Strategy of customer service as an important direction for achievement of competitive advantages of an industrial enterprise

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Strategy of customer service as an important direction for achievement of competitive advantages of an industrial enterprise

Кузяк В.В.¹, Моторнюк У.І.², Стасюк Н.Р².

¹ Національний університет “Львівська політехніка”,

Інститут економіки та менеджменту, кафедра маркетингу та логістики

² Національний університет “Львівська політехніка”,

Інститут економіки та менеджменту,

кафедра зовнішньоекономічної та митної діяльності

Анотація

Стратегія обслуговування клієнтів як важливий напрям досягнення конкурентних переваг промислового підприємства

Мета статті полягає в обґрунтуванні теоретико-методичних підходів до розуміння ролі та значення стратегії обслуговування клієнтів промислового підприємства у здобутті ними тривалих конкурентних переваг. Стаття присвячена дослідженню та актуалізації стратегії обслуговування клієнтів промислового підприємства у контексті реалізації концепції стратегічного управління. Вирішення поставлених у статті завдань здійснено за допомогою таких загальнонаукових і спеціальних методів дослідження: аналізу та синтезу, систематизації та узагальнення.

Актуалізовано стратегію обслуговування клієнтів промислового підприємства у контексті реалізації концепції стратегічного управління. Ідентифіковано бар'єри входу в ринок, що створюються виробниками із високим рівнем обслуговування клієнтів, основними бар'єрами входу є використання схем оплати, які створюють сильну залежність між клієнтом і постачальником, налагодження широкої мережі закладів сервісу, які розташовані по місцю діяльності клієнтів, укладання контрактів на надання довготривалих постійних послуг, створення іміджу компетентності щодо надання послуг. Досліджено риси, що характеризують обслуговування клієнта з високою якістю. Ідентифіковано взаємозв'язок між стратегією конкурентних переваг підприємства і стратегією обслуговування клієнтів.

У статті обґрунтовано, що обслуговування стає каталізатором встановлення партнерських відносин між клієнтом та постачальником та досягнення високого рівня лояльності з боку споживачів. Важливим напрямом досягнення конкурентної переваги промислового підприємства є розроблення політики обслуговування клієнта. Запропоновані заходи для мотивування працівників до якісного обслуговування клієнтів дають змогу сформувати та підтримувати корпоративну культуру, орієнтовану на власних клієнтів. Основні наукові положення статті можна використовувати у практиці промислових підприємств.

Ключові слова: якість обслуговування клієнта, стратегія обслуговування клієнтів, конкурентоспроможність, стратегія конкурентних переваг підприємства.

Abstract

customer service strategic management

Kuziak V.V.¹, Motorniuk U.I.², StasiukN.R².

1'Lviv Polytechnic National University

Institute of Economics and Management,

Department of Marketing and Logistics

²Lviv Polytechnic National University

Institute of Economics and Management,

Department of Foreign Trade and Customs

The aim of the article is to substantiate theoretical and methodic approaches to comprehension of the role and importance of the strategy of customer service of an industrial enterprise in terms of achievement of its sustainable competitive advantages. The article is devoted to the study and actualization of the strategy of customer service of an industrial enterprise in the context of implementation of the strategic management concept. Solution of the tasks, outlined in the article, is secured by general scientific and specific methods of research, i.e. analysis and synthesis, systematization and generalization.

The work has actualized the strategy of customer service of an industrial enterprise in the contexts of implementation of the strategic management concept. The research identifies barriers on the way of the market entry, which are set by producers with a high level of customer service. The main barriers include the used schemes of payment, imposing heavy dependence between a customer and a supplier, as well as arrangement of a broad chain of servicing establishments, which are located at the places of customers' employment, completion of contracts on continuous supply services, creation of the image of competence concerning services supply. The article examines the features, characterizing customer service of high quality, and identifies relationship between the strategy of competitive advantages of an enterprise and the strategy of customer service.

