worst list, there is also a top 10 "best" customer-service list. Those companies are eager to help and serve customers their competitors have relinquished, because they understand that a happy customer is a repeat customer. They also know that word-of-mouth produces better advertising than any ad campaign ever could --

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and it's far cheaper than trying to resurrect a positive public image once the damage has been done.

ROY CHITWOOD is an author and consultant on sales and customer service. He is the former president and chairman of Sales & Marketing Executives International and is president of Max Sacks International, Seattle, 800-488-4629, www.maxsacks.com. If you would like to subscribe to his free Tip of the Week, "You're on Track," please e-mail contact@maxsacks.com.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

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http://jacksonville.bizjournals.com/ http://www.airtel.in/ http://vodafone.in/

www.rcom.co.in/ www.ideacellular.com/

http://mtnldelhi.in/
www.tataindicom.com/

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