Companies try to manage customer expectations by communicating their capabilities, by way of their salespeople and other, non-human channels such as websites. One oft-recommended method is to promise the customer less than the firm is capable of producing, then delighting the customer by over-delivering. But is this a smart strategy? Research published in the Journal …
When flights are cancelled or a noisy party disturbs hotel guests, financial compensation is an effective and often-used salve to sooth aggrieved customers. Still, some firms try to avoid paying compensation, while others pay too little or not enough to achieve the customer satisfaction impact they seek. A new paper in the Journal of Service …
E-commerce platforms such as Amazon offer essentially anything and everything a person could want or need within a few clicks of the mouse, or a few taps on a smartphone. Yet despite all of the convenience of online shopping, customers are not physically able to interact with the products prior to making a purchasing decision. …
Complaints and negative customer feedback certainly get our attention as service providers. Current research mostly focuses on addressing the consequences of negative customer feedback, but is positive customer feedback just as important to influence customer behavior and service outcomes? An article in the Journal of Services Marketing explores this question. In it, author Linda Nasr …
The current historically low employment rate may signal a strong economy, but managers and HR professionals know that there is a flip side: a growing shortage of talent to fill available jobs. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), companies are trying to fill 7 million jobs right now, but only 6.3 million …
Welcome to the CSL’s “ServiceFriday”. Each Friday we post three summaries from some of our favorite sources from research literature, news articles, blogs, and more. The posts are curated to cover topics that are interesting, relevant, and thought provoking in the realm of service, business, education, and beyond. This Week’s ServiceFriday Posts: March 29, 2019 …
“There is no such thing as a free lunch.” That adage tells us that there is always some sort of cost attached to a complimentary service. In the case of free service offerings, customers will bear with elements such as advertising and interruptions in order to enjoy the basics of a particular service as long …
Since mobile technologies and apps have become a core element in people’s daily lives, branded apps have become an essential marketing communication channel to attract new customers and to enhance customers’ brand loyalty. Apart from acquiring users to download the app, it is even more valuable to persuade your customers to use the app continuously. …
“…customers are more satisfied with failed service encounters when they are aware the employee was reprimanded.” This research paper by Pugh et al. proposes a new and very cost-effective approach to mediate service recovery. To be effective, however, corrective actions must be performed in a very specific way: “One of the challenges associated with employee …
Customer Success in the Age of Data – Partnering with Customers for Mutual Success Customer Success (CS) is a new concept helping companies find ways to retain customers and maximize revenues in a business environment characterized by big data, changing modes of consumption and new business models. The latest white paper produced by the CSL, along …
