UNIT 4

The five dimensions of service quality measured by the SERVQUAL Instrument

The SERVQUAL Instrument measures the five dimensions of Service Quality. These five dimensions
are: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy.

Tangibility

Since services are tangible, customers derive their perception of service quality by comparing the
tangible associated with these services provided. It is the appearance of the physical facilities,
equipment, personnel and communication materials. In this survey, on the questionnaire designed, the
customers respond to the questions about the physical layout and the facilities that FFR offers to its
customers.

Reliability

It is the ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. Reliability means that the
company delivers on its promises-promises about delivery,sevice provision, problem resolutions and
pricing. Customers want to do business with companies that keep their promises, particularly their
promises about the service outcomes and core service attributes. All companies need to be aware of
customer expectation of reliability. Firms that do not provide the core service that customers think they
are buying fail their customers in the most direct way.

Responsiveness

It is the willingness to help customers and provide prompt service. This dimension emphasizes
attentiveness and promptness in dealing with customer’s requests, questions, complaints and problems.
Responsiveness is communicated to customers by length of time they have to wait for assistance,
answers to questions or attention to problems. Responsiveness also captures the notion of flexibility and
ability to customize the service to customer needs.

Assurance

It means to inspire trust and confidence. Assurance is defined as employees’ knowledge of courtesy and
the ability of the firm and its employees to inspire trust and confidence. This dimension is likely to be
particularly important for the services that the customers perceives as involving high rising and/or about
which they feel uncertain about the ability to evaluate. Trust and confidence may be embodied in the
person who links the customer to the company, for example, the marketing department. Thus, employees
are aware of the importance to create trust and confidence from the customers to gain competitive
advantage and for customers’ loyalty.

Empathy

It means to provide caring individualized attention the firm provide its customers. In some countries, it
is essential to provide individual attention to show to the customer that the company does best to satisfy
his needs. Empathy is an additional plus that the trust and confidence of the customers and at the same
time increase the loyalty. In this competitive world, the customer’s requirements are rising day after day
and it is the companies’ duties to their maximum to meet the demands of customers, else customers who
do not receive individual attention will search elsewhere.
2.3 CUSTOMER HAS NEEDS AND EXPECTATIONS

Customers buy goods and services to meet specific needs. Needs are often deeply rooted in people’s
unconscious minds and may concern long-term existence and identify issues. When people feel a need,
they are motivated to take action to fulfil it. In many instances, purchase of a good or service may be
seen as offering the best solution to meeting a particular need. Subsequently, consumers may compare
what they received against what they expected, especially if it cost them money, time, effort that could
have been devoted to obtaining an alternative solution.

Customer expectations embrace several elements, including desired service, adequate service, predicted
service and a zone of tolerance that falls between the desired and adequate service levels

Desired and Adequate Service Levels

The type of service customers hope to receive is termed as desired service. It is a wished-for level: a
combination of what customers believe can and should be delivered in the context of their personal
needs. However, most customers are realistic and understand that companies can’t always deliver the
desired level of service; which is defined as the minimum level of service customers will accept without
being dissatisfied. Among the factors that set this expectation are situational factors affecting service
performance and the level of service that might be anticipated from alternative suppliers? The levels of
both desired and adequate service expectations may reflect explicit and implicit promises by the
provider, word-of-mouth comments, and the customer’s past experience,

Predicted Service Level

The level of service that customers anticipate receiving is known as predicted service, which directly
affects how they define “adequate service” on that occasion. If good service is predicted the adequate
level will be higher than if poorer service is predicted. Customer predictions of service may be situation
specific.

Zone of Tolerance

The inherent nature of services makes consistent service delivery difficult across employees in the same
company and even by the same service employee from one day to another. The extent to which
customers are willing to accept this variation is called the zone of tolerance. A performance that falls
below the adequate service level will cause frustration and dissatisfaction, where as one that exceeds the
desired service level will both please and surprise customers. Another way of looking at the zone of
tolerance is to think of it as the range of service within which customers don’t pay explicit attention to
service performance. When service falls outside the range, customers will react either positively or
negatively. The zone of tolerance can increase or decrease for individual customers depending on such
factors as competition, price or importance of specific service attributes. These factors most often affect
adequate service levels which may move up or down in response to situational factors where as desired
service levels tend to move up very slowly in response to accumulated customer experiences.

It is known that expectations are not stable in the sense that they may change over time due to changes
in aspiration levels or need at a particular moment in time. Customers’ expectations about what
constitutes good service vary from one business to another. Expectations are not determined by
individuals themselves but also by reference groups, external situations, norms, values, time and service
provider. Generally speaking, expectations can be formulated in terms of “what should be done” and in
terms of what should be done” Expectations change over time influenced by both supplier-controlled
factors such as advertising, pricing, new technologies and service innovation as well as social trends
advocacy by consumer organization and increased access to information through the media and the
internet.

According to Berry and Parasuraman (1991) discuss two levels of expectations and concluded: “Our
finding indicates that customer’s service expectations exist at two different levels; a desired level and an
adequate level. The service level reflects the service the customer hopes to receive. It is blend of what
the customer finds acceptable. It is part, a function of the customer’s assessment of what service will be
i.e. the customers predicted service level. The difference between the desired service; level and the
adequate service level can be called zone of tolerance, the extent to which customers recognize and are
willing to accept heterogeneity.

2.4 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

According to Evans and Dean (2003), the customer is the judge of quality. Understanding customer
needs, both current and future and keeping pace with changing market require effective strategies for
listening to and learning from customers, measuring their satisfaction relative to competitors and
building relationships. Satisfaction and dissatisfactions information are important because understanding
them leads to the right improvements that can create satisfied customers who reward the company with
loyalty.

Satisfaction can be expressed in many ways, like positive word-of-mouth, giving compliments to the
service provider and brand loyalty to the service organization. Quite often it is assumed that satisfied
consumers will be brand loyal. That needs not be the case, especially even now entrants have come to
the satisfied customers will show a higher repurchase rate than dissatisfactions of customers is an
important one. Customer satisfaction leads to repeat purchases and repeat purchases lead to loyal
customers. In turn, customer’s loyalty leads to enhanced brand equity and higher profits.

On the other hand the only measure of acceptable quality is customers satisfaction, which takes into
account both objective and subjective interpretations of the needs and expectations of customers. If the
customers are satisfied with the products and services offered, the organization has not only correctly
interpreted customer needs and expectations but it is also providing products and services of acceptable
quality.

Customer Loyalty

Loyalty is an old-fashioned word that has traditionally been used to describe fidelity and enthusiastic
devotion to something. More recently, it has been used in a business context to describe a customer’s
willingness to continue patronizing a firm over the long-term purchasing and using its goods and
services on a repeated and exclusive basis and recommending the firm’s products to friends and
relatives. However, brand loyalty extends beyond behaviour to include preference liking and future
intentions. What a loyal customer can mean to a firm: a consistent source of revenue over a period of
many years. However, this loyalty cannot be taken for granted. It will continue as long as the consumers
feels that he or she is receiving better value including superior or quality relative to price.

2.5 SERVICE ENCOUNTER

For service science to be a complete discipline it must address how customers experience services with
the same depth of analysis as it studies the analytics of information and physical flow processes that
deliver the service. The heart of a service is the encounter between the server and the customer. It is here
where emotions meet economics in real time and where most people judge the quality of the service. As
currently conceived, service science treats satisfaction with an encounter predominantly as a function of
engineering measures of throughout and output quality. Thus, if a service is performed efficiently and
process output variability is low, it is assumed that the service process has been optimised. Our view is
that this misses critical psychological variables that lie at the subconscious level, and which if
understood by management could be managed in such a way to enhance customer satisfaction.

2.6 CUSTOMERS EXPRESSING DISSATISFACTION

When customers are dissatisfied, they can undertake different kind of action as well. One can express
dissatisfaction in many ways, for example by complaining to the service provider or to a customer
union. Another action can be to never visit the service provider again, Two models exist in explaining
the ways to express dissatisfaction, the economic model and behavioural model. The economic model,
basically the perceived cost, the perceived benefits and the probability of success determine whether
consumers will express their dissatisfaction. In the behavioural model, this is determined basically by
ability and motivation to do so.

