Customer Service Practitioners Association (CUSPA), an independent assessment organisation, set to bridge the gap between customers and service providers in preparation for its debate tagged “Which function is responsible for the customers experience?” met with marketing professionals from various sectors in the service industry to understand some of marketing issues that affect the customers’ experience.
This stems from the fact that consumers now believe that the age of patronising a business because of product satisfaction is long gone. Customers are also looking for service providers that are prepared and equipped to meet their emotional needs. There is a feel-good factor in the customer buying behaviour that service providers underplay, which is a major determinant of the customers experience. The debate is billed for June 26, in Lagos.
A major take out from the interviews is that most service providers make the mistake of thinking that marketing is just about product, but marketing is more, it is everything that the customer encounters when it comes to business, from advertising, to what they hear, to the customer service that they receive, to the follow-up care that organisations provide. It’s all marketing and creating the decision based on service experience within the customer, whether or not to choose you initially or for repeat business. Management and marketing executives must have this consciousness to enable them come up with marketing strategies and decisions that focuses on the customers’ experience.
Uloma Umeano, president of CUSPA, speaking on the effects of marketing on the customers’ experience, said “we find situations where marketing staff in a bid to close sales promise all sorts of magical services to the customer which they never experience. Marketing will get the customers to the door, but will your service keep them there? Will your service create loyalty and dedication to do business with you on an ongoing basis? Marketing and customer service is like milk and honey, and must be effectively aligned to maximise the customer’s experience.”
Anne Agbaje
