A customer is a person who comes to your organization in pursuit of satisfying his/her needs/wants. He/she is the person who uses the service or products we produce in an organization. That means, if there are no customers, no need for our organization to exist.

Customer care is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.

It is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation.

Customer care is more directly important in some roles than others.

For receptionists, gate-keepers, medical staff and other employees in customer-facing roles, customer care should be a core element of their job description and training, and a core criterion when you’re recruiting new staff.

Customer satisfaction occurs when the perceived service by the customer exceeds the expected service. The customer will be satisfied if and only if the service consumed has met his/her intended desire (wants/needs).

Frequently training on customer care to employees is very important to assure that the organization will continue to improve on customer care, and therefore remain competitive in the industry.

incorporate the 4C’s, which stand for

customer experience,

conversation,

content, and

collaboration.

Look at them as pillars that hold your client service together. Working on these components in unison and actively managing them will transform your business.

The services provided should match with customers’ needs/wants. Provide what customers want or need.

The price should match the value of service provided. The price should not be too low or very high.

The reliability and efficiency in providing the services. How efficient are you in providing the services on timely basis?

The professionalism, friendliness and expertise of the medical staff are very important towards satisfying customers.

Providing timely and relevant information to customers (patients) who visit the organization.

Loyal customer – is the type of customer who has built a long trust with the organization, it is very difficult for him/her to switch to another suppler, and for example, a customer who is loyal to Aga Khan Hospital cannot easily switch to Muhimbili National Hospital.

It is very easy to retain this kind of customer by showing and recognizing their support to the organization.

They will ambassadors of the organization to others, in such situation; it will be easy for the organization to attract new customers.

Discount customer – he/she is a price sensitive.

This type of customer will buy the services if and only if the price is considerably lower.

For example, some patients will not go to a certain hospital because of the high price of the services, sometime it does not mean they do not have money but they are just price sensitive.

In Tanzania some hospitals charge Tzs 5000 as an admission fee while others charge up to Tzs 30,000

In a general context, the following are some of other types of customers;

Need-based customers; are driven by a specific need, this customers buy for a specific need.

Wandering customers; also called window shoppers, they might not even be looking for a specific product. These customers are enjoying the shopping experience itself

Impulse customers; the best customers to upsell to and are the second most attractive segment after loyal customers to focus on.

Put customer needs first.

Clarify the customer’s goals and roadblocks.

Prioritize quality over quantity.

Engage customers with genuine interest and enthusiasm.

Create accessible, omnichannel (a way for brands to promote their products or services across multiple channels and devices using unified messaging, visuals and offers) support options.

Troubleshoot collaboratively(solving problems by working together as a team)

Ask for feedback and learn from customers.

Price points. Customers are more concerned than ever about price.

Reliability & Sustainability. People need to trust that the product they’re getting will last long

Risk Reduction

Usability & Convenience

Transparency

Control and options.

Empathy & Friendliness

Information.

Ensure customer satisfaction.

This will reduce the number of complaints from customers.

The organization may attract new customers.

The organization will be able to retain the existing customers.

It is the great source of customer loyalty and trust from customers.

A good relationship with society may be established.

Society may continually provide support to the organization.

Reduce the costs of handling unsatisfied customers.

Handling many customers’ complaints need time, energy and financial resources, and therefore it is considered to be too costly to the organization.

N-QUIZ???