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UnderstandingCustomerRequirements

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1ListeningtoCustomersThroughResearch

1.1UsingMarketingResearchtoUnderstandCustomerExpectations

Findingoutwhatcustomersexpectisessentialtoprovidingservicequality,andmarketingresearchisakeyvehicleforunderstandingcustomerexpectationsandperceptionsofservices,Inservices,aswithanyoffering,afirmthatdoesnomarketingresearchatallisunlikelytounderstanditscustomers.Afirmthatdoesmarketingresearch,butnotonthetopicofcustomerexpectations,mayalsofailtoknowwhatisneededtostayintunewithchangingcustomerrequirements.Marketingresearchmustfocusonserviceissuessuchaswhatfeaturesaremostimportanttocustomers,whatlevelsofthesefeaturescustomersexpect,andwhatcustomersthinkthecompanycanandshoulddowhenproblemsoccurinservicedelivery.Evenwhenaservicefirmissmallandhaslimitedresourcestoconductresearch,avenuesareopentoexplorewhatcustomersexpect.

Oneofthebiggestchallengesfacingamarketingresearcherisconvertingacomplexsetofdatatoaformthatcanbereadandunderstoodquicklybyexecutives,managers,andotheremployeeswhowillmakedecisionsfromtheresearch.Forexample,databasemanagementisbeingadoptedasastrategicinitiativebymanyfirms,butmerelyhavingasophisticateddatabasedoesnotensurethatthefindingswillbeusefultomanagers.Manyofthepeoplewhousemarketingresearchfindingshavenotbeentrainedinstatisticsandhaveneitherthetimenortheexpertisetoanalyzecomputerprintoutsandothertechnicalresearchinformation.Thegoalinthisstageofthemarketingresearchprocessistocommunicateinformationclearlytotherightpeopleinatimelyfashion.Amongconsiderationsarethefollowing:

Whogetsthisinformation?

Whydotheneedit?

Howwilltheyuseit?

Doesitmeanthesamethingacrosscultures?

Whenusersfeelconfidentthattheyunderstandthedata,theyarefarmorelikelytoapplyitappropriately.Whenmanagersdonotunderstandhowtointerpretthedata,orwhentheylackconfidenceintheresearch,theinvestmentoftime,skill,andeffortwillbelost.

1.2UsingMarketingResearchInformation

Conductingresearchaboutcustomerexpectationsisonlythefirstpartofunderstandingthecustomer,eveniftheresearchisappropriatelydesigned,executed,andpresented.Aservicefirmmustalsousetheresearchfindingsinameaningfulway–todrivechangeorimprovementinthewayserviceisdelivered.Themisuse（orevennonuse）ofresearchdatacanleadtoalargegapinunderstandingcustomerexpectations.Whenmanagersdonotreadresearchreportsbecausetheyaretoobusydealingwiththeday-to-daychallengesofthebusiness,companiesfailtousetheresourcesavailabletothem.Andwhencustomersparticipateinmarketingresearchstudiesbutneverseechangesinthewaythecompanydoesbusiness,theyfellfrustratedandannoyedwiththecompany.Understandinghowtomakethebestuseofresearch–toapplywhathasbeenlearnedtothebusiness–isakeywaytoclosethegapbetweencustomerexpectationsandmanagementperceptionsofcustomerexpectations.Managersmustlearntoturnresearchinformationandinsightsintoaction,torecognizethatthepurposeofresearchistodriveimprovementandcustomersatisfaction.

Theresearchplanshouldspecifythemechanismbywhichcustomerdatawillbeused.Theresearchshouldbeactionable:

timely,specific,andcredible.Itcanalsohaveamechanismthatallowsacompanytorespondtodissatisfiedcustomersimmediately.

1.3UpwardCommunication

Insomeservicefirms,especiallysmallandlocalizedfirms,ownersormanagersmaybeinconstantcontactwithcustomers,therebygainingfirsthandknowledgeofcustomerexpectationsandperceptions.Butinlargeserviceorganizations,managersdonotalwaysgettheopportunitytoexperiencefirsthandwhattheircustomerswant.

Thelargeracompanyis,themoredifficultitwillbeformanagerstointeractdirectlywiththecustomerandthelessfirsthandinformationtheywillhaveaboutcustomerexpectations.Evenwhentheyreadanddigestresearchreports,managerscanlosetherealityofthecustomeriftheynevergettheopportunitytoexperiencetheactualservice.Atheoreticalviewofhowthingsaresupposedtoworkcannotprovidetherichnessoftheserviceencounter.Totrulyunderstandcustomerneeds,managementbenefitsformhands-onknowledgeofwhatreallyhappensinstores,oncustomerservicetelephonelines,inservicequeues,andinface-to-faceserviceencounters.Ifgap1istobeclosedmanagersinlargefirmsneedsomeformofcustomercontact.