2.7 MODEL OF SERVICE QUALITY GAPS

There are five major gaps in the service quality concept, which are shown in Figure 1. The model is
from Parasuraman et al (1985). For this survey, we are only studying the gap between the customer
expectation and customer perception of service quality at the FFR. The starting premise for the model is
that “perceived service quality (or satisfaction with service) is a function of the difference between
expected service levels and delivered (perceived) service. The following diagram which summarises
how perceived service can diverge from expected service, constitutes the essence of the possible
contributing factors of the following gaps listed.

The challenge to the organization is to isolate which variables are influencing service quality perception
negatively and how to eliminate them. Of key importance to the organization is Gap 1. Gap 5 relates to
the overall perception the client-base has of the unit’s ability (for this survey, the FFR’S unit ability) to
deliver on service commitments made

SERVQUAL OR GAP MODEL

CONSUMER

PAST EXPERIENCE

PERSONAL NEEDS

WORD OF MOUTH

EXPECTED SERVICE

PERCEIVED SERVICE

SERVICE DELIVERY (PRE &POST CONTACTS )

EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION TO CUSTOMERS

GAP 1

GAP3
GAP 4

GAP 5

TRANSLATION OF PERCEPTION INTO SERVICE QUALITY SPECIMENS

GAP2

MANAGEMENT PERCEPTION OF CUSTOMERS EXPEDCTETIONS

PROVIDER

How to Handle Customer Complaints

Complaints happen every day. When a customer complains, it is usually for a good reason or genuine
concern. They usually have made a purchase that did not meet their expectation—a product, service, or
maybe a combination of the two. In the customer service industry, we cannot avoid complaints. We
must take care of the customer by listening to the complaint, and resolving it, to ensure a happy
customer.

Fewer than half of unhappy customers will bring a complaint to your attention. Those who never say
anything will tell an average of 11 other people about their bad experience. It is important that we
recognize complaints as opportunities, so we can sway these averages, one resolved complaint at a time.

Customers want to know someone is listening and they are understood, and they are hoping you are
willing to take care of the problem to their satisfaction. No matter what the situation is, when a customer
brings a complaint to your attention—even if they do it in a less-than-desirable way—be thankful. As
the old saying goes, “We can’t fix it, if we don’t know it’s broken.” Moreover, we must realize that
improper handling of a customer complaint can be costly to the business.

Here are five strategies that will help you handle a customer complaint in a smooth and professional
manner:

1. Stay calm. When a customer presents you with a complaint, keep in mind that the issue is not
personal; he or she is not attacking you directly but rather the situation at hand. “Winning” the
confrontation accomplishes nothing. A person who remains in control of his or her emotions
deals from a position of strength. While it is perfectly natural to get defensive when attacked,
choose to be the “professional” and keep your cool.
2. Listen well. Let the irate customer blow off steam. Respond with phrases such as, “Hmm,” “I
see,” and “Tell me more.” Do not interrupt. As the customer vents and sees you are not reacting,
he or she will begin to calm down. The customer needs to get into a calm frame of mind before
he or she can hear your solution—or anything you say, for that matter.
3. Acknowledge the problem. Let the customer know you hear what he or she is saying. If you or
your company made a mistake, admit it. If you did not make a mistake and it is a
misunderstanding, simply explain it to the customer: “I can see how that would be incredibly
frustrating for you.” You are not necessarily agreeing with what the customer is saying, but
respecting how he or she perceives and feels about the situation. An excellent phrase for opening
up this particular conversation would be, “So, if I understand you correctly…” After the
 customer responds, follow up with, “So, if I understand you correctly, we were to resolve the
problem by noon today. I can see how that must be frustrating for you.” Then be quiet. Usually,
the customer will respond with “That’s right” or “Exactly.” By repeating to the customer what
you think you heard, you lower his or her defenses, and win the right to be heard.
4. Get the facts. After listening, take the initiative in the conversation. Now that the customer has
calmed down and feels you have heard his or her side, begin asking questions. Be careful not to
speak scripted replies, but use this as an opportunity to start a genuine conversation, building a
trusting relationship with your customer. To help you understand the situation, get as many
details as possible.
5. Offer a solution. This happens only after you have sufficient details. One thing to keep in mind:
Know what you can and cannot do within your company’s guidelines. Making a promise you
cannot commit to will only set you back. Remember, when offering a solution, be courteous and
respectful. Let the customer know you are willing to take ownership of the issue, even if it was
out of your control. Take charge of the situation and let the customer know what you are going to
do to solve the problem.

A quick follow-up phone call a few days later to make sure everything is OK is icing on the cake. Even
a small gesture of apology can turn this interaction from disaster to legendary. The cost could be
minimal—maybe a simple upgrade on the customer’s next purchase or a small gift certificate. A simple
gesture like this could result in a future referral or a positive word-of-mouth marketing recommendation.

When you resolve customer complaints successfully, you will better understand their needs, retain them
as loyal customers, and enhance your business.

Service Recovery: Meaning, Recovery Paradox Theory and Stages | Service Marketing
Meaning of Service Recovery:

Service recovery refers to the ‘actions taken by an organisation in response to a service failure’. Failures
occur for all kinds of reasons — the service may be unavailable when promised, it may be delivered late
or too slowly, the outcome may be incorrect or poorly executed, or employees may be rude or uncaring.
All of these types of failures bring about negative feelings and responses from customers.

The goal of service recovery is to identify customers with issues and then to address those issues to the
customers’ satisfaction to promote customer retention. However, service recovery doesn’t just happen. It
is a systematic business process that must be designed properly and implemented in an organization.
Perhaps more importantly, the organizational culture must be supportive of idea that customers are
important and their voice has value.

Research has shown that the customers who, have had a service failure resolved quickly and properly,
are more loyal to a company than the customers who have never had a service failure—significantly
more loyal. Service Recovery practices are a critical element in a Customer Loyalty Program.

Why does Service Recovery get no Respect?

So why isn’t service recovery part of every organizations’ business processes? No easy answer exists.
Perhaps it’s the contention between operations and marketing.

(i) Customer Acquisition is Attractive – Marketing conducts expensive research, fine tunes the 4Ps that
comprise its marketing strategy (Product, Place, Promotion, and Price), and penetrates new customer
bases through its sales and marketing programs. Companies spend big bucks on achieving sales growth
and expanding market share.

(ii) Service Recovery isn’t Attractive – It’s an operational task that involves negotiating with angry
customers. The budget typically falls in the customer service department—one of those loathsome cost
centres that drain profit. Isn’t it easier to just dismiss these upset customers and move on to greener
fields?

Stages of Service Recovery Maturity:

Service Recovery in an organization progresses through a series of stages as shown in the nearby Figure
13.1. Locate where do you stand?

(i) Stage—1, Moribund – There is no complaint handling. Angry customers are ignored. Drugstore.com
is an example of a company with totally moribund service recovery practices. Letters to VPs and even
the CEO about a damaged shipment go unanswered.

(ii) Stage 2 — Reactive – Customer complaints are heard, and a response is made. But it’s a haphazard
process with no defined goals for the response, and no one owning this business process.

(iii) Stage 3 — Active Listening – At this stage, the response to issues voiced by customers is structured.
Specific people have the responsibility to respond to complaints and guidelines are in place for the
response. However, it is still reactive.

(iv) Stage 4 — Solicitous – The critical change from Stage 3 to 4 is the move from reactive to proactive
solicitation of customers with issues. The reason is that most customers don’t bother to complain. They
just move on to other suppliers of products. Haven’t we all done this? It’s a lot of work to complain! The
solicitous role is accomplished by encouraging customer to voice their complaints.

Event surveys (also known as transactional or transaction-driven survey) are a commonly used
technique to get issues voiced. The survey design must be such that more than just high level
measurement of customer satisfaction is captured. The design must allow for action to be taken. The
desire for anonymity complicates the task.

