Differences between Customer care and Customer service

During the meeting

● open the meeting,

● check for quorum,

● conduct the business of the meeting and according to the order of the agenda paper unless it is altered with the consent of the meeting

● confine discussion to the item actually before the meeting and to see that it is dealt with and settled before passing on to the next,

● allow free and, if necessary, formal debate,

● give all those wishing to speak an opportunity to do so, to see that their remarks are addressed to the Chair and to allow no private discussion or personal matter to be introduced in a negative way,

● say who is to speak, if two people should speak at the same time - The Chairperson's decision on such points is final,

● make every effort to let any meeting over:which she/he presides understand the reasons for and purpose of his/her rulings,

● close the meeting when all matters are attended to.

10. What are the advantages and disadvantages of working in a call centre?

Advantages

Above all of its benefits, the pay is something that can be considered as the obvious advantage that anyone can go for. The salaries for newbie usually start at five figures. Those who already have experience get a greater deal of salaries depending on the duration of their cumulative working history. The highest pays are received by those employees who have supervisory or managerial posts. Besides the basic salary that a call center agent can have, one can also earn more through night differential pays that are given whenever he is assigned on the night shift. For those who are taking inbound or outbound calls, they can gain commissions through their sales as well.

Another advantage of being in the call center industry is the benefit package that you can get as an employee. Normally, there are HMO coverages that cater not only to the medical needs of the employee himself but also to his beneficiaries. In addition, given also are allowances for rice or meal, transportation, and even gas for some.

Disadvantages

Of course, there are disadvantages on working in such environment. Being in a call center company means you have to condition your body to be able to survive the constantly changing time schedules which are typically graveyard. If your body clock cannot be well adjusted, sickness can come your way and affect your job performance. Also, working while the rest of the city is sleeping is tantamount to dealing with lack of social interaction and running of morning errands.

Above all of the cons is the stress that you can get every time you answer calls. The nature of this kind of job tells us that one must have patience and focus when dealing with callers, otherwise you can gain markdowns that must be avoided.

If you are thinking of applying for a call center representative position, remember that it is best to weigh its pros and cons so that you can have the best decision for your life. The call center industry will surely pave its way on bringing more Filipinos closer to the competitive world of business communications and you can be a part of it.

14.What is the difference between customer service and customer support?

Customer care and customer service is all about thinking of the welfare of the customers. These two are always present no matter how large or small a company is. Companies are always striving in providing good care and service to their clients.

Customer Care

Customer care is the kind of approach a company does in winning and maintaining clients or customers. The most vital method of any company is staying in business. They put customers at the core of all activities, this can be seen by giving quality service, price and item differentiation. Customer care is keeping customers informed, making an avenue for complaints and give them some opportunities. In short, this is their way of listening to them. In order to achieve customer satisfaction, all their plans evolve on the customer’s satisfaction.

Customer Service

Customer service is a method when the company deals with its clients. This is most apparent in sales and post-sales service. These are design to improve the stage of customer satisfaction (the feeling that the service or item has reached customer expectation). This method has the commitment of giving significant services to internal and external customers. This includes attitude, knowledge, quality of service and technical support.

Differences between Customer care and Customer service

Customer care is focusing on customers in making them satisfied and knowing their interests while customer service focuses on the jobs involved when servicing customers rather than their needs. Customer care centers themselves on long-term gain and income implications while customer service is more of the cost related to the customer’s requirements. Customer care is more of a supportive management, where procedures are pretty essential in encouraging responsiveness to client’s needs and find methods where management can support in achieving commercial goals; Customer service is a hierarchal management that follows procedures and strives to meet administrative and technical requirements.

Therefore, customer service is part of customer care’s ways in reaching customer’s satisfaction. Without the two, there will be no harmony in business since companies are more focused on gaining without even thinking of the client’s welfare. Customer care is always practiced in every company and should always be prioritized.

15.Why is customer support important?

Customer service is important to an organization because it is often the only contact a customer has with a company. Customers are vital to an organization. Some customers spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars per year with a company. Consequently, when they have a question or product issue, they expect a company's customer service department to resolve their issues.

Customer service is also important to an organization because it can help differentiate a company from it competitors, according to the article titled "The Importance of Customer Service" at Drew Stevens Consulting website. For example, it may be difficult to tell the difference between two small-town drug stores, especially if their prices are similar. Therefore, putting extra efforts into customer service may be thing that gives one drug store a competitive advantage.

