Customer Experience Management Importance: Doc

Planning for Customer
Experience
Management

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
Learning Outcome 1........................................................................................................................1
P1 Value and importance of understanding the needs, wants and preferences of target
customer.................................................................................................................................1
P2 Factors that drive and influence customer engagement of different target customer group..2
Learning Outcome 2........................................................................................................................3
P3 Create a customer experience map for a selected service sector organisation..................3
P4 Opportunities created by touch points throughout the customer experience....................5
Learning Outcome 3........................................................................................................................6
P5 Examine how digital technology is employed in managing the customer experience......6
Learning Outcome 4........................................................................................................................7
P6 Illustrate customer service strategies in a specific service sector context.........................7
P7 How customer service strategies create and develop the customer experience................8
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
References......................................................................................................................................11

Introduction
Customer service refers to the abilities of an organisation for determining and providing
the necessary products which can satisfy their needs and demands. The organisations need to
determine the needs and requirements of their customers so that the products of the firm can be
provided to them according to their expectations which will enhance the customer satisfaction.
Hospitality sector is a huge industry which is serving the people from all over the world for
ensuring their satisfaction. The taken firm for this report is the Gourmet Burgers which is a UK
based restaurant firm. The company is providing different varieties of fast food products such as
Burgers to the visitors of UK. This report will discuss the needs and expectations of different
market segments for the hospitality industry. Further this report will prepare a customer
experience map to create business opportunities and optimise customer touch points. This report
will also investigate the impacts of digital technology in customer relationship management and
apply the effective customer experience management to organisation for increasing the customer
engagement in business activities.
Learning Outcome 1
P1 Value and importance of understanding the needs, wants and preferences of target customer
Gourmet burgers is targetting the customers such as Youths who wants travelling,
business persons, children, etc. who mostly travel for fulfilling their needs in another country. It
is very essential for the restaurant to determine the needs and preferences of their targetted
customers so that the services can be provided accordingly. These needs and preferences are
discussed below:
The needs of children is to enjoy, sleep and eat. The Gourmet burgers is providing local
food to the children in order to satisfy their needs for influencing their purchasing behaviour for
the products of restaurant. Children are funny and entertaining in nature who also maintain
happy atmosphere and tasty fast food is the requirement of children as they are not focused on
their health. After satisfying the needs through burgers, Gourmet burgers needs to satisfy the
wants of the children (Altunel and Erkut, 2015). These wants differs from the needs and are the
alternative of needs. The children are focused on tasty fast food as needs whereas their wants
could be anything such as burgers, noodles etc. in the local fast food. The preferences of the
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children are the the priority based products such as Burgers which are liked by almost every
children.
Business people also have some needs, wants and preferences which must be fulfilled by
the Gourmet burgers. Business persons are task oriented due to which they prefers to execute
their work on time and due to these their needs, wants and preferences differs from each other.
The needs of business person include friendly environment, comfortable and silent place for
meeting. Whereas wants could be the Wi-Fi, sockets for the laptops and equipments. The
preferences of such persons include separate meeting rooms at where the meeting can be
executed.
Youth also have some needs, wants and preferences which should be fulfilled by the
Gourmet burgers. The needs of the youth include healthy food and beverages which is provided
by the Gourmet burgers. The wants of these customers include good culture in the restaurant,
slow music etc. which impact their satisfaction. Whereas preferences of such customers include
drinks with the food along with a place to enjoy and fun (Bilgihan, Kandampully and Zhang,
2016).
Gourmet burgers needs to commit themselves for satisfying the needs, wants and
preferences of their customers. Through this, the restaurant can maintain good image among the
customers which will improve the sales and profit of restaurant. These needs to consider the
needs, preferences and wants of their customers for enhancing their satisfaction.
P2 Factors that drive and influence customer engagement of different target customer group
A large number of factors exists in the market which can influence the customers
engagement in the Gourmet burgers. These factors must be considered by the management of
Gourmet burgers in order to improve the customer satisfaction. Some of these factors which can
influence the targetted customers of Gourmet burgers are as follows: Children: Children needs a good environment in which they can enjoy the moments
while consuming food at restaurant. The Gourmet burger is providing a playful and
entertaining environment to children as well as the company is also focusing on
providing good quality based tasty food to these customers in order to ensure their
satisfaction as their needs are fulfilled by restaurant. Youth: Youth likes to eat and drink as well as to dance and enjoy when gathered after
several days. The Gourmet burgers are providing such type of environment to the youth
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customers like the restaurant has a separate room for the young people who gathers for a
particular cause after long time. At this place, people can drink, enjoy and dance. Apart
from this, company is also providing beverages with food to customers in order to ensure
their satisfaction and good experience (Blázquez, 2014).
 Business persons: Business persons are also the targetted customers of Gourmet burgers
who can take the products and services of the restaurant while having an in formal
meeting with the clients and employees. The business persons require peaceful and clean
environment while conducting the meeting so that every can communicate with each
other without having any issues. The Gourmet burgers is providing such environment to
the customers in which proper AC, Wi-Fi and electric socket facility are available for the
tools and equipments of business. These customers also desired of quality based food
which can satisfy their hunger. Through these services, the restaurant can ensure the
satisfaction of customers which will also strengthen the market position and image of the
company.
