Extraordinary Customer Service Is One

Extraordinary Customer service is one of the most important elements associated with a successful business. Over the less few years there has been a greater emphasis placed on customer service and its relationship to customer loyalty. The purpose of this discussion is to provide a case study with a SWOT analysis of the how industry has utilized the customer service position to gain customer loyalty and what actions or plans were taken to accomplish organizational goals.

Customer Service and customer loyalty

Indeed industry has long used customer service positions to gain the loyalty of customers. There are different customer service philosophies that are embraced as it relates to different types of businesses. For instance, in the airline industry where the differences between routes and prices can be nominal companies usually focus on customer service to gain the loyalty of customers. This means that an airline with good customer service will pay close attention to the manner in which customers are treated while they are in the system (Arogyaswamy & Simmons, 1993).

Overall industry has utilized the customer service position to gain customer loyalty by anticipating the needs of customers and supplying those needs.

As it relates to the plans or actions that were take to meet organizational goals, it appears that many organization have simply determined that they will make customer service a priority and in doing so they are able to better meet their organizational goals. Such has been the case with Sprint Nextel Corp. which instituted a customer service policy that speeds up the wait time for customers and even allows them to make reservations (Kukec, 2005). This type of initiative gives the company the type of competitive advantage that is needed for the attainment of its goals (Kukec, 2005).

SWOT Analysis

Strengths. The strengths of industry as it relates to customer service are as follows;

The ability to attract customers and develop customer loyalty/Competitive advantage-this strength lies in the fact that customers are more apt to seek the products or services of a company repeatedly if they believe that they were treated fairly. In addition, good customer service creates a competitive advantage. Jones (2000) explains that "Competitive advantage can be gained through customer service management (CSM) when implemented as a comprehensive approach to centering the organization on the customer. To be successful in the CSM strategy, each area of an organization must see that, directly or indirectly, achieving its objectives contributes to the customer's overall experience with the organization (Jones (2000)."

The capacity for business growth as goals are met- if customer service is good loyal customers will begin to tell others about the company and the products and services that are available through the company (Bielski, 2002). When this occurs profit could increase and many goals can be met.

Weaknesses. The weaknesses of industry as it relates to customer service are as follows;