A company with excellent customer service is more likely to get repeat business from customers. Consequently, the company will benefit with greater sales and profits. Contrarily, companies with poor customer service may lose customers, which will have a negative impact on business. It costs a lot more money for a company to acquire a customer than to retain them, due to advertising costs and the expense of sales calls. Therefore, the efforts that go into maintaining quality customer service can really pay dividends over time

People that have a positive experience with a company's customer service department will likely tell two or three others about their experience, according to Consumer Affairs website. Therefore, quality customer service can be a source of promotion for organizations.

18.What are the functions of packaging?

1. To protect a product from damage or contamination by micro-organisms and air, moisture and toxins.

The product must be protected against being dropped, crushed, and the vibration it suffers during transport. Delicate products such as fruits need to be protected by a rigid package such as a laminated container.

The product most also be protected against the climate including high temperatures, humidity, light and gases in the air. It must also be protected against micro-organisms, chemicals, soil and insects.

2. To keep the product together, to contain it (i.e. So that it does not spill).

Some shapes cannot be easily packaged, for example, certain vegetables. However, there are methods of getting around this problem. Suppliers of canned vegetables such as carrots have developed a particular type of plant that yields carrots that are straight and smaller than the normal variety. These fit into cans. Some products such as fruit juices and sausages need to be contained in packages that hold them together and are sealed to prevent spillage and loss.

3. To identify the product.

Packaging is the main way products are advertised and identified. To the manufacturer the package clearly identifies the product inside and it is usually the package that the customer recognises when shopping.

Advertising is very important when a manufacturer launches a new or existing product. The package, through its colour scheme or logo, is what is normally identified by the customer.

The package will also contain important information including ingredients and ‘sell by date’.

6. Printed Information.

Information that is useful to consumers and companies such as Supermarkets, is printed on packaging. This includes, ingredients, sell by dates, price, special offers, manufacturers address, contact information, product title, barcode and more.

The bar code is extremely useful to the shop selling the product. When the barcode is scanned, the computer system automatically determines if the product needs reordering. Also, the price of the product appears at the till.

4. Protection during Transport and Ease of Transport.

A package should be designed to make it easy to transport, move and lift. A regular shaped package (such as a cuboid) can be stacked without too much space between each package being wasted. This means that more packages can be transported in a container of a lorry. Unusually shaped packages can lead to space being wasted and this can be costly if thousands of the same package are been transported.

19. What are the qualities and structure of a good presentation?

● Think about the presentation beforehand. It is short-changing the organisers of the event and your audience if you only think about what you're going to say the day before or while travelling to the event. If necessary, clarify with the organisers exactly what is required of you and what facilities you will require.

● Do use PowerPoint if the facilities are available. Although some speakers seem to have taken an aversion to PowerPoint, it is so convenient and ensures that your presentation has a clear structure and something for your listeners to take away.

● Face your audience at all times even though the screen to which you are speaking is behind you. So that you know what your audience is viewing at any given time in the presentation, either have a computer screen on a desk in front of you showing the presentation or print off the slides and use the paper copies as a speaking aid.

● Be very clear about how much time you have - and stick to that time in preparing and delivering your presentation. It's very difficult to 'cut' a PowerPoint presentation at the event itself, so it's a great mistake to run out of time. Most presenters prepare too much material; but nobody ever complains that a presentation was too short (it always allows more time for questions).

● Be very clear about your key message - and ensure that everything in your presentation is both consistent with, and suppportive of, that key message. You should be able to articulate the message in a phrase or a sentence and indeed you might want to use that phrase or sentence in one of your first slides, or one of your last, or even both.

● E-mail your presentation to the event organisers in advance. Ask them to load it onto a laptop, run it through, check that it looks fine, and confirm that with you. Then you don't have to worry about the technology when you arrive at the venue; you can concentrate on the delivery of your material. Also it enables the event's organisers to run off copies of your slides, so that they are available to them in good time.

