Activity 1

Q1 what is a customer and who are the customers for your

organization?
Ans.Everyone in the organization is customer .Internal customer service must be of high
quality so that service to external customers reflects the internal working of the
organization .This applies whether your external customers are end users /consumers or on
seller.

Q2.Why is it necessary for organization to investigate, identify, assess and

include the needs of clients /customers in planning processes and how can
they do this?
Ans. Successful organizations are customer driven. They can spend time and effort finding
out who their customers and what the needs, wants and expectations of their customers are.
The market can determine what the manufacturer producers or the retailers sells and
information collected from customers provides the basis for the focus for all organization
activities.
They can go directly to your customers for the information you need-for up to date
information, at customer priorities likes and dislikes, purchasing intensions, value you should
offer to customers.
Internal and external client /customer data helps the organization discovers new opportunities
verify the extent of a problem, better understand how products and services are used, prevent

problems that impact the client/customer, and priorities work. Understanding customer needs
helps define new market opportunities and drive innovation and revenue growth every aspect
of the organization.

Q3 Develop and document on behalf of an organization for which you do or

might work a detailed process whereby it will be possible to investigate
,identify, assess and include the needs of customers in planning process.
Answer. Customers needs must be properly identified, assessed planned for and catered
for .This means that when developing business, strategic and operational plans ,the focus
must be on the client /customers and meeting client needs.
1.Identify the benefits associated with your products and determine the ways in which these
will or can be made to meet customers needs.
2. The reason why customers buy are usually logical from their product from the point of
view, and might on the surface not make much sense to you. Most buying dicecisions are
multi caused and sometimes the decisions seem trivial.
2. Customers but when they want to, not necessarily when you want then to.Analysing
customers and their purchase can sometimes allow you to determine buying patterns that you
can use t o provide opportunities for sales.

Activity 2
Q1 How can quality ,time and cost requirements be balanced?
There are three factors in product development that remain in constant tension:
Cost, quality, and time. For the sake of this discussion, quality shall mean the
Number of features a product is to have, and their depth, usability, and polish.
The cost of a given project is usually computed by enumerating its features, and
The time it will take to implement them. Likewise, the number of features and
their depth of quality and usability are limited by finances and time. The amount
of time a project will take is a direct result of the feature set, and the amount of
money the company is willing to spend. Since these factors have a direct
relationship, when you attempt to adjust any one of them, the other two feel the
effect. You cant reduce the cost without sacrificing features or deadlines. You
cant increase features without incurring extra costs and time spent. You cant
reduce time to meet a market window without reducing features or increasing
costs.
Decision makers have an unsavory habit of trying to own all three factors, leaving
product developers to make bricks without straw. When decision makers dictate
the cost, the feature set, and the market window, developers are left to try to
make it all fit but without any of the controlling factors under their power.
Oftentimes decision makers dont have all the information available to dictate
these three factors, but attempt to do it anyway. Developers know this, and it
leaves them in a disgruntled state. The assertion that those morons in
management dont have a clue is a common complaint. Sometimes it comes

from this issue.

Everyone likes to control the cost factor because it is the easiest one to see the
effect on bottom-line profitability. Product features and time windows are less
tangible and require work to make the connection. Product features are most
important to people closest to customers because solving their needs makes
them happy and results in good bonuses. If our product doesnt have a spinning
weasel we wont make the sale! Clearly those folks like to control the quality
factor. Time is usually the last deciding factor. Given a budget and a list of
requirements, time-to-market is usually the last factor to be explored
.If our product doesnt have a spinning weasel we wont make the sale! Clearly those folks
like to control the quality factor. Time is usually the last deciding factor. Given a budget and a
list of
requirements, time-to-market is usually the last factor to be explored. A fair balance is to let
decision makers control two of the factors while
development controls the third.
This gives development the power to resolve the equation. To be fair, everybody needs to
understand and accept the powers they are giving up, and the ones they are retaining. These
decisions are largely driven by the vision for the project. For instance, if the vision is to meet
a critical market window or fixed event, then it may be necessary to give up features, or to
hire more people to do the work. Regardless of the scenario, giving the
development people power over one factor frees them to adjust their mode of
operation to make the project a success. http://www.stdtime.com/whitepapers/cost-qualitytime-choose-two.pdf

Q2 Exlplain what a CRMS is and why it is important to business success.

