Managing Customer Experience

This report analyzes the role of digital technology in managing customer experience in the service sector, using Riverbanks Hotel as a case study. It explores the use of CRM systems, customer service strategies, and the impact of digital content and speed on business performance. The report also analyzes how customer service strategies help meet customer needs and business standards.

Managing the customer
experience

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
P5 Examination of digital technology is engaged in managing customer experience in the
service sector along with some specific examples of consumer relationship management
(CRM) System ......................................................................................................................2
P6. Illustration of customer service strategies in a service sector..........................................5
P7. How customer service strategies help in meeting the needs of the customers and meet up
the business standard..............................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
In this report, discussions will be made on, examination of digital technology engaged in
managing customer experience in the service sector along with some specific examples of
consumer relationship management (CRM) System (Alexander, 2013). The present report is
based on Riverbanks Hotel, a small scale company which offers its service in United Kingdom.
The hotel is provided its accommodation services within UK with limited number of rooms at
affordable prices. It will include illustration of customer service strategies in a service sector and
how customer service strategies help in meeting the needs of the customers and meet up the
business standard.

P5 Examination of digital technology is engaged in managing customer experience in the service
sector along with some specific examples of consumer relationship management (CRM)
System
Customer relationship management (CRM) is an approach to manage a company's interaction
with current and potential customers (What is CRM, 2019). To improve business relationships
with customers it uses data analysis about customers' history with a company, focusing on
customer retention and ultimately driving sales growth (Ariffin and Maghzi, 2012). In context to
Riverbanks Hotel, its top management team could adopt all CRM systems among the below
mentioned one in order to develop positive relationship with their customers. The main three
resources among them are stated as below:
Three CRM system:
Operational: It refers to the services which allow a firm to take care of their customers.
Further, it also provides support to various business process such as marketing, sales. It mainly
focuses on automation, improvement ,and enhancement of business processes that are based on
customer support. Even this system also focuses on the direct interaction of the customers and
these include face to face personal interaction, interaction through any website or call centres.
Analytical: It is the subset in which data is collected by the firm about their customer
relationship with a goal of raising customer satisfaction and their customer retention rate as well.
Even this also provide customer segmentation and divide the customers into those who may or
may not utilize the services again and again (Bilgihan, Kandampully and Zhang, 2016). In
context of Riverbanks Hotel, its manager could collect desired data from customers during their
visit in terms of feedback. It will further help them in analysing demand of customers so that
they could be fulfilled in future.
Collaborative: This CRM system basically deals with temporal relation and integration
of customer interaction and channels of communication such as phone, email. Thus, it helps to
increase and improve customer retention and liberty.
Features of Customer Relationship Management Systems:
Customer needs:
In order to ensure long term sustainability, it is important for Riverbanks Hotel to
regularly keep on evaluating their customers’ needs to offer the most advanced and innovative
products and services (Peppers and Rogers, 2016).

Customer complaints:
In order to retain consumers for the long run, it is important for management team of
Riverbanks Hotel to carefully listen and solve grievances and issues of customers in order to
retain their loyalty towards the company and provide the ultimate satisfaction.
Customer satisfaction:
CRM also helps to satisfy the needs of customers of Riverbanks Hotel such that it can be
measured of how the needs and responses are collaborated and can be delivered to excel
customer expectation. That is why in this modern era, customer satisfaction is an important
performance exponent which can be explained as more is the customer satisfaction, more the
business, and bonding with customers (Blázquez, 2014).
Customer service:
In a quoted firm, customer service is a process of delivering information as well as
services and customer satisfaction is also depending upon the quality of service that is provided
by the suppliers. Moreover, if the quality and trend of service that further go beyond the
expectation of the customers then only the firm supposed to have good business with their loyal
customers.
Importance of Digital technology:
 Digital technology helps to keep the customers up to date such that the Riverbanks Hotel
updates their new products and the latest changes in email or website then it also helps
keep people aware.
 Using digital technology, the Riverbanks Hotel will deliver the products and services
immediately to their customers.
 Using digital technology, the Riverbanks Hotel streamlines the operations and also cut
down the cost internally thus, in this way it helps to reduce the extra cost of the
company's product (C. Harris and Daunt, 2013).
 With the help of Digital Marketing companies can effectively raise their brand awareness
with the help of which they can find a new targeted market.
The Riverbanks Hotel can rapidly boost their sales margin with the use of various social
media sites to attract numerous customers from different geographical locations.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a process in which regular complaints and
issues of customers are resolved as to effectively manage and build a smooth functioning with

