Managing Customer Experience: Digital Tech & Service Strategies

This report delves into the realm of customer experience (CX) management, using Holiday Inn as a case study within the service sector. It begins by defining CX and highlighting its importance, then explores the impact of digital technology on customer relationship management (CRM), providing specific examples of CRM systems. The report then illustrates various customer service strategies employed in the hospitality sector, such as promoting destinations, responding to inquiries, influencer marketing, online reputation management, social media promotion, and staff training. Furthermore, it demonstrates how these strategies contribute to creating and developing positive customer experiences, aligning with both customer needs and business standards. The conclusion summarizes the key findings, emphasizing the significance of digital technology and strategic customer service approaches in enhancing CX within the hospitality industry.

Managing
the
Customer Experience
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................3
P5 Explain how digital technology is employed in managing the customer experience within
service sector providing specific example of customer relationship management systems.......3
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................4
P6 Illustrate Customer service strategies in a specific service sector.........................................4
P7 Demonstrate how customer service strategies create and develop the customer experience
in a way that meet the need of customer and required business standards.................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8
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INTRODUCTION
Customers experience is denote as CX which is considered as process of interaction
among an organisation and customers over a specific duration of their relationship. An effective
customer experience is to determined as experience of an individual related to specific products
and services which match the expectation of customers (Bolton and et. al., 2018). Organisation
selected for this report is Holiday Inn which is American brand hotel operating at international
level. It is founded by Kemmons Wilson in year 1952 and its head office is situated at Denham,
United Kingdom. Topics included in this report are impact of digital technology in customer
relationship management as well as it will also include effective management of customers
experience in service sector business to increase customers engagement.
TASK 3
P5 Explain how digital technology is employed in managing the customer experience within
service sector providing specific example of customer relationship management systems
Digital technology is determined as electronic technique or tool, device, resource and
procedure which are generally used by almost every company in order to generate, store as well
as process data, information or statistics. There are several examples of digital technology like
social media, online applications, online games, multimedia and many others. In today's time
almost every company are adopting digital media as that will help them in conducting
management of customers relationship or customer relationship management (CRM). Customer
relationship management is considered as use of digital platform for managing relationship along
with potential customers in effective as well as successful manner (Chahal and Dutta, 2015).
Along with this, customers relationship management system also help companies in attaining
their desire goal as well as target in successful manner as it help in contributing to huge market
shares, profitability, enhancement of goodwill, brand value and so on.
In addition to this it will also help in conducting several practices such as taking
feedbacks and suggestions, do interaction with customers, developing discount related decision,
adopting kaizan and many more. In context of Holiday Inn, through digital technology they able
to adopt as well as maintain effective customers relationship management that help them in
attaining their predetermined goal. There are several digital technology which respective
company may adopt for CRM such as social media, website management, application, email etc.
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Along with this, through effective CRM Holiday Inn able to attain competitive advantage at the
potential marketplace as that will help in enhancing experience of customers which increase their
goodwill at the marketplace (Homburg, Jozić and Kuehnl, 2017). But like other factors, customer
relationship management also have some pros and corns that are given below, in respect of
Holiday Inn:-
Pros
 Through CRM, Holiday Inn able to increase their relationship with clients which help in
retain them for long run.
 This will also help respective company in increasing their sales that leads to enhancement
of profitability.
 Customer relationship management also help in adopting an effective communication
channel according to requirement of business.
 This will also provide Holiday Inn in generating new selling opportunities by providing
better services to the potential customers.
Corns
 Implementation of customers relationship management incurred high cost which is not
possible to adopt by small firm.
 Adaptation of CRM required maintenance, up- dation as well as information on the
regular basis which will be hectic for Holiday Inn management.
 For implementation of customers relationship management system at respective hotel
management need to develop training and develop session which increase their expenses.
TASK 4
P6 Illustrate Customer service strategies in a specific service sector
Customer service strategy is considered as plan through which a company can handle
their customers interactions effectively. Through this they also able to provide satisfactory
experience to customers throughout their journey, that help in increasing their loyalty level
which encourage them to spend more (Jain, Aagja and Bagdare, 2017). There are several
customers services strategies which are necessary to considered by a firm, from which some are
mentioned below in respect of hospitality sector at which Holiday Inn is operating:-
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 Promote destinations before services: According to this, it is essential for a company to
advertise their products and services in effective manner so that they can attract more and
more customers towards it. In respect of hospitality sector destinations draw attention of
customers so it is essential for companies who are operating in respective sector to
promote destination before services. Similarity, by conducting this Holiday Inn able to
attract customer and encourage them to purchase their services.
 Respond to every inquiry: For every firm it is essential that they must respond to the
inquiries of customers as that will help in developing relationship and it is important in
hospitality sector (50 Customer Engagement Strategies for Hospitality Companies,
2020). In respect of Holiday Inn they are operating, for them this is necessary that they
respond to every inquiries of customers so that they customers feel encouraged and
become loyal to hotel.