When the management of Gourmet burgers will consider these factors in serving the
customers with needed services then the management of the restaurant can ensure the customer
satisfaction which will also improve the brand image and profit of the company. The company
can sustain for a ling period to time in the market if the customers are satisfied from the offerings
of the customers.
Learning Outcome 2
P3 Create a customer experience map for a selected service sector organisation
There are various factors on the basis of which the customers of an organisation can be
mapped. The customer experience map for Gourmet Burgers is as follows:
Website Website of Gourmet burgers should be created
by a professional web developer so that
customer will become customer rather than a
visitor on website. It is the initial point at
which the customer and restaurant interacts
(Bowie, Buttle and Brookes, 2016). So the
developer of the website needs to ensure that
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the customers during visiting the website of
Gourmet burgers should feels good which can
be done by using the attractive pictures,
content and information. The photos of food
shown on website must be clicked by a
professional photographer and belong to the
real food. The company also needs to ensure
that the website is developed by a professional
developer which can prepare the website
according to customer mindset in order to
ensure that the visitors can be converted to
customers.
Review sites After checking the website, customers prefers
to check for the reviews posted by other people
on the review sites. This phase comes when
customers becomes attracted towards the
website and prefers to take the services. The
Gourmet burgers needs to increase the reviews
of their business or site by providing effective
services to a large number of customers. Also
the customer satisfaction can be enhanced by
gathering the feedbacks and suggestions of
customers in improving the quality of their
food and services. The reviews are also useful
for providing a blueprint of the products and
services of the organisation to the customers
(Brandon-Jones and et. al., 2016).
Telephone It is another aspect which is necessary for
mapping the customer experience. In this, the
customers calls the restaurant for inquiring
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regarding the products an services which are
provided by the hotels to the customers after
reading the reviews and checking the website.
The information can be associated with the
prices, quantity, quality, space etc. which are
essential for meeting their expectations and
needs. The telephone in Gourmet burgers is
handled by the receptionist who provides the
required information to the callers by using
their communication and interpersonal skills.
Restaurant staff and environment After entering in the Gourmet burgers,
Customers are heavily influenced by the way
through which the hotel staff treat them. The
workers of the Gourmet burgers are skilled and
equipped with required skills so that they can
communicate with the customers in order to
ensure their satisfaction. The workers of the
gourmet burgers are treating the customers
through humble and politeness along with a
gentle behaviour. The workers of the Gourmet
burgers are talkative and educated due to
which they serves the customers appropriately.
Also the environment of Gourmet burgers is
ambient, lighted and fragrant which enhance
the customer experience.
P4 Opportunities created by touch points throughout the customer experience
Touchpoints refers to the interaction of customers and products of the restaurant. These
touchpoints are essential for the customers in determining their experience from the products and
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services provided by the organisation to its customers. Some of the touchpoints which can
impact the customers experience is as follows:
Website: It is the first touchpoint of the customers through which they get the idea
regarding the products and services of a business. The website contains the information
regarding the products and services, prices etc. which are required by the customers. The website
of Gourmet burgers must contain the suitable and true information regarding the products of the
organisation. When website get the positive response from customers then the sales and profit of
the company can improve as well as company can grabs the opportunities of market which can
improve the market position and share of the company (Chathoth and et. al., 2016).
Telephone: This is the touchpoint in which the customers calls the receptionist of the
Gourmet burgers for getting the information regarding the facilities and products such as Wi-Fi,
food etc. which are provided by the restaurant to its customers. When the information provided
by the restaurant to the customers is not suitable then it can leads to the dissatisfaction among
customers which can negatively impact the restaurant and its brand image. The Gourmet burgers
needs to provide the services and products to customers based on their requirements as well as
the receptionist needs to speak with politeness and peaceful tone.
Restaurant staff: It is the most important touchpoint of the customers in the restaurant.
The customers in this touchpoint consider and analyse the behaviour of the customers for
ensuring their satisfaction. When the behaviour and attitude of the customers is not good then it
also impact the image and customer satisfaction of the restaurant. Therefore the management of
the Gourmet burgers needs to emphasise on improving the skills and behaviour of their workers
in order to grab the chances of business opportunities.
Restaurant management: The management of the Gourmet burgers must be good
enough so that the customers can feel safe and good in the restaurant premises. The management
needs to ensure that the food is of high quality as well as must be served within the time so that it
won't get cold. This is essential for the management in enhancing the customers satisfaction as
well as to grab the other opportunities in the marketplace (Jauhari and Bharwani, 2017).