Why is it necessary to build relationships with customers and how will a
CRMS contribute toward managing quality,time and cost requirements?
Customer relationship management (CRM) is a widely-implemented strategy for
managing a companys interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves
using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes
principally sales activities, but also those for marketing, customer service, and technical
support. The overall goals are to find, attract, and win new clients, nurture and retain those
the company already has, entice former clients back into the fold, and reduce the costs of
marketing and client service.Customer relationship management describes a company-wide
business strategy including customer-interface departments as well as other
departments.Measuring and valuing customer relationships is critical to implementing this
strategy.

Customer Relationship management is the strongest and the most efficient approach in maintaining and creati
relationships with customers. Customer relationship management is not only pure business but
also ideate strong personal bonding within people. Development of this type of bonding drives
the business to new levels of success.
Once this personal and emotional linkage is built, it is very easy for any organization to identify the
actual needs of customer and help them to serve them in a better way. It is a belief that more the

sophisticated strategies involved in implementing the customer relationship management, the

more strong and fruitful is the business. Most of the organizations have dedicated world class tools for
maintaining CRM systems into their workplace. Some of the efficient tools used in most of the
renowned organization are BatchBook,
Salesforce, Buzzstream, Sugar CRM etc.
Looking at some broader perspectives given as below we can easily determine why a
CRM System is always important for an organization.
1. A CRM system consists of a historical view and analysis of all the acquired or to be
acquired customers. This helps in reduced searching and correlating customers and to
foresee customer needs effectively and increase business.
2. CRM contains each and every bit of details of a customer, hence it is very easy for
track a customer accordingly and can be used to determine which customer can be
profitable and which not.
3. In CRM system, customers are grouped according to different aspects according to the
type of business they do or according to physical location and are allocated to
different customer managers often called as account managers. This helps in focusing
and concentrating on each and every customer separately.
4. A CRM system is not only used to deal with the existing customers but is also useful
in acquiring new customers. The process first starts with identifying a customer and
maintaining all the corresponding details into the CRM system which is also called an
Opportunity of Business. The Sales and Field representatives then try getting
business out of these customers by sophistically following up with them and

converting them into a winning deal. All this is very easily and efficiently done by an
integrated CRM system.
5. The strongest aspect of Customer Relationship Management is that it is very costeffective. The advantage of decently implemented CRM system is that there is very
less need of paper and manual work which requires lesser staff to manage and lesser
resources to deal with. The technologies used in implementing a CRM system are also
very cheap and smooth as compared to the traditional way of business.
6. All the details in CRM system is kept centralized which is available anytime on
fingertips. This reduces the process time and increases productivity.
7. Efficiently dealing with all the customers and providing them what they actually need
increases the customer satisfaction. This increases the chance of getting more business
which ultimately enhances turnover and profit.
8. If the customer is satisfied they will always be loyal to you and will remain in
business forever resulting in increasing customer base and ultimately enhancing net
growth of business.
In todays commercial world, practice of dealing with existing customers and thriving
business by getting more customers into loop is predominant and is mere a dilemma.
Installing a CRM system can definitely improve the situation and help in challenging the new
ways of marketing and business in an efficient manner. Hence in the era of business every
organization should be recommended to have a full-fledged CRM system to cope up with all
the business needs.
http://www.managementstudyguide.com/importance-of-crm.htm

Activity 3
Q1 Detail the methods and procedures that are or might be used by your
organization to communicate with customers /clients in order to identify
and agree on product /service specifications.

Ans Customer profiling will also provide valuable information to be used in identifying
customer needs and designing products and services to meet customer specifications.
1: Beware of interrupting
Be careful about interrupting others, particularly your customers. Theyll be especially upset
if, while theyre explaining a problem, you interrupt them and start offering a solution. If you
feel you have to interrupt, at least cut to the chase and tell the other person what you think his
or her main idea was. That way, the other person at least can confirm or correct you, and in
either case save time.
2: Listen actively
Did you ever get the feeling, when talking to someone, that you were really talking to a wall?
The person may have heard you but gave no indication of it at all. Avoid doing the same
thing. When communicating with others, its just as important that people be aware that
youre listening as it is that youre actually listening. For that reason, be involved with and
react to what the other person is saying, either via a nod, or an I see, or a paraphrase of the
other persons statements. Youll strengthen your own understanding and make a better
impression.
3: Avoid negative questions

