Multiple and Diverse Customer Management

Name: Multiple and Diverse Customer Management
Author: Aileen Smith

Learn how to manage diverse customer groups and monitor priorities

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 5 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

We have all heard the term the customer is always right. But in business, some customers may be more right than others. In a perfect world, we would do everything that our customers want us to do and still make a generous profit. Reality is that we must make choices about meeting customer requirements and prioritize which attributes and services we provide, which ones we postpone until a later date, and which customer requirements are not worth our time and resources. The work we did with the Quality Function Deployment Model will help us with making these production prioritization decisions. It can help us decide which customer requirements are too costly to implement or impractical from an engineering and design point of view. It can also identify where there is a performance gap between our product and the competitors products. It will also indicate which requirements are the most important, and the house of quality will generate a prioritized list of the customer requirements to address. It is possible that meeting the requirements of one customer will conflict with the needs of another. The QFD process can help us with that decision too, if we consider future customer potential value along with the QFD evaluations. Let's say that a building materials manufacturer decides to offer a new railing design. One customer would like the railing post to be round and another wants them to be square. The QFD process will determine if both styles are viable or if there are any tooling, materials or cost issues, as well as any possible problems with the design. If no issues are identified, but there is a production constraint that will only allow one of these styles to be produced, then it becomes a simple math problem based on which product is likely to return more sales to the company. However, there are other processes we can put in place to create the best customer experience and help us manage conflicting customer requirements and demands. Let's start by defining what we mean by the customer experience. The customer experience starts with the first interaction with your business and continues into what we hope will be a happy and long lasting relationship. To become a good partner to your customer, you need to understand their needs. This can begin with making it easy for the customer to do business with you, delivering what they want in a timely, efficient manner, and creating an enjoyable experience for the customer. You must put yourself in your customer's shoes. What is it they want from you and what do they expect to get out of your relationship? Do you know the challenges they face? To make this happen, you can establish certain priorities. The first priority is to create a connection. A strong relationship will keep a customer loyal. When product availability is tight, prices go up, shipments are late, or anything else goes wrong. The second priority is to be responsive. Nothing frustrates a customer more than when a problem occurs and they cannot reach the company hiring welltrained, customer service agents who are taught to deal with customers in an empathetic and effective manner will avoid a lot of problems. The third priority is capturing and measuring feedback. Quality, function deployment, customer relationship management, software, focus groups, market research studies, customer panels, and social media monitoring are just some of the ways in which we can capture, analyze and provide feedback on the customer experience. The fourth priority is continuous improvement. You can take the results of the customer feedback and use them to develop marketing strategies, improve product performance, upgrade service, refine product choices, and lead innovation. These are some of the ways to improve customer experience and enhance customer satisfaction. The question which customer is right? Can be answered by understanding customer requirements and demands.

Intermediate Provider : Aileen Smith 5 Lessons · 18m in German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

In this course, you will learn about establishing and monitoring priorities. You will have to make choices about meeting customer requirements and prioritize which attributes and services you provide, which ones are postponed until a later date, and which are not worth the time and resources. You will also learn to develop methods for managing your capacity and resources. This course also covers customer service principles that will help you serve the many diverse customers you may encounter.

No matter what product or service you offer, you are likely to encounter people from different ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds, and some of your customers may speak different languages. You may encounter diversity in gender, race, age, religion, sexual orientation, and social status. Everyone has their own history and experiences that have shaped them, and this all becomes a part of the customer relationship interaction. Utilizing customer service principles can help your customer service representatives provide the best possible service to all customers. Showcasing your best front to customers is just one way to meet their needs. This course will also help you to address internal matters capacity and resource planning, which will allow you to anticipate and mitigate against any resource clashes, prioritize tasks when conflicts occur, and rationalize personnel additions when needed.

What You'll Learn

Make production prioritization decisions by establishing and monitoring priorities
Develop methods for managing your capacity and resources
Apply capacity planning techniques to anticipate and mitigate resource clashes
Understand fundamental customer service principles
Implement techniques to serve diverse customer groups across different backgrounds and languages

Key Takeaways

Managing customers requires making choices about which attributes and services to provide, postpone, or set aside based on time and resources.
Capacity and resource planning helps you anticipate and mitigate resource clashes, prioritize tasks when conflicts occur, and rationalize personnel additions when needed.
You are likely to encounter customers from different ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds, and some may speak different languages.
Diversity in customer relationships can include gender, race, age, religion, sexual orientation, and social status shaped by each person's history and experiences.
Utilizing customer service principles helps representatives provide the best possible service to all customers.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will I learn in this course?

You will learn to make production prioritization decisions, utilize capacity planning techniques, understand fundamental customer service principles, and implement techniques to serve diverse customer groups.

Who is this course for?

It is for anyone serving multiple and diverse customers, including customer service representatives who encounter people from different ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds and who may speak different languages.

Does this course cover internal resource planning?

Yes. It addresses internal matters of capacity and resource planning, helping you anticipate and mitigate resource clashes, prioritize tasks when conflicts occur, and rationalize personnel additions when needed.

What topics are included in the lessons?

The lessons cover Establishing and Monitoring Priorities, Developing Methods for Managing Capacity and Resources, Diverse Customer Groups, Customer Service Principles, and a Test Your Knowledge assessment.

What skills does this course help develop?

It supports skills including Customer Communications Management, Customer Lifecycle Management, Customer Service Training, Customer Success Management, and Service Management.

Professional Certifications and Continuing Education Units (CEUs)

Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM®)

Professional Development Credits (PDCs): 0.5

Certification Program Categories:

Leadership & NavigationBusiness AcumenConsultationGlobal MindsetEthical PracticeRelationship ManagementAnalytical AptitudeCommunicationDiversity, Equity & Inclusion

KnowledgeCity is approved by SHRM as a Recertification General Provider to offer SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP professional development credits (PDCs). By taking the courses approved by SHRM, KnowledgeCity can award SHRM Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for HR knowledge and competency programs related to the SHRM Body of Applied Skills and Knowledge™ (the SHRM BASK™).