(v) Stage 5 — Infused – The pinnacle of Service Recovery Practices is achieved when the complaint
identification merges with business process improvement or six sigma programs to support root cause
identification and resolution. The owners of business processes that cause customer issues are notified of
the occurrences to prompt reexamination of the process design.

In essence, we see two levels of feedback loops. First, feedback from the customer to the organization.
Second, feedback from the customer-facing groups to its business partners within the organization.
While company culture is clearly critical to implementing this level of feedback management, certain
technologies can infuse this information sharing into business practice.

Service Guarantee: Definition, Features, Benefits, Types and Design

1. Introduction to Service Guarantee:

Service offerings are largely intangible in nature. Customers are thus unable to assess the purchase
outcome prior to experience, rendering the risk of possible customer dissatisfaction very high. It is
argued that the concept of service guarantees proposed by services management theory can be
effectively utilised to reduce the perceived risk of dissatisfaction for the customer in service
organisations.

2. Meaning and Definitions of Service Guarantee:

Various definitions of service guarantees can be found in the literature. For instance, Hart, Schlesinger
and Maher define a service guarantee as ‘…a statement explaining the service customers can expect (the
promise) and what the company will do if it fails to deliver (the payout).’ Evans, Clark, and Knutson
define a service guarantee as … ‘a policy, express or implied, advertised or unadvertised, that commits
the operation to making its guests happy.’ Callan and Moore (1998) state that, ‘a service guarantee can
be represented as a promise to the customer and is often advertised as such.’

We suggest that a guarantee contains two typical elements:

(i) A service promise or pledge that expresses the firm’s willingness to engage in behaviours considered
desirable by its customers and

(ii) A compensation offer in case of service failure. Thus, unconditional and specific may be used to
represent the service promise (about all or specific attributes of the service respectively) guaranteed by
the firm, while compensation is separately specified. Empirical evidence shows that firms provide full
refunds (e.g., money-back guarantees), partial refunds (e.g., assessment based upon damage or use,
exchanges less restocking fees or shipping charges), or award punitive damages (e.g., token credits or
payouts) when guarantees are invoked.

Compensation and claim procedures may be either implied or explicitly stated in the guarantee. In
addition to resolving definitional problems, this distinction potentially increases the combinations of
promises and compensation schemes available for study. This allows for a richer investigation of the
effects of service guarantees.

3. Features of a Good Guarantee:

A good guarantee has the following features:

(i) Easy to Collect – The remedy should be supplied immediately. For example, a dis-satisfied customer
at Hampton Inn should receive an immediate credit for the price of the dissatisfying service. The
customer should not have to drive across town to obtain payment, nor should the customer have to fill
out a laborious form or accumulate a tedious amount of documentation.

(ii) Easy to Invoke – Let us consider the Hampton Inn guarantee, for example – Suppose the customer’s
air conditioning did not work on a hot summer night, and the problem could not be rectified, in spite of
bringing it to the management’s attention. For the guarantee to be effective, management should make
that night free, without waiting for the customer to ask. If it evident that the customer is dissatisfied, and
the problem has not been solved, then management should invoke the guarantee itself.

In most cases, management does not really trust the guarantee, and, therefore, puts up barriers to
invoking it. Management may be concerned about loss of revenues, which may be linked to
management compensation. This creates a natural tension between the intended corporate culture, as
desired by top management, and the actual corporate culture, as implemented by middle management,
may be the front line. Counteracting an employee’s natural reluctance to invoke or carry out the
guarantee requires careful training.
(iii) Easy to Understand – If the customer does not understand the guarantee, then that customer will
not see any benefit. For maximum effectiveness, the guarantee should be specific. For example,
Domino’s pizza guaranteed delivery in 30 minutes. That is much better than guaranteeing “fast
delivery,” which is hard to pin down. Be specific.

(iv) Meaningful – The guarantee must be about things that customers care about. A fast-food restaurant
guaranteeing 10-minute service at lunch will probably do better than one guaranteeing to address
customers by their first name. This is because fast service at lunch is important to fast-food customers,
whereas personal familiarity is not.

(v) Unconditional – If a guarantee applies only to left-handed people on Friday in a leap year when
there is a full moon, few customers will be very interested. By comparison, consider the Hampton Inn
guarantee. It says simply, “If you’re not completely satisfied, we don’t expect you to pay.

This is unconditional and you don’t need to be a lawyer to understand it. A guarantee loses power as
conditions are placed on it. Consider the Lufthansa on-time guarantee, for example. The conditions
exempted 95% of the cases to which it might be applied, reducing its effectiveness by at least that
percentage.

4. Benefits of Service Guarantee:

The benefits to the company of an effective service guarantee are as follows:

(i) Sets Clear Standards for the Organisation – It prompts the company to clearly define what it
expects of its employees and to communicate that to them. The guarantee gives employees service-
oriented goals that can quickly align employee behaviours around customer strategies.

(ii) Forces the Company to Focus on its Customers – To develop a meaningful guarantee, the
company must know what is important to its customers — what they expect and value. In many cases
“satisfaction” is guaranteed, but in order for the guarantee to work effectively, the company must clearly
understand what satisfaction means for its customers (what they value and expect).

(iii) A Good Service Guarantee Studies the Impact on Employee Morale and Loyalty – A
Guarantee generates pride among employees. Through feedback from the guarantee, improvements can
be made in the service that benefits customers, and indirectly employees.

(iv) Immediate and Relevant Feedback from Customers – It provides an incentive for customers to
complain and, thereby, provides more representative feedback to the company than simply relying on
the relatively few customers who typically voice their concerns. The guarantee communicates to
customers that they have the right to complain.

(v) Reduces their Sense of Risk and Builds Confidence in the Organisation for Customers –
Because services are intangible and often highly personal or ego involving, customers seek information
and cues that will help reduce their sense of uncertainty.

5. Types of Service Guarantees:

Further, previous research has identified four types of service guarantees:

(i) Specific,
(ii) Unconditional,

(iii) Implicit and

(iv) Internal.

(i) A Specific Guarantee — Signals firm commitment on specific attribute performance such as
delivery time or price. Specific guarantees allow customers to evaluate service by disconfirming
attribute performance expectations. From the firm’s perspective, a specific guarantee can serve not only
as a benchmark to guide employee efforts and firm process design, but also as a performance measure.
However, the narrow focus on some attributes may not be highly valued or appreciated by a
heterogeneous customer base, although it may appeal to certain segments.

(ii) An Unconditional Guarantee — Promises performance on all aspects of service, and “in its pure
form, promises complete customer satisfaction, and at a minimum, a full refund or complete, no cost
problem resolution for the payout.” Unconditional guarantees require a slightly different firm approach
since variables that determine customer satisfaction such as effect and cognitive evaluations of attribute
performance (Oliver) are not within the firm’s control.

Implementation of unconditional guarantees requires firms to focus efforts on managing customer

interactions instead of specific service attributes. The distinction between specific or overall
(unconditional) performance is important as it defines the scope of the marketing effort required to
communicate and support the guarantee, and has widely different implications for service guarantee
design and management.

(iii) Implicit Guarantee — As the term suggests, it is an unwritten, unspoken guarantee that establishes
an understanding between the firm and its customers. Customers may infer that an implicit guarantee is
in place when a firm has an outstanding reputation for service quality. The focus of an implicit guarantee
is customer satisfaction. Previous research suggests that customers are more likely to rely on explicit
firm promises instead of implicit cues to make inferences about the firm.

(iv) An Internal Guarantee — Is “a promise or commitment by one part of the organization to another
to deliver its products or services in a specified way or incur a meaningful penalty, monetary or
otherwise.” Since implicit guarantees are unconditional guarantees (without formal expression of
explicit commitment) and the focus of internal guarantees is limited to coordinating functions and
employees, the subsequent discussion includes only specific and unconditional guarantees.