Suppose you say to a customer, You dont have Word installed? and he answers Yes.
What does he mean? Yes, youre right, Word is not installed? Or yes, he DOES have Word
installed?
Asking a negative question creates confusion. Its clearer if you phrase the question positively
(e.g., Do you have Word installed?) or ask an open-ended question (What applications do
you have installed?). If you must use the negative, try a question such as Am I correct that
you dont have Word installed?
4: Be sensitive to differences in technical knowledge
Chances are, your customers have less technical knowledge than you do. Be careful,
therefore, when explaining things to them. If you use acronyms, be sure you identify what the
acronym means. The same acronym can mean different things, even in an IT context (for
example, ASP can refer to application service provider or active server page). Be careful
that you dont make two opposite mistakes: either talking over their head or talking down to
them. Keep your eyes on customers when you talk to them and be alert to cues indicating that
they dont understand. Ask them whether they understand what youre saying, if necessary.
5: Use analogies to explain technical concepts
A good way to explain a technical idea is to use an analogy. Though they have limitations,
analogies are helpful in explaining an unfamiliar idea in terms of a familiar one. One of the
best analogies I ever heard compared a firewall to a bank teller. When you enter a bank, you
dont just go into the vault and get your money. Instead, you go to a window, where the teller
verifies your identity and determines that you have enough money. The teller goes to the
vault, brings it back to the window, gives it to you, and then you leave.
6: Use positive instead of negative statements

Your customers are more interested in your capabilities than in your limitations. In other
words, theyre interested in what you can do, rather than what you cant do. The way you say
things to them influences how they perceive you and your department. You, as an IT
department or individual, can be seen as a roadblock or you can be seen as a partner. So, for
example, instead of saying, I cant help you unless you log off, consider saying, Please log
off so that I can help you. Your statements often will be easier to understand as well.
Heres another reason to avoid negative statements. Have you ever experienced gaps of
silence in your telephone calls, where the conversation breaks up? Usually it happens when
using a cell or a VoIP telephone. If the gap occurs as youre saying not, your recipient could
get the opposite message from what you intended.
7: Be careful of misinterpreted words and phrases
Sometimes we say something with innocent intent, but the other person misinterprets it. We
mean to say one thing, but our pronunciation or inflection causes us to convey something
else. For example, in Chinese, the sound ma said in a high level tone means mother in
law. However, said in a falling and rising tone, it means horse.
Be especially careful of the word you. Overusing this word can make the person youre
talking to feel defensive or threatened. Instead of saying, You need to speak louder, try
saying, Im having trouble hearing. Another issue involves the dual meaning of you.
Unlike other languages, English uses the same word to refer to an actual person (for example,
the person youre talking to) as well as to a hypothetical person. Suppose you said to
someone, You never know whats going to happen next, and meant to equate you with
people in general. The other person might think youre referring to him or her specifically
and take offense. A better alternative might be, Its really unpredictable here.

If someone is upset, one of the worst things to say is calm down. It might work one half of
one percent of the time, but generally all it does is make things worse.
In general, think before you speak. Im not saying you always have to be polite or diplomatic.
Sometimes you do need to (figuratively, of course) beat people up. However, do consider the
alternatives before speaking. As the proverb goes, He who guards his mouth and his tongue
keeps himself from calamity.
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-ways-to-communicate-more-effectively-withcustomers-and-co-workers/207

Q2 Explain what a business plan is and why it is important to have a

business plan that focuses on customer service.
Ans A business plan is a statement and description of the business goals and objectives the
reasons why reasons why they are believed to be attainable and outline of the strategies that
will be followed to reach those long and short term.
Outputs relate directly to the organization outcomes of customers satisfaction. Customer
satisfaction is the only true measure of organizational success. The product /service produced
by the organization must therefore meet customers needs as indentified and specified in the
business plan.

Activity 4
Make a list of the steps you would take and the processes you would put in
place to identify the quality and delivery standards to which teams should
adhere and to manage team performance so that it consistently meets
organizational quality and deliver standards .Against what criteria might you
measure performance and what action would you take if performance did not meet the
identified standards ?
Answer :By setting and making plants it is possible to track and to manage performance.

Goal setting gives purpose and direction to actions .Goals must be supported by pland which
outline the strategies to be followed for achevemnet .They help team members follow through
and achieve their targets and goals to self monitor and self mange their performance.
Identifies and anticipates the needs of clients, delivers services that meet and exceed client
expectations and commits to continuous improvement in planning, process and services

Action plans.
1.Break large goals down into small achievable ,measurable steps.