consumers (Homburg and Kuehnl, 2017). Organisations can take advantages of digital
Technology as to the safe history of consumer transactions and record their likes and dislikes as
to effectively target new customers and maximise their sale volume. There are some certain
Digital Marketing sources with the help of which Riverbanks Hotel can effectively raise their
CRM experience system:
Email Marketing:
In this type of marketing, business organisation generally sends welcome emails to
customers in which they can include information about their company and products and services.
In relation to Riverbanks Hotel, manager of this hotel can ask for guest feedbacks in order to take
their opinions and views related to products and services (Cetin and Dincer, 2014).
Social Media Marketing:
Organisation by taking advantages of various social media platforms like Google+,
Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest as to showcase information, videos, photos of their clients to
numerous customers including VIP and special client as to attract them towards their products
and services. With reference to Riverbanks Hotel, it can go for social marketing as it is cheapest
form form of marketing whose results are much effective.
Display Marketing:
It is the advertising on a website or social media through some banners and its main
purpose is to deliver the general advertisement to the site visitors.
Affiliate Marketing:
It is that type of performance where a business reward one or more to affiliate each
visitor. Further, it is an online sales tactics which the owner uses to increases their sales by
allowing other targeting the same audience as well (Garg, Rahman and Qureshi, 2014).
As per the above specified different marketing tools, it can be said that Social Media and
Email marketing can be seen as feasible marketing tool for Riverbanks Hotel. This is because,
they are cost effective method which is best for small scale hotels.
Impact of digital content and speed on business:
 This creates huge revenue opportunity such that with the help of Digital Technology
Riverbanks Hotel can improve their Customer Relationship Management by sending
them customised marketing messages and offers.

 Everyone is getting online and by using digital marketing or advertisement, the
Riverbanks Hotel is also boosting up the sales and can lead to a wide range of customers
in limited time.
 It has been analysed that digital technology is considered one of the more affordable
methods that reach a wider audience and as compared to word of mouth advertisement,
digital technology creates a positive impact upon the business performance (Komunda
and Osarenkhoe, 2012).
P6. Illustration of customer service strategies in a service sector
A. There are numerous of customer experience management strategies which are used by hotels
in hospitality industry. These strategies helps hotels in enhancing their positive relationship with
customers. Some of the main customer service strategy that could be adopted by Riverbanks
Hotel are as follows:
 Assessing the market needs – In order to manage effective customer experience
Riverbanks Hotel must first assess the market needs such as what would be the demand
for rooms in the upcoming month so as to determine the room occupancy of the hotel,
find out about the facilities that are desired by the customers. It is very important to
assess the market needs in order to maximise the effective customer experience.
 Experience mapping –It may be defined as a visualisation of an experience that a
'generic' person undergoes towards the attainment of the goal. It helps in understanding
what facilities or which kind of experience would motivate the customers to come and
avail the services (Homburg, Jozić and Kuehnl, 2017). Furthermore, it is very important
to carry out experience mapping by Riverbanks Hotel in order to get the exact
information about the experience undergone by the customer at the hotel which in turn
will help in improving the services where the hotel finds any loophole and this ,in turn,
will help in effective customer experience management.
 Touchpoint analysis – Touch point is a point through which the consumer interacts with
the business in order to avail the facilities or because of any other reason through face to
face interaction or online interaction. Touchpoint analysis gives the customers an
opportunity to form prior perception and opinion regarding the services provided by
Riverbanks Hotel. This is one of the most important analysis as it helps in determining
the degree of customer experience.

B. Customer service management strategies that are used by a business organisation belonging to
hospitality sector in order to improve customer engagement. Some of the main CRM activities
that could be adopted by Riverbanks Hotel are as follows:
 Create a customer service vision – It is the most important strategy as it is created in
order to provide clear direction to employees. It helps in pooling all the efforts and
working towards the achievement of common customer service vision. Creation of the
service vision is a very crucial task and involves a lot of elements which has to be taken
care of regarding the formation of the vision statement. In context of Riverbanks Hotel,
it can be said that this strategy could help them in improving customer engagement (Ren
and et.al., 2016).
 Assess the customer needs – It is very important for Riverbanks Hotel to assess the
needs of the customers appropriately so that efforts could be made to provide the
services to them as per their desire and increase their engagement because if the
company fails to identify the need of its customers then it won’t be able to fulfil their
needs. Hence, in order to keep them satisfied and increase their engagement; the hotel
has to assess the need of its customers appropriately.
 Hire the right employees – The Riverbanks Hotel should hire those employees which
are the best suitable for the available job role. In order to hire a most suitable candidate,
the hotel should take various kinds of test such as employment test, behavior test, and
attitude test so as to check the compatibility of the employees and select the best
candidate from the available lot which possesses the skills as demanded by the job.
 Set goals for customer service –One of the most important strategies of customer
service management is to set a SMART goal so that all the activities would be carried
out in a direction towards the achievement of the goal (Kandampully, Zhang and
Jaakkola, 2018). In relation to Riverbanks Hotel, goals should be such that they should
be specific and could be measured appropriately so that whether the goal is achieved or
not could be found and the actions could be taken. Further, too easy goals should not be
established rather goals which are competitive and which may lead the hotel towards
new heights should be established so as to improve customer engagement.
 Train the service skills – Employees of the hotel industry should be given proper
training so that they can develop their skills and provide better services to customers in

