Managing Customer Experience: A Report on The Restaurant Group Plc

This report analyzes the customer experience management strategies of The Restaurant Group Plc, a British restaurant chain. It begins by explaining the value of understanding customer needs, wants, and preferences, and how this impacts brand loyalty and customer engagement. The report then explores factors influencing customer engagement, such as on-boarding and post-boarding strategies. A customer experience map is created, detailing customer interactions from research and planning to post-checkout engagement, highlighting how customer touchpoints create business opportunities. Finally, the report examines the role of digital technology, specifically Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, in managing the customer experience. The report provides a comprehensive overview of customer experience management within the service sector, using The Restaurant Group Plc as a case study.

Managing Customer
Experience
(LO1, 2 and 3)

INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1 Explain the value and importance of understanding the needs, wants and preferences of
target customer groups for a service sector industry...................................................................3
P2 Explore the different factors that drive and influence customer engagement of different
target customer groups within a service sector organisation.......................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
P3 Create a customer experience map for a selected service sector organisation.......................5
P4 Discuss how the customer touch points throughout the customer experience create business
opportunities for a selected service sector organisation.............................................................7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................9
P5 Examine how digital technology is employed in managing the customer experience within
the service sector, providing specific examples of customer relationship management (CRM)
systems.........................................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Managing Customer Experience is known to be a key objective of a service sector
organisation related with offering the best to people in accordance to their needs and preferences
and changing them into loyal customer of the brand. Customer experience is directly related with
the service offered by the entity to the and quality of products matching their expectations form
the brand. The present report is based on The Restaurant Group Plc a British chin of restaurants
which was established in 1987 and headquartered in London, England. The company owns
around 650 restaurants and pubs in United Kingdom and operates multi brand business. The
work will conducts evaluation of value and importance of understanding needs of customers and
target audiences for serving them the best. Then various factors which influence customer
engagement in restaurant are elaborated. Moving along, customer experience map is build and
discussion is conducted on how touch points according to the map can create opportunities for
the business. Furthermore, at then end the digital technology which is involved in managing
customer experience are determined by referring to different Customer Relationship
Management systems (CRM).
TASK 1
P1 Explain the value and importance of understanding the needs, wants and preferences of target
customer groups for a service sector industry.
Customer Needs, Wants and Preferences are three different aspects which are most
commonly used interchangeably but in business terms brings separate value and benefits towards
the organisations and majorly to the service sector firm.
Customer Needs refers to the motive that encourages an individual to make purchase and
buy certain goods and services (Shea, 2016).
Customer Wants are more specific and defines the preference and a specific way in
which a buyers needs to fulfil the requirements. For example, a particular brand or a respective
process can only give what the person is needing or expecting.
Customer Preferences are focused on the likes, dislikes, motivation, indications and
expectations of people which drive people and their purchasing decisions in a ad hoc direction
towards the goods or services.

The organisations belonging to any industry and operating segment needs to pay utmost
attention to what their targeted audiences and people needs as it plays a significant role. In case
of a service sector entity The Restaurant Group Plc identification of needs, wants and preference
of customers or guests visiting their restaurants is needed. The specific and necessary importance
of the same are elaborated underneath: To build brand loyalty- A key benefit and importance of identifying the expectations of
potential customers for The Restaurant Group Plc is increasing brand loyalty. By
knowing what people want the restaurants of the group can serve exactly according to
what guests expects and menu planning can be done effectively. This will ultimately
bring brand loyalty as customers are attracted to The Restaurant Group Plc and their
offerings that is dishes and services which are rendered to them by different restaurant of
the group.
 Increase customer engagement- Another importance for The Restaurant Group Plc
which is addressed by identifying the needs, wants and preferences of consumers is their
increased engagement by way of feedbacks and suggestions. This helps the brand in long
term to keep their customers intact with it and also earn the benefit of mouth publicity by
satisfied guests which ultimately bring induced revenues and profitability to the
restaurants (Peppers and Rogers, 2016).
P2 Explore the different factors that drive and influence customer engagement of different target
customer groups within a service sector organisation.
Customer Engagement is defines as a practice that is performed by the service sector
organisations to bring in their potential buyers and earn value from it in order to be successful in
the longer run. Improved and enhanced Customer engagement requires The Restaurant Group
Plc to focus on two aspects that are Going beyond the expectations of guests and Offering them
great customer experience. These agendas can be attained by two key strategies which are as
follows: On-Boarding- Customer on-boarding refers to the process through which the users go
through from the beginning of their journey of purchase and beyond it. This is a process
which typically helps the brand that is The Restaurant Group Plc in increasing
interactions with the consumers and enhance the customer experiences as well as
influencing the ongoing relationship of the brand and the buyers.

