Log in
Finance
1
answer
0
watching
52
views

You have all experienced good and bad customer service. Tell us about a good experience and a bad experience. How did you react to the experience? What did these experiences tell you about the company?

Many companies have tried to build relationships with you from sending you emails to asking you to join their Twitter account. Building relationships with customers is important for business. What works for companies in building relationships? How would you go about building relationships?

Watch
1
answer
0
watching
52
views

For unlimited access to Homework Help, a Homework+ subscription is required.

Jamar Ferry
Jamar FerryLv2
28 Sep 2019

Unlock all answers

Get 1 free homework help answer.
Already have an account? Log in
Share

Related questions

2. Get ready

Read the following conversation that Sharon Rodriguez, assistant in the Finance Department, and Derek Opazo, tour developer for the Americas, are having about what Derek can do to increase reservations for his tours.

1

Sharon: I looked up the results of recent studies on some travel trade association Web sites. Adventure Travel magazine also had a couple of great articles about tour sales.

Derek: Interesting. What did they have to say?

2

Sharon: According to one survey I found, right now you could work on building your relationships with existing customers. Current customers are more likely to take another tour with us than new customers, especially if they have a personal connection to the company.

Derek: So I should personally contact customers that have already taken one of my tours.

3

Sharon: That sounds like it might be helpful in the short term. Anything else?

Derek: Oh, I don’t know. People just don’t want to travel right now. They’re nervous about the economy.

4

Sharon: Why do you think reservations are declining for your tours?

Derek: I’m not really sure. I think I need to expand my mailing list and send out a fresh batch of brochures to new prospects.

5

Sharon: Yeah, that’s what a lot of people think. I did some research to find out if that’s the case throughout the travel industry.

Derek: Really? What kind of research did you do?

6

Sharon: I’m actually going to write a brief report on what I found, but overall, customers report that they are waiting to see what happens with the economy before spending money on travel. The good news is that they are delaying their plans, not abandoning them.

Derek: That’s good to know. So people expect to start traveling again in the near future.

7

Sharon: When they have a good sense of their future finances, our typical customers say that they will start traveling again. Also, when they start traveling again, customers will be looking for high-value experiences like the adventure and cultural tours that you develop.

Derek: Really? But what should I do right now?

8

Sharon: Exactly. That means a lot of phone calls, but you are likely to get good results. Also, people say they are looking for value—they want extra services and special experiences, not just the usual guided tours. Biking, diving, sailing, and surfing are fairly popular.

Derek: That means I need to update my tours.

9

Sharon: Right. Updating your tours will take some time, but when you do, they’ll stand out from the competition.

Derek: I guess I need to get busy. Thanks for all the helpful information.

3. Now you try it

In the following space, reorganize the conversation according to the guidelines in the “Working with Problem Owners and Stakeholders” lesson.

Click here to reorganize the conversation. You can list each part of the conversation in order as identified by number. For example, if part 7 comes first following by part 2, list 7, 2, etc.

home / study / business / finance / questions and answers / keeping the customers satisfied shelly sanders ... Your question has been answered Let us know if you got a helpful answer. Rate this answer Question: Keeping the Customers Satisfied Shelly Sanders has... Bookmark Keeping the Customers Satisfied Shelly Sanders has just been promoted to supervisor of the home furnishing department of the large department store where she works. The store manager made it clear to her that her first challenge was to turn around the poor performance of the department, particularly in sales, which were below budget, and customer satisfaction. The department receives more complaints than any other in the store (although it rates about average in the chain). Dissatisfied customers contribute to a poor reputation in the community, which translates into poor sales. Shelly decides she needs to learn about the department’s current customers and find out how they feel about purchasing from it. Her first move is to check the department’s information on repeat business. There is none. Next, she hunts out the department’s customer suggestions and complaints records to analyse and finds a notebook of scrawled customer comments and queries- all negative. Wondering how valid the information is, but realising she probably won’t find anything better, she draws up a check sheet to break down complaints and suggestions by frequency and type. Then she transfers the data onto Pareto charts and finds that the most common cause of customer dissatisfaction is problems with the delivery of furniture customers have ordered. On investigation, she finds that, when furniture is ordered, the manufacturer quotes a lead time, which sales staff pass on to their customers. The manufacturer is often late with delivery. In turn, manufacturers often blame their suppliers for late delivery of raw materials, However, because the store has no tracking system, the first the staff in the furnishings department hear of a problem is when customers ring up to complain that their order is overdue and ask when they can expect delivery. The staff then have to search through back orders, check with suppliers to find out the new delivery date and ring the customer back. This is time consuming and creates ill will between customers and the store. It’s also difficult for the staff to find the time to track down late orders, since their priority is meant to be serving customers and ensuring the display area is well presented. (Reference: Cole,K (2010).Management: theory and practice) Based on this case study, assume you are a customer service staff and answer the following questions: Outline the concept of internal and external customers; provide examples using this case study. List the internal and external customer’s needs of the home furnishing department. Outline how you will identify the customer’s needs? Identify the causes for the customer service problem in the home furnishing department. Provide suggestions to improve the customer service at home furnishing department. “Quality customer service adds value”. Using this case study as an example, discuss this statement. Develop policies and procedures to avoid any delay in delivering furniture to customers. Explain how you will ensure customer’s requirements are met? Provide a strategy. What lessons can you learn from this case study?

