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Introduction
Customer experience defines the feelings and attitudes that consumers are likely to harbor regarding their interaction with the suppliers and providers in their world (De Chernatony & Cottam 2006). Obviously, businesses cannot avoid establishing some form of experience whenever they interact with customers, and this brings out the customer perception. This experience may be either positive or negative and it plays a significant role in determining the future relationship of the customers and the business organizations. Customer experience has many advantages to businesses. For instance, it eases customer acquisition and retention into the business, when applied effectively. The trend is also important in that, it serves as a complex process of ensuring that the needs of customers in business are well addressed, thus helping to facilitate consumer loyalty.
Businesses in the contemporary world have increasingly realized the need of managing customer experience in a manner that will lead to an end-to-end relationship with the customers (Berry 1994). One way by which this has been achieved is through the effective application of enterprise-focused customer experience management.
Positive experiences
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
I have done business with a number of banking services providers, but none of these organizations has ever touched me the way Commonwealth Bank has done. The organization offers a wide range of excellent banking services through which they demonstrate their full commitment to delivering competent services to all its customers (Julian 1994). I have been banking with the facility for over five years now, and I have been pleased by their products and services. Commonwealth Bank is not special to escape the common practices experienced by most banking institutions such as queuing, which is normal in many banking facilities. However, they have adopted effective strategies, to improve such situations and make their services more convenient to their esteemed customers (Sayar 2007). Ranging from the front office customer services to the internal processes, the company has managed to adopt key transformational processes over the years.
I have always found the banks front-line team exceptional in their attempt to create consumer loyalty in business. Front-line workers are the face of the organization and they are the ones whod market it to consumers (Haeckel & Carbone 2003). This reality has not escaped the understanding of the banks management team who have always put effort to ensure their reception is well-represented by the most presentable personnel. Customers entering the facilities are received at the entrance by cheerful staff members hovering around and directed to their various places of interest. The employees are ever attentive and they would listen and understand the needs of their customers, before responding accordingly with the most appropriate actions (Verhoef & Lemon 2009). As if that was not enough, they also sacrifice their time to teach the customers how to use the new facilities offered in the bank, for efficient banking services. Provision of excellent consumer services has been made easy through the effective implementation of attributes such as competence, responsiveness, reliability, and excellent communication skills.
Internet banking is the latest transformation that has brought many benefits to customers (Herington 2009). Ever since its inception, customers have benefitted greatly. In the last year, I have been able to do my banking anytime and from anywhere, provided I have access to the internet. With features such as money manager and bill manager, I can easily access my bank account and execute my payment needs in a more convenient style. More importantly, I can also request my banking statements anytime I wish, through the online statements option. I have found this a quick and more secure manner to manage my finances without having to make any slightest appearance at the bank.
There is also this recently-intercepted feature that notifies customers about every activity that takes place from their accounts, through email and SMS. Apart from being a security advantage, this tool plays a significant role in helping customers to remain updated with every transaction that takes place in their own accounts (Mascarenhas 2006). As I approached the facility to open an account five years ago, I never anticipated a moment in the near future when technology would take us so far enabling us to execute our banking needs at the comfort of our homes or offices. All these services were beyond my expectation as I started utilizing me for my own banking needs.
Recommendations
Commonwealth Bank of Australia is much far beyond other banking institutions in the country, but this should not be used as an excuse for relaxation (Ratnovski 2009). This should, however, be utilized in making extra modifications in the banking sector, to enable the provision of valuable and up-to-standard banking services. More importantly, the facility should also try to adopt a low-cost provider of all its products and services, as one way of making a difference in the banking sector. The bank could be enjoying possession of vast services to the customers, but there is still room for other services that may be lacking in their list of services (White & Nteli 2004). There is also a report that, the bank has already introduced a variety of multichannel technology in some of its branches such as Brisbane, to engage their customers in a direct digital experience. A plan whereby the technology could be made available to the other branches in the shortest period could be a brilliant idea to wound up the overall customer experience in the bank.
Star Electronics
Star Electronics is a top-selling electronics retailer situated at Castlemaine& Some of their products include Projectors, TVs, Video & Digital cameras, Mobile phones, MP3 players, and iPods, among other categories of electronic products. Honestly, I am a great fan of the store and quite a good number of electronics in my house, including the phone I currently use, have been acquired from Star Electronics. The service salespeople in the store are enthusiastic about their work and are ever committed to providing the most superior customer services to their clients (Pilane 2006). More importantly, the store also provides a wide array of customized on sale and after-sales services to all its customers.
My first encounter with the dealers happened about two years ago, following an introduction by a friend of mine who had tried to advise on the best place from where I could always acquire my electronic products, at a fair cost. To confirm it, I went ahead to purchase a DVD player from the premises and true to his words, the price was much fair compared to that of other stores in the region. However, what impressed me most was not the price, but the customer experience strategies applied by the store through its employers.
I think Star Electronics has a great understanding of the role played by customers in their business and this must be the reason why they would make an exceptional effort to ensure that customers are treated in a more gratifying manner. This is evident from my recent encounter with the premises two weeks ago. I was there to return a digital camera I had bought from them a week earlier after it had developed double mechanical problems. The shutter button had unexpectedly become loose and the USB port had failed to function in my system completely, after only two days of operation. Once at the shop, I found it bulging with customers but I was quite impressed to see how everyone behind the counter was willing to serve me. I eventually found myself in the hands of a young lady whose first impression didnt give the right picture of her real personality and I had doubted if she was the right person to help me out. My first look at her gave the impression of a harsh person who will not even have time for petty claims. However, I was mistaken about my perceptions of this lady, but she was the most attentive person I have ever met.