 Post-Boarding- This is the process by which an user goes from beginning to journey for
making purchase possible of the product. In this main objective is to make sure that an
organization has been making an test of its product and services after they have been
consumed by customers. The Restaurant Group Plc has made this possible by making it
reach to customers much easy and develop a strong relationship with them.
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY: Compelling Offers- These are that kind of process that has been helping in making The
Restaurant Group Plc attain customer base. In this The Restaurant Group Plc should
make offers available upon its services that is helpful in making increase in customer
base. Competitive Prices- These are that kind of practices that has been helping an organization
to attain healthy competition within market. The Restaurant Group Plc is going to be
benefited by making an organization attain competitive environment by reducing chances
of gaining monopoly.
 Accessibility- In this main focus is over making customers attain more accessibility with
easy of understanding about product and services. The Restaurant Group Plc makes
customers base to be increased. Also it helps in making Restaurant Group Plc to recahj its
customers in better manner.
TASK 2
P3 Create a customer experience map for a selected service sector organisation
Customer experience mapping means process that makes traces of interaction that has
taken place within customers and organization. Reastaurant group Plc has map experience of its
customers from top to bottom. Further the Customer Experience Map for Reastaurant group Plc
is given underneath:-
MAP ACTIVITIES
Research and Plan This is the first stage which is related to
making association with execution of research
from its customers that makes desirable
location for travel with development of full-

fledged planning in relation to the holiday.
In context to research and makes plan over
various kinds of location to be facilitated by
providing organization within which website,
online applications, physical offences at
various locations and agents is ready to give
better experience to its customers.
There are different options that is available
upon helping in making diversification
possible. This is to be understood through an
example that is corporates makes very tight
schedule. In it they use mobile application that
makes accessibility to be achieved towards
customers with making personalization
services. Also it makes instant payment to be
done that makes payment methods to be
enhanced.
Booking
Reastaurant group Plcs is been provided that
has made easiness with comfort for making
customers by making booking process with
quick accessibility upon its website. That has
made customers search over the information in
relation to packages that is been suited for
making booking to be used through online
payment. It makes the organization user
friendly. Through it gets easily connected to its
users. Also makes customers aware about
organizations packages (Merrilees, 2016).

Entailment of Customer Services
According to the step correspondence that
helps in making customers and staff of
Reastaurant group Plc is on impact. The
organization is there to make ensure which
adequate with relevant through that makes
training to be impaired over staff which makes
members over making experiences to be more
efficient. Also making firm first instant upon
services through website and mobile app with
safety, assistance over convincing. Through
this individual entail customer services which
makes firms on-boarding techniques which
makes enrolling within tour package through
availing various services over app.
Check out and Future Customer Engagement This has made stages of customer’s
experiences that make various provisions of
feedback forms. Also customers mapping is
also making post customers which leads over
procedure and helps in gaining feedback.
Moreover such mapping helps in making post
customer check out over organizational
premises over offer that is presented by
organization in the form of discounts and
coupons (Kumar and Reinartz, 2016). Over
that customers makes engagement in an
organization possible of its customers.
Communication portals has allowed customers
with experiences. Through its customer
services executives within an organization.