The article supplies argumentation that servicing has become an accelerator of partnership relations setting between a customer and a supplier, as well as of achievement of a high level of customers' loyalty. Shaping of the policy of customer service is an important direction to reach a competitive advantage of an industrial enterprise. The work proposes measures to motivate employees to supply customer service of the appropriate quality, which will secure establishment and support of the corporative culture, focused on the company's clients. The principal scientific fundamentals of the article can be applied in the practical operation of industrial enterprises.

Key words: quality of customer service, strategy of customer service, competitive capacity, strategy of the competitive advantages of an enterprise.

Introduction

In the process of economic activity, each enterprise participates in numerous multi-vector relations. Duality of the relations, occurring due to activity of an industrial enterprise at the market, requires identification of their character. Organizations arrange networks in the form of chains, joint by some common linking points. In that chain, each enterprise acts both as a supplier and as a customer.

The experience of leading countries confirms that nowadays competitive capacity at the competitive markets can be secured by close cooperation with counteragents of the market (particularly, with customers, suppliers, intermediaries). The importance of such cooperation is argued by the fact that in the majority of the kinds of activity, the competition occurs not between separate enterprises, but between the supply chains.

Consolidating the world experience of establishment and performance of partnership relations between enterprises, one can affirm that they are featured by various forms, particularly, differentiated by the models of cooperation (cooperation in the supply chain, cooperation on the base of abilities, cooperation on the base of supply, competitive cooperation) and by the kinds (types) of partnership (cooperating organizations are considered as partners and, within the set limits, coordinate their plans and actions; cooperating organizations shift from coordination of actions to integration of actions; each organization takes the partner as the natural extension of the processes of its company).

Problem statement

At the global markets, the increase of competitive capacity sets higher requirements to the customer service. The enterprises, producing goods in the large scale, should expand their competences in the field of the appropriate customer service. As the requirement is getting more burdensome for the producers, and the task of customer service draws them from the main productive tasks, initiation of partnership relations is one of the ways to solve the problem. Such service has become an accelerator of establishment of partnership relations between a customer and a supplier, as well as achievement of a high level of customers' loyalty. In many cases, the service is the best way to initiate a system of close contacts between the enterprise and its customers.

The totality of services, which are related not only to the sale and exploitation of products, but also to creation of additional benefits for customers, serves as a crucial factor of the competitive capacity of enterprises under conditions of the intensive struggle at the market. It is particularly true for investment products, whereas users of those products evaluate proposals of the competitors, considering not just the price of the purchase, but also the price of the commodity consumption.

The analysis of recent researches and publications on the modern tendencies in management, marketing and logistics points out the growing interest to study the world experience of counteragents' cooperation at the market and their different forms. In particular, the issue is highlighted in the works by famous foreign scientists, including I. Ansoff [1], D. Lambert [2], M. Porter [3], as well as Ukrainian specialists, i.e. Krykavskyi Ye.V. [4], Chukhrai N.I. [5], Hryhorak M.Yu. [6, 9], Zozuliov O.V. [7], Bujak A. [8] and others.

However, despite of numerous publications, the tasks of formation of the promising directions of enterprise development by means of arrangement of partnership relations with other counteragents, i.e. the role of services in formations of “producer-customer” relations at the industrial markets, are practically not studied.

Customer service has been recently ignored. Moreover, it was associated with the phenomenon like breakage of equipment. However, at the present stage, it is clear that rise of the quality of industrial products does not bring reduction of the importance of servicing of a commodity and a customer, particularly after-sale service. In contrast, simultaneous activity in both directions, i.e. support of the product quality and its after-sale service, assists in practical achieving of the “total quality”.

The supply of high-quality customer service secures successful competition of producers by creating incoming barriers, preventing penetration of new competitors into the market. There work presents some examples of such barriers of the market entry, namely [4, p. 67]:

- use of the schemes of payment, which impose heavy dependence between a customer and a supplier, particularly, credit repayment, leasing, hiring, rating;

- arrangement of a broad chain of service institutions, located at the places of customers' employment;

- completion of contracts on continuous supply of services;

- creation of the image of competence concerning supply of services (diversity and quality).