order to maximise the satisfaction level and experience of the customers so that they visit
the hotel again (Rahimi and Kozak, 2017). With reference to Riverbanks Hotel, it is
required by its management team to conduct proper and systematic training programme
in order to develop job skills as well as people skills. This is not an area where the hotel
should do cost-cutting rather it should focus on more investment in the training of its
employees because it will ultimately contribute towards the achievement of
organisational objectives effectively and efficiently.
 Attend to negative reviews – Hotel industry should acknowledge the complains from
the customers and then in order to resolve them, first listen to all the problems actively
and then make sincere efforts to solve them and finally make sure that such mistakes
don’t repeat again because if these mistakes would remain unheard or unattended then it
will have a negative impact on the image of the Riverbanks Hotel.
P7. How customer service strategies help in meeting the needs of the customers and meet up the
business standard
Customer service strategies that help in meeting the needs of the customers and business
standards are as follows:
Assess the customer needs – The Riverbanks Hotel carries out effective market research
in order to assess the needs of the customers and provide services to them in such a way that
their needs get fulfilled and they achieve the business standard to make maximum utilisation of
available resources and make minimum waste.
For example: Now a day’s people are very concerned towards their health, so kitchen
department should make sure while preparing food that it is very healthy such as by cooking in
less oil and butter (Peng, Zhao and Mattila, 2015). Hence, this will help in fulfilling the needs of
the customers as well as in meeting the business standard such as by preparing food in extra oil
and butter will increase the cost of food as well as it will have a negative impact on the health of
the customer because of consuming high-calorie food. Thus, the Riverbanks Hotel should make
sure the optimum utilization of resources to fulfil the needs of the customers.
Hire the right employees – Riverbanks Hotel should hire the right person for the right
position in order to meet the business standard of improving efficiency. In order to hire the right
employees, there would be a various test that would be carried out such as employment test,

behaviours test, and personality test and the best employee from the available lot would be
selected which in turn will help in meeting the needs of the customer and business standard.
For example: In order to hire an employee for the housekeeping department, the
Riverbanks Hotel should make sure that the employee has complete information regarding
cleanliness, hygiene, etc; so that customers’ needs could be fulfilled at the first time only and the
chances of complaint would be minimum which in turn will help in improving the efficiency of
the Riverbanks Hotel.
Set goals for customer service – Riverbanks Hotel laid down the smart goals in order to
provide better customer service so as fulfil the needs of the customers and meet the business
standard of providing quality services (Shah, Kumar and Kim, 2014).
For example: Kitchen department of Riverbanks Hotel has decided to cover all the food
items with the seal when not in use so as to ensure food doesn't get spoiled because of dust or
any other particle or insects which will in turn help in achieving the business standard that is to
provide quality services.
Train the service skills – Riverbanks Hotel has paid a lot of emphasis in order to train
the service skills of its employees by scheduling various training programmes for developing
their job as well as personal skills so as to meet its business standard regarding satisfaction of
customer expectation (Chen and Wu, 2016).
For example: If a customer arrives and is staying at the hotel. The need of the customer
is that he/she wants an extra bed and for that purpose, he/she makes a conversation with the
employee working at the company. If the worker is unskilled then on being asked for the
requirement of extra bed, the response would be such that I have to ask my superiors and then
inform you back which may lead to the creation of a negative image of the company in the mind
of the customer. On the other hand, if the worker is skilled then the response would be different
such as if you want an extra bed then you have to pay certain extra money. Thus, in order to
fulfil the business standard such as fulfilment of customer expectation, it is very important to
train the employees of the Riverbanks Hotel appropriately.
Attend to negative reviews – Riverbanks Hotel welcomes all the complains or negative
reviews of the company so as to attend them and resolve them in order to achieve the business
standard of providing customer satisfaction.

For example: If a customers has arrived at a Riverbanks Hotel to enjoy his/ her vacation
but undergoes an unpleasant experience as the food didn't taste good, in such a case the hotel
should address his/her problem and give the person food as per desired by him at free of cost and
do apologise for the mistakes; this will not only help in developing the satisfaction of the
employees but also will contribute towards fulfilling the need of the customers (Spiess and et.
al., 2014). Further, the efforts would be made so that these kinds of mistakes don’t repeat in the
future and would help in achieving the business standard of providing customer satisfaction.
Create a customer service vision – Riverbanks Hotel has created a customer service
vision in order to provide clear direction to employees so that they could work towards
satisfaction of the needs of the customers and achievement of the business standard such as
expanding its services in various other untouched countries.
For example: Riverbanks Hotel wants to expand its market, then it has start purchasing
property in other countries as well as start recruiting employees from the country where it is
planning to start it services. Thus, this help in satisfaction of customer needs as well as
achievement of business standard (Assaf and et.al., 2015).

CONCLUSION
The report has been concluded the examination of digital technology engaged in managing
customer experience in the service sector along with some specific examples of consumer
relationship management (CRM) System. Also, it has been presented an illustration of customer
service strategies in the service sector and how customer service strategies help in meeting the
needs of the customers and meet up the business standard.

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