Organizational Impacts of Service Guarantee:

While much anecdotal evidence has been cited, little formal research has addressed how service
guarantees affect employees and organizations. Wirtz has suggested that service guarantees force firms
to identify performance expectations of customers and the importance they attach to different elements
of the service process. Citing anecdotal evidence, Wirtz also contends that guarantees cause firms to
improve their service delivery processes by identifying and working towards eliminating potential fail
points.

Guarantees help firms set performance standards for employees. Therefore, service guarantees have
positive impacts on personnel management by inducing firms to hire and train employees to deliver
guaranteed service. Hart suggests that firms can improve internal quality problems by offering internal
guarantees.
To summarize, the research on employee impacts and organizational benefits is based largely on
anecdotal evidence. There is a lack of empirical research or theory to support the hypothesized positive
impacts of service guarantees on firm processes and performance.

(i) Need for multiple theoretical perspectives.

(ii) Existing service guarantee research still leaves a number of important questions unanswered;

(iii) When do firms benefit from service guarantees and why?

(iv) How should guarantees be designed to minimize the effects of service failure?

(v) How do guarantees affect customer evaluations when service fails?

(vi) How do guarantees affect employees and firms?

What Is a CRM?

While the term CRM didn’t become an industry standard until the 1990s, the concept of a CRM is as old
as business itself. The modern CRM is a digital (and far more sophisticated) version of a Rolodex—a
technological leap over the pen-and-paper customer records of decades past.

A critical development came with the introduction of ‘mobile’ CRMs, which took advantage of the
expansion of high-speed Internet access during the late 1990s and early 2000s to make a company’s
digital customer records available to employees on multiple devices in multiple places. This
development had considerable benefits for companies with various offices or remote sales staff.

The mobile CRM has become the standard for CRM software. Real-time access to data has also shown
itself to be critical for multi-channel customer support services, which benefit from the efficient
handling of diffuse consumer touchpoints. A CRM ensures consumer interactions via email, live chat,
and telephone exist in a single location.

The Benefits of Using a CRM for Customer Service Support

A CRM has benefits for multiple business sectors. It has a significant role in lead management and sales,
which makes it valuable to marketing teams and sales staff. Both can use the CRM data to keep track of
clients and potential clients, learning when and how to deliver messages to each.

However, CRM support for customer service has a primary role because customer service blends
marketing, sales, support, and retention efforts. In particular, CRMs have proven themselves to be
highly valuable in addressing five key issues many customer service centers face:

1. Scaling with the business efficiently.

Sometimes, a business’s adoption of a CRM comes out of necessity. Rapid growth can make manual
CRMs—sometimes nothing more than spreadsheets or email folders—appear inadequate. Many of these
handcrafted systems offer minimum viability for five or ten customers but have decreasing efficiency as
a business grows.

A cloud-based CRM supports business growth without requiring continual reinvestment in software or
hardware. It also avoids the guesswork of exactly what capacity or features a business may need. The
ability to upgrade (or downgrade) as circumstances change lowers the risk a business faces by adopting
a CRM.

Furthermore, a CRM that is in use by hundreds or thousands of businesses likely has the ready
functionality to meet emerging business demands. Without adoption of a CRM, businesses may
continually need to develop new functionality for an internally managed system as the company
changes.

2. Sharing data in real time with all team members.

In customer service, data sharing can mean more than just open access to customer information. In fully
integrated systems—such as those that pair a CRM with computer telephony integration (CTI)—
representatives gain instant access to a full customer record as soon as an interaction begins.

This real-time access can expedite the handling of customer issues and reduce the total amount of time
spent with each customer. For example, a CRM can show a complete history of customer interactions,
which may include notes from previous calls in which a customer sought a resolution for an ongoing
issue. The representative can quickly address the outstanding item without requiring the customer to
repeat the entire history. That access can reduce customer frustration and enable representatives to
handle more customers in the same amount of time.

For customer service representatives that also have a role in sales, CRMs have an even larger role. A
comprehensive CRM may include a list of marketing materials received by a customer, which can
provide insight into consumer interest and existing knowledge. Additionally, a CRM can improve
information transfer between remote sales staff and in-house customer service representatives.

The seamless data transfer keeps representatives informed while also improving a prospect’s perception
of a company’s overall management. Both benefits have the potential to increase sales and boost
revenue.

3. Automating data entry for consistent, accurate information.

The value of data sharing depends largely on the quality of data obtained. A complete set of notes from a
previous call may not be valuable if the content is disorganized or key dates are missing. Without
automated data entry, a busy sales representative may neglect to log a critical sales call. Alternatively, a
burdensome requirement for manual data entry may lower staff morale. It may also waste valuable time
that may be better spent building rapport through face-to-face interactions.

An integrated CRM can automate many aspects of data entry to provide a clearer, more complete picture
of client interactions. The increased clarity provides representatives with more confidence about the data
in front of them and eases the burden of data maintenance.

The automation of data entry has benefits beyond the immediate improvements to representative/client
interactions. A standardized set of data points is key for customer service managers to gain actionable
insights from CRM analytics.

4. Using analytics to verify processes and increase accountability.

An automated data entry system for a CRM provides the raw material for business analytics. For
managers working with dozens or even hundreds of representatives, the data from a CRM provides
critical visibility into which practices should be standardized.
It can also help boost adoption by offering a data-backed rationale for behavior changes among staff. A
supporting dataset can make managers more influential with entrenched staff and garner support among
new hires to adopt an internal strategy for client interactions. It may also allow managers to give team
members liberty to test or experiment new methodologies, with the resultant data able to define success.

Thus, these analytics insights can bolster accountability within a customer service center and throughout
an organization. Just as data can be used to improve the performance of individual representatives,
managers can also use data to show progress to executives or request changes to staffing or procedures.

At the very least, the added accountability can help show the value of an online customer support center.
Basic data points like ‘calls handled’ or ‘sales completed’ are clear markers of utility. In an ideal
scenario, analytics data and increased accountability will also reduce costs.

5. Reducing costs to make customer service more efficient.

A reduction in costs is one of the great benefits of a CRM. The improved data organization and
consistency builds efficiency into customer service interactions, and analytics can verify and further
these initial gains.

The reduced costs don’t necessarily mean a smaller or less significant department, either. A more
efficient customer service center may be able to redistribute resources to improve technology, training,
or compensation—all of which may also increase employee satisfaction and retention.

Of course, reduced costs are only one-half of the equation. A CRM also has the potential to increase
revenue, either through more sales or enhanced client retention. A high-quality customer service
experience—assisted by a CRM—can help deliver more consistent, informed messaging to potential
clients.

Are cost reductions or profit increases really possible through the adoption of a CRM? Resultant
analytics should go a long way toward proving the business case.

What to Expect from a CRM for Customer Service

For businesses in which customer support services are vital, a CRM can push and pull data from
multiple areas of the business to streamline communication within an organization and make client
interactions more effective.

A CRM can also lead to more data, better quality data, and increased access to data by relevant team
members. Customer service managers monitoring and reviewing metrics from a CRM can use those
figures to implement data-driven solutions that improve the performance of customer service
departments.

Finally, dedicated use of a CRM throughout a business can help achieve cost savings and increase
profits; benefits that impact everyone involved—representatives, managers, and executives.

Gaps Model for Improving Service Quality (4 Models)

The Gaps model that deals with improvement of service quality was first time introduced by Valerie
Zenthaml and the Center for Retailing Studies at the Texas A & M University. This model basically
provides a roadmap to retailer about minimizing the gap between customers’ expectations and the
perceived service (the service offered by a retailer) or to close that gap, if possible.

The model highlights the probable obstacles that usually hinder a retailer’s ability to satisfy customers.
As discussed earlier, when customers’ expectations are greater than or cross their perceptions of the
perceived service, they feel dissatisfied and develop negative thinking about the retailer’s services.

Figure 20.1 illustrates the GAPS model for improving the quality of service offered. These four gaps
collectively give birth to service gap. The retailer’s role is to understand the reasons for these four gaps
and to eliminate them to improve the quality of service offered.

