The Financial Times released an interesting article showing how the white and brown line consumer goods industry is recognizing customer service as the new "battleground", now that the flames of the pricing parity war have subsided and the dust has settled to show no clear winner.
The UK consumer goods industry has been rattled in recent years by the entrance of digital retailers and large supermarket chains, who have been slowly staking out territory in what's commonly been high street turf -- something we also see here in the Philippines. With the appearance of these players, price wars were inevitable, as groups vied for market share at almost any cost - but such tactics cannot be sustained for very long in most cases, and blue ocean strategies are now being looked for to differentiate the players. Add to this the complexity of the products being sold, and it's easy to see many opportunities where value added customer service (ala The Geek Squad) becomes a prime area for investment.
Identifying customer pain and developing new services to essentially outsource those problems from the customer, then combining those services with technological solutions that can potentially eliminate phone calls to call centers or repair service attendance, have become the arsenal of companies looking to outdo their competition.
You'll notice in the article that Dixon's "Knowhow" customer service platform took two years to plan and develop, with a hefty price tag. Yet they had the vision, forethought, focus, and long term goal of profit over time, to help them set a direction and stick with it. They know the hefty margins that can come from value added services, and are seeking to exploit this opportunity as much as possible - while using it as market differentiator at the same time.
We're seeing similar strategies being employed in the finance, travel, and hospitality sectors too. As the Internet levels the playing field, and websites like "Not Good Enough" and "Twitter" hook in social networking, you can bet that consumers will come to expect the same service offerings to start appearing in other industries as well.
Without a road map, and the conviction to stick to a plan and avoid letting the daily ups and downs of the market distract you, most companies will flounder and fall to the wayside over the next 12 to 24 months, as the competition for consumer brain space and the pursuit of exceptional customer service becomes key corporate strategy.
You don't need to spend billions or even millions, to get a head start in this game -- but you have to get the facts right by hearing what your customers want, and then exceeding those expectations time and time again, across multiple delivery channels, 24 x 7.
It's a long distance marathon, not a sprint to the finish line, and the sooner companies realize and embrace this reality, the sooner they can get on with aligning themselves to the paradigm shift that's taking place.
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