P4 Discuss how the customer touch points throughout the customer experience create business
opportunities for a selected service sector organisation.
Audience touch points are encounter of clients with the entity of business throughout the
activity of engagement. These type of touch points are linked to various provisions of
commodities and facilities. The restaurant Group plc effectively maximise the touchpoints from
different customers of different locations in this way they create and attract various business
opportunities for the purpose of enhancement of customer experience. These touchpoints are
describe briefly and also explain underneath on behalf of the journey of the restaurant Group Plc.
as these are explain in detail as follows:
Mobile application: The other prominent touchpoints that can be utilise as an
opportunity by restaurant Group plc. The organisation must create and develop such type of
application which is so attractive and eye catchy and also it must be user friendly so that it can
easily operate by customers without facing any difficulty. The related company can develop such
type of applications as an opportunity through the provisions of offers which are personalised
and many options for audience to choose as per the requirements. Selection of those type of
holidays that they interested to take. Hotels the customers are like to stay in and also many
facilities that can easily decided by the audience upon the app. Audience service related to
assistance also requires to be present for people who are using the app.
Organisation website: The restaurant Group Plc must make sure regarding accessibility
of their website for audience so interaction of people can easily exist with the chat bots. chat
reverts must be given simultaneously on the website so that audience query can be handled on
time in effective manner and they can be convinced to experiences the services provided by
Golden plc. On the other hand website also provides information regarding different packages
for tours, special deals & services, along with chat feature that give facility to customers where
they easily clear the querries and doubts. These touch points could help organisation in engaging
and hooking audience for long (Homburg, Jozić and Kuehnl, 2017).
In restaurant premises:The workforce that are engaged in operations in the restaurant
should be imparted relevant training so that they learn how warmly greet the customers when

they take entry in the premise. The tables to serve the meal must be ready before the guests take
entry and also it is the responsibility of staff to guide their customers while providing the
services on table. The menu card must be present on table already so that to save the time of
customers as they do not have to wait for even a moment. The guests must be asked at regular
intervals to be served with extra meal servings. Lastly, post the consumption of meal by guests,
the customers should receive a polite goodbye from the restaurant management by thanking
properly for visiting the premises and also share feedback to bringing improvements in the
restaurant dishes and services by eliminating the problems or deficiencies. Thus technological
advancements could also be used, for example mobile billing and facilities relates to pre
booking, that would enhance the customer experience.
TASK 3
P5 Examine how digital technology is employed in managing the customer experience within the
service sector, providing specific examples of customer relationship management (CRM)
systems.
Customer Relationship Management is that kind of process that makes an organization
manage interaction through its current potential of customers. Also digital technology has main
effect over management by data analysis that plays important role which helps in determination
of history with buying behaviour and customer’s preferences.
In terms of Reastaurant group Plc, customers relationship management is required for
making management possible that is done from software that is is RightNow Technologies'
CRM Package. It makes development of recent system acquired within an organization that has
been developed by utilizing technology like automation within which firm develops its agenda
which makes appropriate relations to be formed by making heavy investment to be done. Main
software is been used through online optimization over making complain and enquiring by
making an organization that saves lot of money. It makes direct customers for engaging
conversation to be done smoothly through firms executive s online that makes enhancement over
conveniences in scope of engagement within an organization (Harmeling, and et.al., 2017).

CONCLUSION
The report concludes over the need for a service sector organisation to manage
experience and expectations of their target audiences in favour of managing and effectively
accomplishing their ultimate objectives. In the assignment the discussion is conducted in regards
to understanding preference of people for serving them in the best manner possible which
supports the brand and its services for attaining higher profit units and increasing their revenue
figures. Moreover, the CRM systems that are digitally supported by technology is determined too
which are used for managing the ultimate customer experience for the restaurant and to induce
relationship amongst them and the ultimate buyers.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Harmeling, C. M., and et.al., 2017. Toward a theory of customer engagement marketing. Journal
of the Academy of Marketing Science. 45(3). pp.312-335.
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.
Kumar, V. and Reinartz, W., 2016. Creating enduring customer value. Journal of Marketing.
80(6). pp.36-68.
Merrilees, B., 2016. Interactive brand experience pathways to customer-brand engagement and
value co-creation. Journal of Product & Brand Management. 25(5). pp.402-408.
Peppers, D. and Rogers, M., 2016. Managing customer experience and relationships: A strategic
framework. John Wiley & Sons.
Shea, G. K. I., 2016. A phenomenological examination of susceptibility to cyber deception
(Doctoral dissertation, Colorado Technical University).
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.
Yang, Y., Liu, X. and Li, J., 2015. How customer experience affects the customer-based brand
equity for tourism destinations. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing. 32(sup1).
pp.S97-S113.