These are as follows:

1.Knowledge Gap:

This gap arises because of the difference between customer’s expectations and the retailer’s perception
towards customer’s expectations. It simply means that the retailer is not aware (whatever the reason may
be), what actually customers expect from him.

For example, in a departmental store, a retailer tries his level best to provide personal attention to each
customer by appointing a number of sales staff, who roam near the customers to help them as and when
required. But customers take this service in different way and don’t prefer to visit such store considering
store staff wandering like police around them.

Questionnaire may include following information such as:

(i) What did you like or dislike about the services provided?

(ii) Of the services provided, what could be done differently to improve service level?

(iii) What sort of assistance did you need that was not available?

(iv) Would you like to suggest any services you think a customer needs after our services to you?
(v) What are your views about services offered by us?

(vi) When visiting or calling, were you connected to someone in a timely manner?

(vii) Is our staff co-operative?

(viii) Is there any other comment to better serve you?

Undoubtedly, these surveys when conducted and outcomes implemented, result in minimizing the
knowledge gap. Besides questionnaire, suggestion box and complaint box also form significant source
of information about the quality of service offered. Retailers often approach suggestions and complaints
with a feeling of dread.

They don’t prefer dealing with unhappy, dissatisfied, angry customers. However, with good quality
service, retailers are occasionally left with dissatisfied customers. Customers tend to tell their
experiences to other people rather than complaining directly. So, a retailer should try to look at any
complaint as a gift-wrapped golden opportunity to put service level right and turn complaints into
compliments.

2. Standard Gap:

This gap arises because of the difference between the retailer’s perception of customers’ expectations
and the customer service standards it sets. Besides understanding what customers expect, retailers
should develop some service standards. It helps store staff understanding how the top management and
store customers define and evaluate a quality task.

Customer driven service quality standards are different from the traditional performance standards that
most of the retailing firms establish to meet the customers’ requirements. Here, standards are set to
communicate to customers’ expectations and preferences rather than to store concerns such as increasing
turnover.

Standard gap exists in retail organizations for a variety of reasons. Managers responsible for setting
standards often believe that customers’ expectations are irrational or illogical. They may also think that
the degree of variability inherent in service confronts standardization and therefore, setting standards
only will not work. However, the quality of service offered by store staff is significantly influenced by
the standards against which customers are evaluated and compensated.

To close the standard gap, retailers besides focusing on high service quality, they should define and
describe the role of each employee involved in delivering service. Standards when set and
communicated properly, signal to store staff what management expects from them, what are their
priorities and which type of performance behavior really counts.

When service standards are lacking or when the standards in place do not confront customers’
expectations. It leads to dissatisfaction. On the other hand, when standards reflect and confront what
customers’ expect, the quality of service, customers receive is likely to be enhanced. As services are
intangible in nature, therefore, it becomes difficult for the retailers to describe and communicate.

Here are some tips for the retailers’ top close standards gap:

1. Management should be committed to achieve high levels of service quality.

2. Proper training should be given to all concerned.

3. A proper reward system may enhance staff and management commitment to implement, meet or
exceed the set standards.

4. Closing standards’ gap can be made easier if new ways of dealing with various service issues are
explored.

5. Providing high service quality become easy through the use of technology to standardize processes.

3. Delivery Gap:

This gap arises because of the difference between the retailer’s service standards and the actual service
offered to customers despite the existence of guidelines for treating customers correctly and performing
services well. Developing standards and applying them is not enough, standards must be backed by
appropriate resources (people, products and technology) and must be evaluated to award and
compensate who deserves, on the basis of performance along those standards.

Therefore, even when standards are properly defined and well implemented, if firm fails to provide
resources for them, performance will not be up to the mark and definitely will increase delivery gap.

The delivery gap between standards set and those delivered arises because of several reasons like:

(i) Impractical standards

(ii) Lack of clarity in standards defined

(iii) Improper communication

(iv) Lack of motivation among floor staff

(v) Absence of regular monitoring of performance analysis practices

(vi) Failure to match market demand and supply

(vii) Problems/conflicts with service intermediaries

In order to close or reduce the service gap and deliver services that exceeds the set standards,
retailers can focus on the following areas:

(i) Providing necessary knowledge and skills to employees concerned

(ii) Explaining standards and staff roles so that they possess and commit to quality
(iii) Regular monitoring and motivation of staff

(iv) Develop spirit of team work to deliver excellent quality

(v) Appropriate selection and training to concerned staff

(vi) Regular involvement of store staff in setting and modification (if required later on) to get best
results.

4. Communication Gap:

This arises because of gap between the actual set of services offered to the customers and the service
communicated by the retailer to the customers through their promotional program. In short,
communication gap arises when retailer’s promises don’t match the performance resulting in adverse
effect on the customer gap.

Retailers throughout the globe usually raise the expectations of customers through attractive and bait
advertisements. Getting convinced, when customers visit the store and find service quality short of
standards, the actual experience disappoint them.

Broken promises occur because of several reasons:

(i) Unrealistic promising in advertising or through other communication channels,

(ii) Lack of co-ordination between sales promotion and store operations staff,

(iii) Differences exist between policies and procedures of various store outlets resulting in creating
confusion among them, and

(iv) Sometimes the staff whose duty is to promote the service does not understand the realism of service
delivery and is likely to make overstated promises that cannot be achieved.

In order to remove or close the communication gap, retailers first try to understand the reasons that
create communication gap, once knowing the reasons, retailers should overcome them by developing a
clear line of communication between the parties concerned (like intermediaries, promotion and
operations staff etc.)

Any miscommunication between two parties will lead to discrepancy between actual and promised
service. Hence the management of a retail store should avoid over-promising in personal selling,
advertising or any other way of communication.

UNIT -5
FINANCIAL SERVICES MARKETING
FINANCIAL SERVICES MARKETING refers to the collective use of marketing tactics employed
by marketers in the financial services sector to attract new customers or retain existing ones.

Developing marketing strategies for financial services means considering a range of elements which
include:
  Your organization’s goals & objectives
 Target markets
 New & emerging markets
 Your organization’s strengths & weaknesses
 Resources available

However, no matter what your goals or the financial services you provide, effective marketing strategies
can help you to focus efforts so that you can better reach targets and goals.

These 5 financial services marketing strategies are a good place to start for many:

1. Customer Outreach

Customer outreach is one of the oldest and simplest marketing strategies for financial services
organizations to adopt. However, it’s also one of the most effective. Customer outreach is quite simply
the concept of reaching out to customers to fill existing needs surrounding education, awareness, and
help. This scales to a small organization in the form of free consultations and webinars and to larger
ones in the form of financial education such as debt management programs or financial education in
schools.

Why does it work? Customer outreach may seem like a largely philanthropic use of budget, but it works
to build awareness, customer loyalty, and interest in products and services. A carefully formulated
financial marketing strategy takes the services and features you are trying to sell and other marketing
campaigns into consideration. For example, if you know that students are going back to school, you
could focus customer outreach around programs for teaching college students to manage money on their
own, towards saving for college, or budgeting to save up for a car. If you know your geographic area has
a large percentage of seniors, you could create free programs teaching seniors to use digital banking and
about online security. These programs would, in turn, promote savings accounts, digital solutions, and
even your bank through awareness and increased consumer trust.

2. Self-Service and Digitization

Where baby boomers and previous generations largely preferred to receive products through sales
representatives who could advise them and set up personalized (or not) accounts for them, millennials
and Generation Z often want to do everything themselves with as little contact with human
representatives as possible. Setting up and promoting digitized products and customer service or
experience portals which enable customers to sign up for services online, change products and services
online, and view their information without going into a branch is an effective and increasingly necessary
trend for financial organizations. However, it is not a marketing strategy that applies to every
organization, as you may not sell products only services.