Scenario Description:

Overview: James Pratt has just been tasked with handling international clients. He needs to close a deal with Norio Tokunaka from PopWear that has already been thoroughly worked out with Michael’s predecessor, Roger Small. Michael is unaware of the need to establish a relationship with Norio before he discusses business. Norio becomes disenchanted and refuses to sign the deal.

Profile:

James Pratt is the Director of Foreign Sales at Mustang Jeans, a U.S. company. After working at Mustang as a real estate attorney for six years, acquiring property for retail and manufacturing, Michael moved into sales at an executive level.

James is very much a no-nonsense straight-ahead kind of guy. He is friendly, but not big on small talk. He fits the stereotypical American businessman in many ways: informal, a little loud, all about money, very direct and forthright. Michael’s career has centered in national sales—this is his first foray into international business. Mustang Jeans is reorganizing to increase efficiency. All managers are now assuming larger territories.

Norio Tukunaka has worked at PopWear, a large Japanese retail clothing chain for his entire career. He has also been working with American companies for many years, importing a variety of products. Most of these American companies are alliances that were formed by Norio’s superiors, many years before. All of Norio’s accounts are pre-existing accounts as opposed to newly created accounts. This year, PopWear is expanding its contemporary clothing line, which includes adding new suppliers and new brands.

In his current position as Vice President of Merchandising, Norio is responsible for expanding the contemporary clothing line, which includes adding new suppliers and brands for PopWear’s 36 stores throughout Japan.

Norio has been working on a deal with Michael’s associate Roger Small for a very long time. Michael has just taken over this region. Roger’s report indicates that the Norio account is a done deal, with only logistics and details remaining. Michael and Norio are having their first meeting.

Scene Set-up: Norio arrives at Michael’s office after arriving from Japan.

Scene Location: Michael’s office at Mustang Jeans corporate headquarters in the U.S.

The Meeting - Summary: Michael spends less than a minute building rapport with Norio. He then begins to talk about signing the deal that had been previously worked out with Michael’s associate Roger. Norio wants to continue to talk about good Japanese food and seems insulted that Michael doesn’t like eel. Michael continues to press for the deal but Norio is very evasive.

Michael then gets interrupted by his assistant notifying him of his next appointment. He apologizes to Norio about the short amount of time that he has to spend with him.

3 Days Later – Norio comes back and Michael apologizes for the prior meeting. When asked to sign the deal again, Norio suggests that he’s been talking to other companies in the past few days in New York. He doesn’t commit to the deal and says he’d enjoy hosting Michael in Japan and hopes they can maintain their relationship. He leaves before signing the deal to catch a plane.

Afterthoughts – Summary: Michael notes his frustration with the interaction. He acknowledges that he should have waited for Norio to start talking about the deal first. He understands that Japanese businesspeople place a high priority on relationships but also points out that he didn’t have a long time to devote to small talk when it was unclear whether Norio was going to sign the deal or not.

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW!!!!!!!!!!!! THANKS


1. How did the differences between Japan’s and the United States’ national cultural values affect communication between Norio and Michael?

2. What information should Michael have possessed before meeting with Norio?

3. Why is Norio acting somewhat evasive with his responses? What is Norio hinting [when he mentions that Roger likes sushi]?

4. What could Michael have done better in the second meeting to continue the business relationship?

5. How can business communicators effectively learn more about different cultures? Should business communicators memorize isolated facts (e.g., a culture’s typical greeting or attitude toward punctuality) or try to create a more holistic picture?

6. Besides broad cultural values and differences, what other main factors often vary between cultures and may have influenced the interaction between Michael and Norio?

7. Despite their many differences, do Michael and Norio share some common goals? If so, what are these goals and how might Michael have used some persuasive communication techniques to emphasize these shared goals?

8. What can business communicators do to enhance their cross-cultural communication skills?

Weekly leaderboard

Home
Homework Help 3,900,000
Finance 370,000
Start filling in the gaps now
Log in