Thus, more effective and qualitative customer service of an industrial enterprise secures successful competition at the market by image upgrading and formation of a circle of loyal customers, as well as obtaining of an additional profit.

The goals expect argumentation of the key role of the strategy of customer service of an industrial enterprise in obtaining of continuous competitive advantages.

Results

Customer service requires supplementing of the commodity with extra benefit, which should be created within the field of marketing competences, and afterwards, when the demand for the commodity is shaped, by supplementing the community with the benefits of place and time, which are suggested by the logistic skills of commodity delivery to a definite place and at a definite time. Thus, they are revealed in space and time satisfaction of the demand. Logistics is a key element of support, i.e. the instrument (enabler) in the marketing strategies of enterprises. Its role is far beyond the boundaries of the physical distribution, but also concerns cooperation relations in the supply chains, ways of the distribution management, as well as methods of control for material moves within the internal storagetransport chains of enterprises. The author's interpretation of the integration of marketing and logistics has produced the principal measuring of the concept of strategic management of customer service of the enterprise in a supply chain, and defined its essential elements.

The author of the research defines determinants of the main theories of strategic management as the base for the concept. The essence of the research is to adapt the theories to the subject. First, while the strategy of customer service is a kind of business strategy, implemented at the level of a separate business-unit of the enterprise, it should be subordinated to the corporative strategic goals. Second, performance under market conditions causes the necessity to focus on the dynamic external environment, which determines directions of development of the strategy of servicing, and requires considering of the strategic approaches, applied by the enterprises of the defined strategic group. Third, considering dynamics of the external environment, the strategic management is focused on permanent corrections and modifications of the strategy of customer service according to the market needs. Fourth, the efforts on customers keeping, increase of sale and profit require satisfaction of their needs in terms of time, reliability, communications and comfort. To meet the needs, it is necessary to master marketing, logistic skills and competences. In that context, the reason of the significant dependence between marketing and logistics is explained by building of the key competences with the focus on a customer. Fifth, under conditions of the “new economy” establishment, those competences have become the key resource of the enterprise performance, particularly in the field of customer service.

It is substantiated that, supplying a wide range of services for customers, the producing enterprise both maximum satisfies needs of its customers and obtains a complex of strategic advantages. First, the “complex servicing” is more often taken as a source of income and its use can significantly increase the income and profitability of producers. Another advantage is that the field of servicing assists producers in formation of a steady market of the commodity, entering new markets, or expand their market share.

The research has confirmed that high-quality customer service should be characterized by the following features:

- representatives of the enterprise at all levels manifest total attention and respect to customers, and try to supply the best assistance;

- management is completely engaged in introduction of the program of perfect customer service (however, that participation is sincere, not pretended one);

- at each level of management, each manager is totally competent about customer's expectations, and develops a system and procedures, necessary to satisfy those expectations (as well as controls results of the actions to be able to make efficient administration of the staff's work);

- there is sufficient flexibility in satisfaction of customers' needs;

- personnel take customers as partners, not enemies; relations are mainly of partnership, not antagonistic character;

- making important decisions, the enterprise is first concerned about the wellbeing of customers; quality of goods and services is permanently upgraded to meet the customers' expectations;

- the policy, based on prevention of problems, substitutes the policy of problem solution;

- managers of the enterprise take some criteria as the main ones for success achievement, particularly, satisfaction of the customer's wish, a share of market, as well as long-term profit, contrary to the term profits and fast return of investments;

- quality of goods and services is adjusted to the customer's requests, not to the standards, which are obligatory at the enterprise;

- employees are permanently trained to master new ways of service supply for customers, along with improvement of the main principles of quality services.

It is argued that a competitive advantage can be developed, focusing on competitors or on customers. The strategy, focused on competitors, suggests the move towards reaching of the improved quality, innovative technologies, wider distribution, increase of the variants of a product, better technical supply, upgrading the company image.

The strategy, focused on customers, is grounded on the move towards solution of the customers' problems through security of more reliability, less operational costs, faster response, simplification of the purchase procedures, as well as guaranty of the appropriate quality of products and services.