2. Enable team members to clarify the actions they must take

3. Define and clarify customer services goals ,objectives and standards
4. Define sales targets
5.Identify the time frames ,millstones and deadlines for completion of various objectives.
6 Identify the personnel to be involved in achieving the goals.
7. Specify the various roles of team members
8 Identify the resources needed to achieve objectives
9.Identify reporting procedures and expected outcome.

10Understands the level of service required of their role

11Follows established procedures and guidelines for customer service
12Is committed to meeting customer needs
13Keeps customer needs as primary focus and responds to client queries in a polite manner
even under situations of high pressure
14Learns and understands service delivery standards and aims

Activity 5
Q1 One of your colleagues has been having difficulty providing the
customer service levels that are required in your organization. You have
observed this and have noted that this person is not making the number of
sales they should make. what action do you think you might take?

Answer When assisting colleagues to overcome difficulty in meeting customers service

standards the provision of training ,coaching and mentoring or the provision of other
learning activities ,it is advisable to determine what each learners individual learning
preferences are.

Then I will talk to my Employee to implement more training to my colleague which will
be more suitable to his current problem.

Q2A colleague has asked you to coach them in the provision of good
customer service techniaues.Explain how you would go about doing this .

Answer

Always remember that when dealing with any customer, client or visitor to

your workplace it is a golden opportunity to deliver or provide that person with a sense of
personal satisfaction. Every successful business from local corner stores to high turnover
corporate companies generally strive to satisfy and deliver what the customer wants. The
secret to successfully manage this is to understand and put into practice a number of tried
and true customer services techniques.
You will find that there are a massive amount of books and reading material available on
customer services techniques, training courses and all sorts of spin doctor advice about
service delivery and methods on what to do or not do to improve customer service.
The following key basic customer service techniques outlined in this article are provided to
help you to deliver exceptional customer service and to assist in making your clientele feel
valued and happy to want to deal with you or your business.
Engaging with your customer
One of the key principles in providing good customer relationships is to build a rapport and
trust with your customer. This can be done in various ways but one of the best customer
service techniques successfully used these days is to engage the customer in friendly
conversation by introducing yourself by name and where appropriate asking theirs. This
indicates to the customer that you are interested in them and what they want. The customer
has chosen your business for a reason so always be polite, ask relevant questions and be
genuinely interested in what the customer has to say by listening and making eye contact if
you can. By showing a genuine interest and being friendly the customer is more likely to
respond in a positive manner and develop confidence with you. A customer will sense that
you are not genuinely interested and it will become more difficult for you to build a rapport.
1)Find out what the customer wants

A customer will generally know what they want, some customers may be confused and
others may be unsure on how or where to find something. Your primary role is to first and
foremost help the customer by guiding and assisting them to get what they want. The best
customer service technique is to politely converse with the customer and when the ice has
broken and the customer is relaxed ask relevant questions and listen to the answers as this
will help you to assist the customer in getting what they require. A satisfied customer will
remember the friendly helpful service you have provided and will keep coming back and
recommend you and your business to other people.
2)Be knowledgeable about the business
In many instances (and this can apply to any business or service) it is not possible to
provide what your customer wants for a variety of reasons. It is therefore important to be
familiar with what your business can and cant offer. To avoid a customer wasting their time
looking for something your business is unable to provide it is a good customer service
technique to be aware if you can of people wandering around looking confused. By
approaching customers and showing you are knowledgeable about what there is to offer and
what you can do for them the customer will feel valued and grateful for the service you
have provided.
3)The importance of planning to improve service
When things are going well complacency can creep in customer service standards can slip.
When this happens it provides an opportunity for the competition to try and go one better
than your business or service by being smarter, more cost effective and quicker. To ensure
this scenario does not happen many shrewd businesses use the effective customer service
technique of putting in place regular training programmes to instruct and remind staff about
the importance of providing exceptional customer service through communication

effectiveness, customer rapport, phone etiquette and dealing with difficult customers. It is
well known that investing in customer service training programmes with the aim of
improving and training staff is one of the most effective methods businesses use to
consistently deliver what the customer wants.
4)Earning customer loyalty
This can be achieved through various customer service techniques such as the age old
offering of discounts on products and services to loyal customers (some businesses of
course may have in place a loyalty card that offers discount incentives). If a customer has
forgotten their loyalty card be accommodating and if not a member offer them the
opportunity to join the loyalty programme. When a customer has a problem always do your
best to remedy it as this will in turn lead to customer loyalty and earn you a reputation for
going the extra mile to help your customers. Following up with customers after providing a
service or sale (mainly big ticket items) through Email, phone or letter will also pay off in
customer loyalty and in most cases adds a welcome personal touch.
5)Thanking the customer
When concluding a sale or business service ensure the customer is thanked in a genuine
manner. In many cases customers are dealt with hurriedly and sent on there way as if they
are on a production line. Customers like to feel valued and treated with courtesy so it is an
important customer service technique to thank customers genuinely and by making sure you
are grateful for their business. It is also a good idea to ask the customer if there is anything
else you can do because by you taking the time to ask can sometimes result in more
business turnover and customer loyalty.
http://www.goodcustomerservice.org/customer-service-techniques/