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Learning Outcome 3
P5 Examine how digital technology is employed in managing the customer experience
The use of advance digital technology in the business operations is essential as it
develops a huge impact on the customer experience. BY using the advance technology, customer
service standards can reach at greater heights which will keep the customer satisfied. The staff
needs to equip their workers with the required skills and capabilities through which their
customer satisfaction can be enhanced. There are various technologies which can be
implemented in the business operations of the Gourmet burgers for improving the customers
experience. These technologies are necessary for the company so that they can provide their
products and services to the customers in an effective manner which will ensure the customer
satisfaction. The technology used by the service sectors organisation for managing the customer
experience are as given below:
Artificial intelligence: This technology is used by the Gourmet burgers in the various
advantages which are necessary for the growth and development of the organisation. Through the
use of this technology, the Gourmet burgers can take better and improved decisions for
empowering the conversations among the customer and company. BY using this technology, the
company can analyse their decision before implementing which will improve the customer
satisfaction and experiences (Kandampully, Zhang and Bilgihan, 2015).
Virtual reality: This technology is also useful for the Gourmet burgers in order to
improve the satisfaction of customers towards the modern businesses. This technology can
change the experience of the customers due to having potential and efficiency. Through the
Virtual reality, customers can engage themselves in imagination, senses and attention unlike any
of the other technology that exist currently. Through this technology, Gourmet burgers can
engage their customers in different activities which will improve the experience and satisfaction
of the customers.
Learning Outcome 4
P6 Illustrate customer service strategies in a specific service sector context
Customer services are an integral part of an organisation who is responsible for attracting
a large number of customers as well as to maintain the customer engagement. Providing effective
services to the customers is helpful for the organisations in achieving the high growth and
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development. The business environment is full of competition due to which the organisations
such as Gourmet burger needs to provide effective products and services to the people. For this,
Gourmet burger should adopt some strategies so that they can improve the customer experience
and these are discussed as follows:
Follow up Post booking: Customer service initiated from the moment when customers
book their place or seat for taking the services or products (Lemon and Verhoef, 2016). The
management of the Gourmet burger needs to determine the needs and requirement of customers
such as spice, premise information and other facility in order to satisfy their needs. Through this,
customers feel themselves as the important guest for the restaurant which also enhance their
experience.
Offering technology they require: The Gourmet burgers can provide the service such as
Wi-Fi, online payment, online booking etc. for the ease of customers. Through this, customers
can do their task effectively in less time. Also the Gourmet burger can provide the internet
connection to the customers for ensuring that customers are not feeling bored.
Beyond customer service while resolving issues: There are chances of issues and
problems for the customers in the service industry due to which the companies needs to focus on
these chances so as to take proper measure. The Gourmet burger can provide the new facilities
which was not mentioned before in order to improve the satisfaction of customers which can be
influenced by the issues or errors (Peppers and Rogers, 2016).
Trained staff to read guest: The management of the Gourmet burger needs to ensure that
the staff has the required skills for serving the customers effectively. The management should
ensure that the staff remembers their past mistakes and learn from them in order to improve their
working. The staff needs to understand the customers differently as every customer varies with
other.
P7 How customer service strategies create and develop the customer experience
Critical observations of the customer audit trail for the Gourmet burgers are as follows:
Name of hospitality business: Gourmet burgers , London
Date and time of visit: 23, April, 2019
Ambience and First Impressions
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Good things Bad things Changes or modifications
The lightning, sounds and
interior of the restaurant is
very good.
The space and sitting
arrangements of the restaurant
is not proper and aligned.
The space can be made by
properly aligning the sitting
arrangements.
Prices
Good things Bad things Changes or modifications
The prices of the restaurant
products are comparatively
low than competitors.
The Gourmet burger is special
product of restaurant due to
which it is expensive.
I will to provide the value of
products to the customers for
which they purchase the
products.
Range of Products
Good things Bad things Changes or modifications
The restaurant is providing
various food products such as
Burgers, snacks etc.
The main dish of restaurant is
Gourmet burger due to which
the taste of other products is
not good.
I will hire new employees who
can cook new varieties of food
along with the taste.
Staff
Good things Bad things Changes or modifications
The restaurant has several
employees for serving the
customers with tasty food.
The serving process takes
some time due to the unskilled
workers.
I will provide training to the
workers so that they can
improve their working in the
assigned area.
Time
Good things Bad things Changes or modifications
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The food is served on table on
timely basis.
Timings for takeaway food is
delayed usually due to
packaging and other décor.
I will use the updated
machinery for packing and
décor.
Payment
Good things Bad things Changes or modifications
The restaurant is taking
payments through cash and
ATM cards.
The restaurant is not adopting
the payment from online
gateways such as online
banking etc.
I will start the payment
through online banking and
other payment gateways.
Conclusion
It has been concluded from the above report that the business organisations needs to
consider the needs, wants and preferences of their customers so that the products can be provided
accordingly to them. The organisations need to consider the factors and touchpoints which can
influence the customers as well as company. Technology also plays a major role in the growth
and customers engagement of an organisation. Also the customer audit trail is useful for the
businesses in order to determine their good and bad areas which can be modified according to the
demand and requirements of the customers.
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References
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Online
Managing Customer Experience. 2018. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/IJCHM-10-2015-0549?
journalCode=ijchm>.
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