You are welcome to return anything we sell you back to our premises anytime you notice a defect in its normal operations, the lady had cheerfully observed, after listening to my claims. Even though the condition of the camera was not indicated anywhere in the warranty specifications, the camera was booked for repair right away. Meanwhile, I was informed to wait at the reception before the service was over, and here, I was treated with a cup of coffee and a pamphlet about the company products and services, to keep myself busy. The camera was brought back to me in its perfect condition in less than fifteen minutes; I had not even taken two sips of the steaming coffee. They had taken care of the problem for no charge and on top of that, I was given a guarantee to return the camera if the problems presented again. Even though I was convinced that the company would do something about the issue, I had not expected to be treated with a cup of coffee while I was being served and this was indeed beyond my expectations.
Analysis and recommendations
Star Electronics must have realized the fact that customers will never depend on a single business entirely, because they have many options out there in the market, but businesses have every reason to depend on the customers, for their survival (Van Der Wiele 2005, pp. 535). However, as a recommendation, I would advise the store to ensure that all their products are well-serviced before they are brought to customers. This, even though may rarely happen, is enough to tarnish the companys outstanding reputation in the market.
Optus Mobile network operator
We are living in a changing environment where everything is becoming more convenient and transparent in a way that makes life easy for everybody. The global business world is indeed one of the many sectors which have undergone major transformations of late, as companies try to come up with new strategies of attracting and retaining customers in the competitive business environment (Oestmann 2003). The biggest irony here however is that, even though technology has been the driving force behind this transformation, people have become hard to entertain, technologically. No wonder, technology companies are known for their overwhelming disappointments when it comes to customer experiences. Cases of customer complaints as a result of poor customer services have been on the rise recently in the communication sector (Vrijheid & Cardis 2006).
In fact, complaints regarding poor customer experience with mobile network operators have become common in the country. For instance, my service providers Optus have never been up to the desired standards with some of their services. One of the most annoying problems which Optus users are likely to experience every now and then is poor quality connectivity. Personally, I have been a frequent victim of these disappointments. Sometimes, the connection would be unreliable hence forcing me to switch to another network in order to use my phone. An attempt to reach the support team may not bear any fruit or maybe the feedback would not be effective in solving the problem. Moreover, just like other network providers in the country, Optuss business location doesnt cover all the regions in the country and this makes it useless in some parts, especially in the rural areas.
Analysis and recommendations
Despite their status as a leading company, Optus falls short in the provision of its services (McClatchey 2006). Some of these experiences pose overwhelming communication challenges to their subscribers, thus diminishing the companys reputation in one way or another. In that case, the company should try to improve their services to continue gaining the favor of its customers. The company should also ensure that its support team is well-equipped with the right public relations skills and attributes, to be able to understand the issues presented to them regularly by the customers and address them appropriately. Another key customer relationship management strategy that the network provider could apply is to extend their business locations to those locations where they are missing.
List of References
Berry, D 1994, Supply chain management in the electronics products industry, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, vol. 24 vol. 10, pp. 20-32.
De Chernatony, L & Cottam, S 2006, Internal brand factors driving successful financial services brands, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 40 no. 5, pp. 611-633.
Haeckel, S & Carbone, L 2003, How to lead the customer experience, Marketing Management, vol. 12 no. 1, pp. 34.
Herington, C 2009, E-retailing by banks: e-service quality and its importance to customer satisfaction, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 43 no. 12, pp. 18-23.
Julian, C 1994, The role of customer-contact personnel in the marketing of a retail banks services, International Journal of Retail & Distribution, vol. 13 no. 23, pp. 24-29.
Mascarenhas, O 2006, Lasting customer loyalty: a total customer experience approach, Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 23 no. 7, pp. 397-405.
McClatchey, S 2006, The consumption of mobile services by Australian university students, International Journal of Mobile Marketing, vol. 1 no. 1, pp. 1-9.
Oestmann, S 2003, Mobile operators: Their contribution to universal service and public access, Intelecon Research, vol. 12 no. 3, pp. 17-25.
Pilane, T 2006, Recycling consumer electrical and electronic equipment, Australia, The University of Southern Queensland.
Ratnovski, L 2009, Why are Canadian Banks More Resilient? New York, International Monetary Fund.
Sayar, C 2007, Internet banking market performance: Turkey versus the UK, International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 25 no. 3, pp. 122-141.
Van Der Wiele, T 2005, Mystery shopping: A tool to develop insight into customer service provision, Total Quality Management, vol. 16 no. 4, pp. 529-541.
Verhoef, P & Lemon, K 2009, Customer experience creation: Determinants, dynamics and management strategies, Journal of Retailing, vol. 85 no. 1, pp. 31-41.
Vrijheid, M & Cardis, E 2006, Validation of short term recall of mobile phone use for the Interphone study, Occupational and environmental medicine, vol. 63 no. 4, pp. 237-243.
White, H & Nteli, F 2004, Internet banking in the UK: Why are there not more customers? Journal of Financial Services Marketing, vol. 9 no. 1, pp. 49-56.
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