Activity 6
Q1 what strategies might you follow in orders to monitor progress in
achieving product and or service targets and standards in your
organization?
Answer: 1.Analyse and assess sales figures and products /service turnover.
2.Keep a close eye on the internal supplier-customer chain.
3.KPIs and KRAs provide measurement criteria./
4.Observe and assess the attitudes amng cutomer service representatives.
5.Hold meeting s to collect information and discuss issues.
6.Collect quantitative data to monitor performances
7.Collect and analyse qualitative data about customer service perfomnace to help determine
the quality of sevice received by customers.

Q2 Draw up a plan for collecting collating and utilizing feedback from the
customers with your organization deals?
Answer: 1Collect information about your organization, its products and services, from every
member o f the distribution chain
1. Direct and indirect customers internal and external customers
2. Suppliers
3. Whole sellers
4. Managers
5. Workers
6Any other relevant stakeholder

Q3 Explain what sorts of data you would expect to collect from whom you
would collect it and how you think the data might contribute to your
organizations success.
To access customer feedback
1. Use telephone or written survey
2. Conduct on the spot interviews
3. Talk to your customer
4. Leave customer feedback form out on services.

5 Use email
6. Record all complaints, resolutions procedures
7.Record all returns ,warranty issues and repairs

Q4 from what other stakeholders might you collect product /service quality related
information and how would this information contribute to improvement processes?
Answer
Other methods are
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Mystery shoppers
Benchmarking against competitors and best practice organization
Product testing
Focus gruo
Governmnet statistics
Market search

When customers make improvement suggestions fooloow up on them. Let the customer
know that their ideas have come under considerable that you value their input.
This will achieve
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Improved product/service
Customers who feel valued and important
Return business
Word of mouth advertising customer loyalty
Access to a wide range of improvements ideas

All information collected from stakeholders should actively contribute to

product,sevice and bundle improvements.

Activity7
Q Explain the link between resource acquisition and quality outputs
and explain how resource management is related to quality
management and to continuous improvement.
IN organizational terms, resources are the inputs that enables the business to operate
and to product outputs. Input are transformed by the organizations core process into
the product /service that is intended to achieve the outcome of customer satisfaction.
Resource management procedures those procedures used to develop ,procure and use
resource effectively to provide quality products and services-are intended to ensure
continuity of quality resources and timely inputs so that operations are not interrupted
or disrupted.

Activity 8

Q1 If you or your team work group identified a problem or

developed a new idea with regard to improving customer service,how
in what format and to whim would you present this idea.?
Answer: 1.Identify problem and issue symptoms
2.Identify root causes
3. Gather data and consult with the necessary personnel
4.Analyse data
5.Develop problem solutions to be taken
6Analyse risks
7Select the solution to be implemented
8Implement the solution
9.Monitor the effects of the soulution

Q2 What are the procedures that would normally be followed to

resolve problems relating to product quality and customers service
that might arise
Answer
1.Product service design ,production or placement
2.Market research and information gathering processes
3.Operational plans and procedures
4,Staff traing procedures
5Resource procurement procedures
6Team structure
7Service delivery procedures
8Inputs supplies ,staff,financial input
9Processes
10Work Practice
11Product./service design
12Service delievery procedures
Where problems with work practice are identified as a casual factor the remedy might
involve:
1.Traning
2. Caoching
3.Mentoring
4.Performance Conselling
5 Reassignment of individuals or teams
6.System changes /improvements

Q3How does recorded data contribute the problem solving process

and to continuous improvement of products and service delivery?
Answer: Performance and operations records are also used to manage variation the
degree to which products /services fit within the range of acceptable variation is
acceptable if It does not adversely affect the quality of the product/service. Where
variations outside the acceptable range are discovered.
All Work and work practices, including customer services and methods of addressing
customer needs must be subject to continuous development of improvement ideas.