2BuildingCustomerRelationships

2.1RelationshipMarketing

Relationshipmarketingessentiallyrepresentsaparadigmshiftwithinmarketing–awayfromanacquisitions/transactionfocustowardaretention/relationshipfocus.Relationshipmarketing（orrelationshipmanagement）isaphilosophyofdoingbusiness,astrategicorientation,thatfocusonkeepingandimprovingrelationshipswithcurrentcustomersratherthanonacquiringnewcustomers.Thisphilosophyassumesthatmanyconsumersandbusinesscustomersprefertohaveanongoingrelationshipwithoneorganizationthantoswitchcontinuallyamongprovidersintheirsearchforvalue.Buildingonthisassumptionandthefactthatitisusuallymuchcheapertokeepacurrentcustomerthantoattractanewone,successfulmarketersareworkingoneffectivestrategiesforretainingcustomers.

Ithasbeensuggestedthatfirmsfrequentlyfocusonattractingcustomer（the“firstact”）butthenpaylittleattentiontowhattheyshoulddotokeepthem（the“secondact”）.IdeasexpressedinaninterviewwithJamesL.Schorr,thenexecutivevicepresidentofmarketingatHolidayInns,illustratethispoint.IntheinterviewhestatedthathewasfamousatHolidayInnsforwhatiscalledthe“buckettheoryofmarketing.”Bythishemeantthatmarketingcanbethoughtofasabigbucket:

Itiswhatsales,advertising,andpromotionprogramsdothatpoursbusinessintothetopofthebucket.Aslongastheseprogramsareeffective,thebucketstaysfull.However,“There’sonlyoneproblem,”hesaid,“there’saholeinthebucket,”Whenthebusinessisrunningwellandthehotelisdeliveringonitspromises,theholeissmallandfewcustomersareleaving.Whentheoperationisweakandcustomersarenotsatisfiedwithwhattheyget,however,peoplestartfallingoutofthebucketthroughtheholesfasterthantheycanbepouredinthroughthetop.

Thebuckettheoryillustrateswhyarelationshipstrategythatfocusesonpluggingtheholesinthebucketmakessomuchsense.Historically,marketershavebeenmoreconcernedwithacquisitionofcustomers,soashifttoarelationshipstrategyoftenrepresentschangesinmindset,organizationalculture,andemployeerewardsystems.Forexample,thesalesincentivesystemsinmanyorganizationsaresetuptorewardbringinginnewcustomers.Thereareoftenfewer（ornot）rewardsforretainingcurrentaccounts.Thus,evenwhenpeopleseethelogicofcustomerretention,theexistingorganizationalsystemsmaynotsupportitsimplementation.

Relationshipvalueofaconceptorcalculationthatlooksatcustomersfromthepointofviewoftheirlifetimerevenueand/orprofitabilitycontributionstoacompany.

Thelifetimeorrelationshipvalueofacustomerisinfluencedbythelengthofanaverage“lifetime,”theaveragerevenuesgeneratedperrelevanttimeperiodoverthelifetime,salesofadditionalproductsandservicesovertime,referralsgeneratedbythecustomerovertime,andcostsassociatedwithservingthecustomer.Lifetimevaluesometimesreferstolifetimerevenuestreamonly;butmostoftenwhencostsareconsidered,lifetimevaluetrulymeans“lifetimeprofitability.”

Ifcompaniesknewhowmuchitreallycoststoloseacustomer,theywouldbeabletoaccuratelyevaluateinvestmentsdesignedtoretaincustomer.Onewayofdocumentingthedollarvalueofloyalcustomersistoestimatetheincreasedvalueorprofitsthataccrueforeachadditionalcustomerwhoremainsloyaltothecompanyratherthandefectingtothecompetition.ThisiswhatBain&Co.hasdoneforanumberofindustries,Thepercentageofincreaseintotalfirmprofitswhentheretentionorloyaltyraterisesby5percentagepoints.Theincreasesaredramatic,rangingfrom35to95percent.Theseincreaseswerecalculatedbycomparingthenetpresentvaluesoftheprofitstreamsfortheaveragecustomerlifeatcurrentretentionrateswiththenetpresentvaluesoftheprofitstreamsfortheaveragecustomerlifeat5percenthigherretentionrates.

Withsophisticatedaccountingsystemstodocumentactualcostsandrevenuestreamsovertime,afirmcanbequitepreciseindocumentingthedollarvalueandcostsofretainingcustomers.Thesesystemsattempttoestimatethedollarvalueofallthebenefitsandcostsassociatedwithaloyalcustomer,notjustthelong-termrevenuestream.Thevalueofword-of-mouthadvertising,employeeretention,anddecliningaccountmaintenancecostscanalsoenterintothecalculation.

Theemphasisonestimatingtherelationshipvalueofcustomershasincreasedsubstantiallyinthepastdecade.Partofthisemphasishasresultedfromanincreasedappreciationoftheeconomicbenefitsthatfirmsaccruewiththeretentionofloyalcustomer.（OurStrategyInsightforthischapterdescribeswaysthatfirmsexplicitlydemonstratethisappreciationtocustomer.）Interestingly,recentresearchsuggeststhatcustomerretentionhasalargeimpactonfirmvalueandthatrelationshipvaluecalculationscanalsoprovideausefulproxyforassessingthevalueofafi