3. Social Media

81% of the United States population is on a social media account and many use social for up to 4-5
hours per day. Your smart and consistent use of one or more social media platforms is a valuable
financial marketing strategy which you cannot afford to ignore. Millennials, Generation Z, and even
Baby Boomers use social media platforms to connect with brands, learn from peers, and follow current
events and news. Maintaining a steady presence on one or more sites with a strategy in place to offer
value to followers will help you to build brand trust, create marketing opportunities, and grow your
customer base.
Many financial and banking organizations use social media to connect with consumers for the purpose
of building trust. For example, by showing that real people work at banks and in financial services,
showcasing customers and success stories, and delivering customer service. For example, financial
organizations can typically cut the cost of customer service by over 70% by switching from phone to
social media. A good social media marketing strategy requires smart use of storytelling, content, and
creative humor as well as consistency and the willingness to offer value for the customer rather than the
bank. However, it is well worth the effort in terms of building trust, awareness, and relationships with
consumers in their space.

4. Automation and Big Data

Most financial organizations have more data than they know what to do with, but that is quickly
changing. Today, customer experience platforms and automation tools make it easier than ever to utilize
and apply data as part of your marketing efforts. For example, big data can tell you who is saving up for
a big purchase and most likely to need pre-approval for a loan, big data can help you identify and offer
services before or after they are needed, it can help you to target specific customers for additional
customer service or education, and can help you to cut down on needed customer service.

For example, JP Morgan uses bots to respond to internal IT access requests, cutting the need for 40 full-
time employees, and speeding up the process. Other banks are using automation to tailor services, offer
more specific or personalized solutions, and to create custom data and dashboards for customers in ways
that would have been prohibitively expensive without automation.

5. Digital Storytelling

Storytelling is still one of the most effective marketing mediums, whether on social media, video, ads, or
cross-channel platforms extending into the real world. Here, your marketing strategy should encompass
telling a story that captures interest and evokes emotion to interest, excite, and move the viewer. Here,
your goal is to create relatable and shareable content which can educate, entertain, or help the reader in
some way – and hopefully manage all three at once. For example, Allstate’saward-winning “Worth
Telling” digital storytelling marketing campaign focuses on telling the story of 3-8 customers who are
making a difference. Allstate not only promotes what their customers are doing, building trust by
sharing real people and stories, but also dries interest across all marketing channels, builds customer
relationships, and creates a human factor while promoting the products and services discussed in the
videos.

No matter what your financial organization does, digital media opens up a wide range of marketing
tactics and strategies you can take. However, you shouldn’t focus on just one or try to incorporate
everything. Instead, create a single, broader financial marketing strategy so that each element adds to
and builds on the rest, adding value to your organization.

Commercial banking services

A commercial bank is what is commonly referred to as simply a bank. The term "commercial" is used to
distinguish it from an investment bank, a type of financial services entity which instead of lending
money directly to a business, helps businesses raise money from other firms in the form of bonds (debt)
or stock (equity).

The primary operations of commercial banks include:

 Keeping money safe while also allowing withdrawals when needed

  Issuance of chequebooks so that bills can be paid and other kinds of payments can be delivered
by the post
 Provide personal loans, commercial loans, and mortgage loans (typically loans to purchase a
home, property or business)
 Issuance of credit cards and processing of credit card transactions and billing
 Issuance of debit cards for use as a substitute for cheques
 Allow financial transactions at branches or by using Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs)
 Provide wire transfers of funds and Electronic fund transfers between banks
 Facilitation of standing orders and direct debits, so payments for bills can be made automatically
 Provide overdraft agreements for the temporary advancement of the bank's own money to meet
monthly spending commitments of a customer in their current account.
 Provide internet banking system to facilitate the customers to view and operate their respective
accounts through internet.
 Provide charge card advances of the bank's own money for customers wishing to settle credit
advances monthly.
 Provide a check guaranteed by the bank itself and prepaid by the customer, such as a cashier's
check or certified check.
 Notary service for financial and other documents
 Accepting the deposits from customer and provide the credit facilities to them.
 Sell investment products like mutual funds Etc.

Investment banking services

 Capital markets services - underwriting debt and equity, assist company deals (advisory services,
underwriting, mergers and acquisitions and advisory fees), and restructure debt into structured
finance products.
 Brokerage services - facilitating the buying and selling of financial securities between a buyer
and a seller. Stock brokers generally require commissions or other charges for brokerage
services.
 Private banking - Private banks provide banking services exclusively to high-net-worth
individuals. Many financial services firms require a person or family to have a certain minimum
net worth to qualify for private banking service. Private banks often provide more personal
services, such as wealth management and tax planning, than normal retail banks.[4]

Foreign exchange services

Foreign exchange services are provided by many banks and specialist foreign exchange brokers around
the world. Foreign exchange services include:

 Currency exchange - where clients can purchase and sell foreign currency banknotes.
 Wire transfer - where clients can send funds to international banks abroad.
 Remittance - where clients that are migrant workers send money back to their home country.

Investment services

 Investment management - the term usually given to describe companies which run collective
investment funds. Also refers to services provided by others, generally registered with the
Securities and Exchange Commission as Registered Investment Advisors. Investment banking
financial services focus on creating capital through client investments.
 Hedge fund management - Hedge funds often employ the services of "prime brokerage"
divisions at major investment banks to execute their trades.
  Custody services - the safe-keeping and processing of the world's securities trades and servicing
the associated portfolios. Assets under custody in the world are approximately US$100 trillion.

Insurance

 Insurance brokerage - Insurance brokers shop for insurance (generally corporate property and
casualty insurance) on behalf of customers. Recently a number of websites have been created to
give consumers basic price comparisons for services such as insurance, causing controversy
within the industry.
 Insurance underwriting - Personal lines insurance underwriters actually underwrite insurance for
individuals, a service still offered primarily through agents, insurance brokers, and stock brokers.
Underwriters may also offer similar commercial lines of coverage for businesses. Activities
include insurance and annuities, life insurance, retirement insurance, health insurance, and
property insurance and casualty insurance.
 Finance & Insurance - a service still offered primarily at asset dealerships. The F&I manager
encompasses the financing and insuring of the asset which is sold by the dealer. F&I is often
called "the second gross" in dealerships who have adopted the model
 Reinsurance - Reinsurance is insurance sold to insurers themselves, to protect them from
catastrophic losses.

Financial exports

A financial export is a financial service provided by a domestic firm (regardless of ownership) to a

foreign firm or individual. While financial services such as banking, insurance and investment
management are often seen as a domestic service, an increasing proportion of financial services are now
being handled abroad, in other financial centres, for a variety of reasons. Some smaller financial centres,
such as Bermuda, Luxembourg, and the Cayman Islands, lack sufficient size for a domestic financial
services sector and have developed a role providing services to non-residents as offshore financial
centres. The increasing competitiveness of financial services has meant that some countries, such as
Japan, which were once self-sufficient, have increasingly imported financial services.

The leading financial exporter, in terms of exports less imports, is the United Kingdom, which had $95
billion of financial exports in 2014.The UK's position is helped by both unique institutions (such as
Lloyd's of London for insurance, the Baltic Exchange for shipping etc.and an environment that attracts
foreign firms; many international corporations have global or regional headquarters in the London and
are listed on the London Stock Exchange, and many banks and other financial institutions operate there
or in Edinburgh.
15 Healthcare Marketing Strategies That Bring More Patients
Patients have more options than ever before. With so much information available online, they no longer
feel the need to visit the hospital or practice closest to their location. That’s why it’s so important to
have a planned, budgeted healthcare marketing strategy to reach new and returning patients in your area
at the right time.

Planning Your Healthcare Marketing Strategy

Doctors tell patients all the time that an ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure. It’s better to have a
strategy in place now than to wait until you find out your patient database is nearly empty.

A healthcare marketing strategy is an investment. You may have to hire outside help and plan for a
larger budget than you have in the past. But in the end, it’s worth it for that peace of mind–and to see
your patient volume grow faster than ever before! To help you along, we provided our top 15 items to
include with any well-planned healthcare marketing strategy.

6 Ways to Market Any Healthcare Organization

1. Use consistent branding

You might feel confident your expertise sets you apart from other practices or hospitals. But let’s face
it–to a patient, one white coat looks just like the next.