 Use influencer marketing: In today's time customers are attracted toward influencer
marketing, according to which companies use celebrities, hire influencer bloggers, post
pictures and so on. This is so because it help in attracting customers at huge numbers and
encourage them purchase services or products. In respect of Holiday Inn they can also
hire celebrities for promotion as well as they can also post influencer blogs on their
website with amazing destination picture.
 Take online reputation seriously: In a company in conducting its business at services or
people industry then they need develop as well as maintain an effective brand reputation
as that will attract customers at high ratio. In respect of Holiday Inn they need to develop
and maintain their reputation at online medium as that will help them in attracting
customers and encouraging them to purchase their services.
 Use social media for promotion: Now every individual is using social media platform
so it will be opportunity for companies to promote their business through social media as
that will help in covering huge market (Lemon and Verhoef, 2016). In respect of Holiday
Inn, they must post their destinations picture, services, offers, customers review and so on
at social media as that will help them in promoting their business in effective manner.
Through this they able to attract more customers and encourage them to purchase their
services.
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 Provide training and development to staffs: For every company it is essential to
provide training and development to their employees as that will help them in conducting
their work effective which lead to attainment of goal properly. In respect of Holiday Inn
they need to provide training as well as development sessions to their staffs so that they
can perform their duty properly (Peppers and Rogers, 2016). This is so because in
hospitality industry behaviours of staffs also impact on the rating of services.
These are the main customers service strategies which can be adopted by Holiday Inn in
order to operate their business functions and operations in hospitality industry in effective as well
as successful manner.
P7 Demonstrate how customer service strategies create and develop the customer experience in a
way that meet the need of customer and required business standards
For meeting standard of business it is essential for a company to provide effectual
products and services in order to gain effective customer experience, this can be done through
conducting market analysis on regular basis (Srivastava and Kaul, 2016). There are numbers of
factors which are essential to considered in order to develop as well as create customer service
strategies for meeting customers expectation properly, from which some are given below in
respect of Holiday Inn:-
 Range of Products and services: For attracting customer it is essential to offer wide and
quality range of products and services. In respect of Holiday Inn they also need to offer
wide range of services that need to based on requirement, target segment and expectation
of customers.
 Price of offerings: Generally people like to purchase that products and services which
show value to price, so for very company to set their price range according to quality of
products and service (Wilson and et. al., 2016). In respect of respective hotel they need to
set their price according to offering as well as they also need to consider economic
condition of their target segment.
 Ambience and services: This factor is noticed by a person first and it help in developing
effective impression. In respect of Holiday Inn they need to design an attractive ambience
as that will help in attracting customers as well as hotel also need to provide quality
services for attracting customers.
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These are some main factors which are necessary to considered by Holiday Inn in order
to develop effective customer experience by meeting their expectation as well as requirement
effectively and successfully.
CONCLUSION
By above discussed point it can be summarised that for every company or hotel it is
necessary that they conduct work effectively in order to improve customers experience in
effective manner. For this it is necessary to analyse potential customer's need and demand, after
that develop services and products accordingly. In this process digital technology plays a major
role as through that hotels or other service provider company can effectively manage their
customers relationship. A company can adopt numbers of strategies for providing effective
customers services such as understand target market, educate employees, analyse customers
satisfaction and so on. This is so because through these strategies customers experience able to
meet business standard and requirement of customers.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bolton, R.N. and et. al., 2018. Customer experience challenges: bringing together digital,
physical and social realms. Journal of Service Management.
Chahal, H. and Dutta, K., 2015. Measurement and impact of customer experience in banking
sector. Decision. 42(1). pp.57-70.
Homburg, C., Jozić, D. and Kuehnl, C., 2017. Customer experience management: toward
implementing an evolving marketing concept. Journal of the Academy of Marketing
Science. 45(3). pp.377-401.
Jain, R., Aagja, J. and Bagdare, S., 2017. Customer experience–a review and research
agenda. Journal of Service Theory and Practice.
Lemon, K. N. and Verhoef, P. C., 2016. Understanding customer experience throughout the
customer journey. Journal of marketing. 80(6). pp.69-96.
Peppers, D. and Rogers, M., 2016. Managing customer experience and relationships: A strategic
framework. John Wiley & Sons.
Srivastava, M. and Kaul, D., 2016. Exploring the link between customer experience–loyalty–
consumer spend. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. 31. pp.277-286.
Wilson, A. and et. al., 2016. Services marketing: Integrating customer focus across the firm.
Online
50 Customer Engagement Strategies for Hospitality Companies. 2020. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.ngdata.com/customer-engagement-strategies-for-hospitality-
companies/>.
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