Customer Satisfaction Through After-Sales Service
After-Sales Service
It is the tasks that the organization uses after the sale to obtain total customer satisfaction.
It is an important source of information and should be considered an investment.
It is easier to sell new products to a satisfied customer than finding new customers.
Advantages:
- It provides greater customer satisfaction
- It improves the image of the company
- It improves direct knowledge of the market
- It involves potential customer loyalty
- It implies a likely increase in sales
Disadvantages:
- It involves certain costs
- It needs to be controlled
- It can cause a possible increase in the number of claims
- It implies a greater demand for service and quality
- It causes more staffing needs
Types of After-Sales Service
Promotional: Related to sales promotion, offers, contests.
Psychological: When we send a gift or a greeting card to a customer (birthdays, etc.).
Security: To provide protection, a guarantee, or the possibility of a refund.
Maintenance: When we offer the service of installation and training to ensure the customer is making good use of the product.
Technical Services
Technical services should be performed by trained staff:
- Installation: Operations performed on the premises of the customer to get the product ready.
- Maintenance: Products suffer wear; some maintenance activities are necessary to restore a product or maintain it.
- Repairs: Carried out to restore product defects. During the warranty, the supplier will repair the product at no charge as long as the customer keeps the receipt.
Services Provided to Customers Directly:
- Training for use: The company trains or guides the customer to get the most out of the product or service.
- Handling of complaints and claims: Complaints reflect that the product has a defect or problem but do not necessarily reflect a reality.
Some customers complain about everything, and others do not. The factors that influence complaints are the customer’s age and educational level, and the price.
Relationship of the After-Sales Service with Other Processes Within the Company
The after-sales service has an impact on the planning, creation, and marketing of a product or service, and they all have a single goal: customer satisfaction.
Companies must offer a solid after-sales service to provide customer satisfaction.
Total value: Purchase value + Usage value + Final value
Relationship: After-Sales Service – Quality
The after-sales service is essential in achieving the quality of a product. The after-sales service is a tool to achieve the best possible business goals.
A. Inputs from the Business Environment
Data or information a company gets from outside the company to improve existing products or to create new ones.
- Needs and expectations of customers: through market research and the results of the after-sales services
- Competitors: provide a better service than the competitors.
B. Inputs from Within the Company
(Data or information from other departments that influence the performance of the after-sales service)
- Quality strategic plans: processes carried out by the company to achieve certain quality standards that must be met by the after-sales department
- Sold products or services
- Characteristics of the product or service. The after-sales service must know all the features and guidelines of the products/services.
- Process development: after-sales service must keep a record of its actions
- Quality warranty. The terms and scope of the service must be known to the after-sales service
- Available resources: human, financial, material, etc.
C. Outputs to the Business Environment
(Results of the after-sales service activities to the market)
- Product or service fit for use: result of the services of installation, maintenance, and repairs
- Training for use
- Customer satisfaction
- Solution to a complaint and/or claim
D. Outputs to Other Departments Within the Company
(Information from the after-sales service useful for other departments)
- Information for the control processes. It can collect information valuable for other departments (marketing dept., production dept., logistics dept., etc.)
- Assessment of products and services. With the data obtained, the company can assess customer satisfaction and improve products and services.