The difference in the approaches is manifested by the way of the advantage evaluation, and acceptance of either results, achieved by competitors, or actual customer productivity as the criterion.

Maintenance of the competitive advantage, achieved due to the cost-based leadership or distinguishing competence, is a continuous process, which is intensified by itself in case it is well-planned and is successfully fulfilled.

Achievement of an advantage should bring results in the form of customers' loyalty, their satisfaction, as well as profitability, suggesting increase of the volume of investments in the key competences and means, and strengthening the competitive position of the enterprise.

Table 1 presents the strategies of competitive advantages, adopted by the author of the article concerning the principal processes of value creation, which act in the chain of M. Porter.

In particular, operational excellence is based on the fundamentals, suggesting that a competitive advantage, obtained and maintained by creating of the added value for a customer, is the effect of cost-based leadership.

The product leadership (differentiation) deals with permanent development and introduction of new products at the market. Adjustment to the customer's needs underlines the benefits of establishment and maintenance of long-term relations between the enterprise and customers.

Recognition and satisfaction of customers' needs serve as an important indicator of the market focus of the enterprise. Establishment and maintenance of the mentioned relations provide benefits both for customers and the enterprise. They are getting greater due to better satisfaction of the customers' requirements (the same as needs) with the supplied products and services.

Table 1Relationship between the strategy of competitive advantages of the enterprise and the strategy of customer service

Conclusion

At the current stage, servicing has become an accelerator of partnership relations establishment between a customer and a supplier, and achievement of a high level of consumers' loyalty.

In many cases, the servicing is the best way to develop a system of close contacts between the enterprise and its customers. The totality of services, which are related not only to the sale and exploitation of products, but also to creation of the added value for customers, has become a crucial factor of the competitive capacity of enterprises under conditions of the intensive struggle at the market. It is particularly true in terms of investment products, because users of those products evaluate proposals of competitors, considering both price of the purchase, and price of the commodity consumption.

Under such conditions, the maximum efficiency of customer service is a necessary condition for establishment of business contacts between a customer and a supplier.

An important direction of achievement of a competitive advantage of an industrial enterprise suggests development of the policy of servicing of the commodity and the very customer. Nowadays, industrial enterprises improve attractiveness of their supply by providing technical, commercial, and financial services for their customers.

Whereas the competitive advantage is based on expenditures, or on the value, its acceptance and maintenance requires creation of a friendly atmosphere at the enterprise, as well as opportunities for individual development. It can strengthen the confidence and cooperation, which make the essence of partnership between a supplier and a customer. The work of all people, employed at the enterprise, should be focused on the customer. Even those, who have never contacted with customers personally, should understand that, regardless of the performed function, they should have personal clients. The author of the study proposes some measures for motivation of the workers to provide customer service of the adequate quality, which will ensure creating and supporting of the corporative culture, focused on personal clients.

References

1. Ansoff, I. Aew corporative strategy, PiterKom, 1999.

2. Lambert, D. M., and J.R. Stock. Strategic Logistics Management, 3th ed., Irwin, 1993.

3. Porter, M. Competitive strategy. Methodology of the analysis of branches and competitors, Business Books, 2005.

4. Krykanskyi, Ye.V., and N.I. Chukhrai. Industrial marketing: manual, Published by Lviv National Polytechnic University, 2004.

5. Chukhrai, N.I.. Logistic service: manu, Published by Lviv National Polytechnic University, 2006.

6. Hryhorak, M.Yu., and O.V. Karpun. Logistic service: manual, Published by National Aviation University,2010.

7. Zozuliov, O.V., and M. Levchenko. “Formation of omnichannal companie's marketing strategy.” Economic bulletin of National Technical University of Ukraine “Kyiv Polytechnical Institute”, 2016.

8. Bujak, A. Innovations and changes in the logistics tasks implementations, Studia Ekonomiczna, Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny w Katowicach, 2012.

9. Hryhorak, M. Yu. “Analysis of business models and strategies of innovative development logistics serviceproviders.” Technology audit and production reserves, 2016.

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