You need to figure out what your brand is all about. What’s unique about your hospital or practice? Is it
the way you treat patients? Your family-friendly office? A spa-like environment? There is at least one
thing that makes your team unique, and that’s what helps patients remember your name.

It may take time to figure out what works for your brand. But eventually, your healthcare marketing
strategy comes together smoothly because you learn how best to represent your brand with any
marketing materials.
2. Evaluate the online patient experience

A decade ago, simply having a website was enough to impress prospective patients and help them find
your brand. But now, a website is healthcare’s new front door. It’s the first thing patients often see, and
if it’s not optimized for user experience, it may also be the last time a person considers your hospital or
practice.
3. Build a responsive website

A responsive website is one that automatically adjusts to the size of a screen, so the experience is the
same whether the site is accessed on a computer, tablet, or mobile device. It’s the norm in website
design today–but more than that, it’s something the search engines are looking for when crawling your
website to determine where you rank.

Google cares about the user experience, and it will prioritize competitors who have a site optimized for
mobile. In general, responsive sites work best for the mobile experience. But even if you currently have
a responsive site, you should check that the content and imagery continues to load properly on mobile
devices.
4. Test site speeds

Marketers who study user behaviors online have proven that patients today are less willing to put up
with slow loading times than ever before. It only takes 5 seconds to lose a prospective patient who
decides to navigate elsewhere thanks to your slow site.
5. Optimize for the search engines

Search engine optimization is a powerful tool for getting your practice or hospital to the top of the
search engines. However, it’s a lot more complex than most people realize. You cannot simply use the
term “optometry practice” 100 times throughout your website and hope to rank number one on Google
among optometrists in your area.

A large part of SEO involves using the right keywords so that Google can crawl your site and make sure
you rank for the proper terms. But it also means using those terms naturally throughout your content, as
Google cares about readability first and foremost. And this is only the beginning of best practices for
SEO, which also include:

 Having links pointing back to each page on your site.

 Gaining backlinks from reputable sites.
 Managing your site index or sitemap.
 Claiming your site on Google My Business.
 Submitting your site to Google.
6. Utilize PPC and display ads

search that people will see first.

These are pay-per-click advertisements, paid advertisements that are laser-targeted to appear first for a
set of search terms. With pay-per-click advertising (also known as PPC or paid search), you can manage
your budget and decide what you’d be willing to spend to keep your site visible at the top of the search
engines. Your return on investment is clear and defined with both PPC ads and display ads that appear
on the sidebar or top of other websites.
7. Leverage social media (the right way)

Too many hospitals and practices rely on organic social media for a large part of their digital healthcare
marketing strategies. Organic social media means posting photos, updates, events, and more directly to
the Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ platform, and it’s a valid strategy to build your brand and let patients
know what’s new.

However, it shouldn’t be your only social strategy. Paid advertising on social media is a better way to
reach the right people who may be looking for your services—even if you’re not already connected.
Let’s face it: few people share posts from local healthcare organizations online unless they are already
engaged with that group, or better yet, employed by it.

Paid social media is about more than pressing the “Boost Post” button that appears when you post from
your business page. Like PPC and display advertising, it involves strategizing and budgeting to target
the audience you want.
8. Ask for reviews

Typically, patients only leave reviews when they are motivated to do so, or if they had an above average
(or extremely poor) experience. Unless you ask for reviews, you miss an opportunity to feature positive
feedback from patients who were satisfied with their visit. This might be difficult for your front office
staff to do–and they should not be required to evaluate each patient’s level of satisfaction as they walk
out the door.

That’s why we recommend automated reviews as part of any hospital or practice healthcare marketing
strategy. Here’s a brief overview of automated reviews: patients use a computer or tablet at the office to
rate the quality of service they received on a scale of 1-10. High scores automate a follow-up email
asking the patient to leave a review on their site. Those positive reviews show up directly on your
website and can potentially counteract any negative reviews left elsewhere online.

Poor scores allow the practice or hospital a chance to ask the patient to elaborate and, hopefully, reach
out and resolve the issue.
9. Follow up with patient feedback

You can’t help it when patients have a poor opinion of your practice and leave reviews on outside sites
such as Yelp. What you can do, however, is follow up with any patient feedback and show that you are
working on the problem. Sites like Yelp allow you to respond to patient feedback directly. With the right
follow-up, patients may be motivated to update their review to let others know the problem was resolved
in a timely fashion.
10. Look into traditional media options

Many hospitals, groups, and practices are afraid to invest in external media opportunities: traditional
advertising sources like radio, television, billboards, and newspapers. It’s a major investment, and you
have to be careful about where you spend your money to see the best results.
11. Build doctor referrals

How does your practice reach potential referring doctors? If you’re not using a physician liaison, you’re
not getting what you need. Too many practices and specialty groups trust the front desk to reach out to
doctors who may choose to refer their practice–but the front desk simply does not have the time to
commit to this!

Doctor referrals are some of your best organic strategies for bringing in new patients. Your physician
liaison should be visiting hospitals and practices every day, scheduling lunches with potential referral
bases, and keeping in touch with potential sources.
12. Check in with current patients

Though it may not compare to digital advertising, word-of-mouth referrals should always be part of your
overall healthcare marketing strategy.

Follow up with patients after an appointment or procedure to see how they’re doing. Ask about their
families, or send out birthday cards with a personalized touch. Send emails and mail reminders for
follow-up appointments, and do whatever you can to maintain a relationship. Patients will always
appreciate that you took the time and may make a point to recommend you to friends and family.
13. Become an authority in your field

Prospective patients remember you when you establish yourself as an authority in your medical
specialty. Your PR (public relations) strategy should involve reaching out to the appropriate media
outlet when you have something to share–it’s free advertising for your brand!

Stay up-to-date with your industry through LinkedIn groups and other online forums. Consider
following sites like HARO (Help a Reporter Out) to learn about interview opportunities. Submit press
releases from time to time–and consider hiring outside help to boost your visibility.
14. Track your strategy

You should continuously monitor how your medical marketing strategy pays off in terms of ROI. Each
year, your healthcare marketing budget should adjust in terms of what you want to focus on this year,
based on a careful study of your metrics so far. There are many ways to do this:
  Use a CRM (customer relationship management system) like HubSpot to track how patients
engage with your campaigns via email or targeted landing pages.
 Use Google Analytics to find out what terms you rank for in the search engines, and which terms
you’re missing out on.
 Track your pay-per-click campaigns by setting up Google AdWords.
 Use a HIPAA compliant phone tracking system to see how paid advertising is paying off and to
monitor your front desk.
15. Audit your front desk

You can have the best healthcare marketing strategy for anyone in your area…but if your front desk
staff cannot handle calls properly, you lose money and opportunities. An audit of your front desk may
reveal any of the following:

 Long hold times

 Confusion or misinformation
 A slow scheduling system
 An inability on the part of your staff to “sell” your services
 No strategy in place to get patients to book an appointment

We strongly believe that no healthcare marketing strategy is complete if you don’t take the time to train
the front office staff properly!

Industry Overview: Educational Services

The Educational Services Industry is composed of establishments that provide instruction and training
on a wide variety of subjects.

Theses institutions, including schools, colleges, universities and training centers, are either privately or
publicly owned. Private institutions may be further classified as "for-profit" or "not-for-profit". We
report on publicly traded, for-profit schools that have a focus on post-secondary education. According to
the most recent data provided by the U.S. Department of Education, post-secondary education is being
provided to about 18.2 million students. Of that population, some 1.4 million are receiving their
education through for-profit schools.

Industry Dynamics

Educational Services is widely considered a counter-cyclical industry. That is to say, typically, when the
economy is doing poorly and unemployment is rising, more working adults, as their career prospects
start to dim, decide to upgrade their education. This, in turn, leads to higher enrollment and increased
profit at the schools. We note that traditional undergraduate education for young students is generally
non-cyclical. Culinary arts schools, however, can be labeled as moderately cyclical. Also, certain types
of educational institutions do perform largely in sync with the broader economy. For example, providers
of information technology instruction benefit in good times, when companies are likely to boost related
investment.

There is a growth element to this industry. Education companies are reporting a trend of rising demand
from working adults. More and more employers are requiring college degrees for a greater range of jobs.
Enrollment rates are tracking higher at most schools. To an 18-year old, thinking about the future, or a
30-year old without a college degree, looking for a career boost, diplomas are becoming the standard
rather than the exception.

Regulation and Competition

Companies in this industry adhere closely to the Higher Education Act. Compliance with the Act is
critical to maintain accreditation; it provides the ability to operate in various states. Accreditation allows
a school's students to apply for financial aid under Title IV (low income) of the Act, the Pell Grant, and
the G.I. Bill. This is important since a majority of students receive some sort of aid. Notably, the Act,
and other regulation, has been fairly successful in shutting down and prohibiting "diploma mills", thus
ensuring a fairly high overall quality of instruction.

Competition among these schools for prospective students is intensifying. Expenses of new-student
leads and marketing continue to rise. Barriers to entry in this industry are significant. It is very
expensive for a potential market entrant to build a school from scratch. The start-up phase can be
difficult, especially without a substantial government-supported student base. Also, IT investment can
be complex and quite costly, particularly for online operations. Financial constraints can limit a school's
ability to expand. Schools prefer to tap the equity market, when their share prices are at elevated levels,
rather than issue debt.

Investment Considerations

There are several things to look for when investing in individual companies in the Educational Services
Industry. Investors should seek schools that have steadily rising enrollment, which typically leads to
strong revenue and earnings growth. Favorable new-student starts and high conversion rates (from
inquiries to enrollment) are good indicators of a company's prospects. Schools that have tapped or have
plans to enter emerging markets will likely have a "first-mover" advantage and solid long-term growth
potential. Institutions that have a sizeable mix of top-quality online business can better lever expanding
demand at the bottom line.
Non-governmental organizations
Non-governmental organizations, nongovernmenta organizations, or nongovernment
organizations, commonly referred to as NGOsare usually non-profit and sometimes international
organizationsindependent of governments and international governmental organizations (though often
funded by governments) that are active in humanitarian, educational, health care, public policy, social,
human rights, environmental, and other areas to affect changes according to their objectives. [7][8][9][10]
They are thus a subgroup of all organizations founded by citizens, which include clubs and other
associations that provide services, benefits, and premises only to members. Sometimes the term is used
as a synonym of "civil society organization" to refer to any association founded by citizens

By level of operation

 Community-based organizations (CBOs) arise out of people's own initiatives. They can be
responsible for raising the consciousness of the urban poor, helping them to understand their
rights in accessing needed services, and providing such services.
 City-wide organizations include organizations such as chambers of commerce and industry,
coalitions of business, ethnic or educational groups, and associations of community
organizations.
 State NGOs include state-level organizations, associations and groups. Some state NGOs also
work under the guidance of National and International NGOs.
 National NGOs include national organizations such as the YMCAs/YWCAs, professional
associations and similar groups. Some have state and city branches and assist local NGOs.
  International NGOs range from secular agencies such as Save the Children, to religiously
motivated groups. They can be responsible for funding local NGOs, institutions and projects and
implementing projects.[23]

Apart from "NGO", there are alternative or overlapping terms in use, including: third-sector organization
(TSO), non-profit organization (NPO), voluntary organization (VO), civil society organization (CSO),
grassroots organization (GO), social movement organization (SMO), private voluntary organization
(PVO), self-help organization (SHO) and non-state actors (NSAs).

In Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian and other Romance languages, the 'mirrored' abbreviation
"ONG" is in use, which has the same meaning as "NGO" (for example Organisation non-
gouvernementale in French, Organização Não Governamental in Portuguese, Organización no
gubernamental in Spanish, or Organizzazione non governativa in Italian).

IT Enabled Services

Information Technology that enables the business by improving the quality of service is IT enabled
services. ITES is the acronym for the term “IT Enabled services”. Essentially, IT enabled service has the
following structure:

The most important aspect is the Value addition of IT enabled service. The value addition could be in
the form of - Customer relationship management ,improverd database, improved look and feel, etc. The
outcome of an IT enabled service is in the two forms:

 Direct Improved Service

 Indirect Benefits.

Whereas direct benefits can be realised immediately, indirect benefits can accrue over a period of time,
and can be harnessed very effectively, if planned well upfront.

What is IT enabled Services?

IT Enabled services (ITES), also called web enabled services or remote services or Tele-working, covers
the entire gamut of operations which exploit Information Technology for improving efficiency of an
organization. These services provide a wide range of career options that include opportunities in call
Centres, medical transcription, medical billing and coding, back office operations, revenue claims
processing, legal databases, content development, payrolls, logistics management ,GIS (Geographical
Information System), HR services, web services etc.

What is the Key IT enabled Services?

The key IT enabled services are:

 Call Centers
 Electronic Publishing
 Medical Transcription
 Data Centers
 GIS Mapping
 Portals
 ERP( Enterprise Resource Planning )
 Knowledge Management & Archiving.

Technologies involved

For each service there are two types of technologies involved:

 Enabling technology
 Communication.

The enabling technologies are those technologies which allow the IT enablement. For e.g. in the call
centres they are – CTI (Computer telephony integration), CRM( Customer Relationship Management
),etc. The communications allows the IT service to be delivered through a new channel - Telephone, IP,
VoiP (Voice over IP: Voice over Internet Protocol), Satellite based transmission, etc.

The combination of the correct technology and the communication channel brings about very high
degrees of improvement in the service quality.

The Deployment Issues

Whearas the growth is high, and the prospects are enarmous, there are many deploymant issues for
stablishment of IT enabled services.

 High Capital Investments

 High Volume Transactions
 Continous Business Availablity
 Time Turnaround
 High Communications cost
  Lack of trained and reliable resources
 Role model/Guide or Help to start-ups.

Possible SME implementation of IT enabled services

Some of the possible implementation of IT enabled services in SME’s (Small & Medium Enterprises)
are:

 Joint Marketing Programs

 Common Helpdesk
 Portal for Electronic distribution
 Telemarketing
 Directory Enquiry system.

Favoured Application Areas

The favoured application areas are areas where there is huge amount of data that needs to be processed
and utilised for delivering the results, or the data is the outcome of the service. In all cases, without use
օf IT the task would otherwise be unmanagable. Some of the most important areas where IT enabled
services can be deployed are:
 Telemarketing
 Helpdesk
 Customer Support Centres
 Data Ware House
 Transcription Centres
 GIS Mapping for Transport tracking
 Electronic Distribution.

About Travel and Tourism Industry

The hospitality industry is part of a larger enterprise known as the travel and tourism industry. This
industry is a vast group business with one goal in common: that is to provide necessary or desired
products and services to travellers.

Travel and tourism industry has now become the largest civilian industry in the world, according to
statistics one out of every ten person worldwide is part of the Travel and tourism industry.

Travel and Tourism industry are divided into five major parts as shown below . Lodging operations
stands apart from other travel and tourism business as they offer overnight stay for the guests

Lodging Operations:

Under lodging operations comes Hotels, Motels, Resorts, Timeshare Hotels, Condominiums,
Conference Centres, B&B, Casinos Etc. Lodging operations is the largest sector under Travel and
Tourism Industry.
Transportation Services:

Ships, Air planes, Autos, Bus, Railways, Metro's, Bikes, Limousines all comes under the Transportation
Services in the Travel and tourism industry.

Food and Beverage Operations:

Restaurant, Lodging Properties Retail stores, Vending Machines, Catering, Snack Bars, Cruise Ships,
Bars, Banquets, Out Door Catering all Comes under the F&B operations sector.

Retail Stores:

Gift Shops, Souvenir shops, Handicraft Shops, Art Shops, Markets etc.

Activities:

Recreation, Businesses, Entertainment, Amusement Parks, Study Trips, Sporting Events, Ethnic
Festivals Etc.