● Make copies of your slides available. It is a matter of preference whether you do this at the beginning of your presentation or at the end. If your listeners have copies at the beginning, they can take notes simply by annotating the slides, instead of having to note down all the information on the slides. On the other hand, you might feel that, if they can see in advance the slides you are going to use, you lose the element of control or surprise. It might depend on the content of the presentation: if you are going to show detailed tables or graphs with lots of figures, your audience will probably find it easier to have a copy on their lap. It might depend on the circumstances of the presentation: if there is a large auddience, people at the back may not be able to see the screen clearly and would really appreciate having copies of the slides.

● Ensure that the slides look good. This does not necessarily mean that they look flashy - although suitable pictures or illustrations are very effective - but it does mean using a consistent format and typeface and readable colours plus giving each slide the logo of the organisation you are representing and a chronological number.

● The first slide should announce the title of your presentation, the event and date, and your name and position. This may seem terribly obvious, but many speakers miss off some of this basic information and then weeks later listeners (or their colleagues back at the organisation) are not clear who made the presentation or when. You should try to make the title catchy, so that you immediately have the interest of your audience. A challenging question works well - for instance, a presentation on the global economic crisis might ask: "Is this the end of capitalism as we've known it?" Or a play on words works too - for example, a presentation on next generation broadband could be titled "The Slow Arrival Of Fast Broadband".

● The second slide should seize the attention of your audience for your presentation. It could be the central proposition of your presentation or a conventional wisdom that you wish to challenge or a relevant or witty quote from a leader in your field. If it is amusing or controversial or both, so much the better.

● The third slide should set out the structure of your presentation. The default structure should consist of three themes that you intend to examine. For a very short presentation, there might only be time for two; if you want to look at more than five areas, write a book instead.

● Each theme should be the subject of a small number of slides. Again, a good working assumption is that three slides for each theme is about right. Less than two and it isn't substantial enough to be a separate theme; more than five and it should probably be broken up into two themes.

● Each slide should have a clear heading. A question is often a good way of winning attention - but, in that case, make sure you answer the question in the body of the slide.

● Each slide should normally contain around 25-35 words, unless it is a quote (when you might use more) or contains an illustration (when you will probably use less). Too many words and your audience will have trouble reading the material; too few words and you're likely to be flashing through the slides and spending too much time clicking the mouse.

● Make appropriate use of pictures. It's a good idea to break up text with illustrations and it is true that a picture is worth a thousand words.

● Make appropriate use of anecdotes. A very short story or case study or personal experience will act as an effective illustration of a point, add 'colour' to your presentation, and be remembered by listeners.

● The last slide should set out all appropriate contact details: certainly e-mail address and possibly snail mail address, plus the web site, Facebook page and Twitter address of your organisation and any personal website or blog if you have one.

20.What stages of product development do you know?

Now a day it is very difficult for any company to carry on with the existing product so they are spending a lot of expenditure on development of new products. For developing a new product, a product passes through eight stages and they are discussed below:

Stage 1. Idea generation:-the first stage of product development process isto generate the idea regarding new product development as the existing product becomes obsolete with the time and technology. Idea generation can be done through research of the market sources like consumer liking, disliking, competitor policy etc.

Stage 2. Idea screening:- at the second stage of product development process, in case the company having number of ideas then there is the need to accept the good idea and reject the bad one. As if the company accepts the wrong idea then it results into lot of loss of money, technology, time and energy. So it is necessary to reject the bad idea as soon as possible.

Stage 3.Concept development:- after idea screening the next stage is of concept development. For eg. In case the company is producing a soup which has high nutritional value then the question arises either to introduce it as a tasty soup or as a rich nutritional soup. Then the most suitable concept is selected.

Stage 4.Market strategy development:- this is the stage where the marketer decide what kind of marketing strategy to be used for the product either to use mass marketing or to launch the product in a particular area.

Stage 5.Business analysis:- at this stage the marketer decide whether they will be able to achieve expected sale or profit? If the answer to the question is yes then the concept of product move to product development stage.

Stage 6.Product development:- if the concept of product move to product development stage then product development starts.Here the research and development department develop a physical product which is put under functional and consumer test.Functional tests are done in the laboratory and consumer tests are done by bringing consumers in the laboratory.

Stage 7.Test marketing:- after the above stage the product is ready to be launched in the market with a proper brand name and packaging. Test marketing is done to find out how big the market is.

Stage 8. Commercialization:- the last stage of product development process is the commercialization of the product. While launching the product the marketer must have answers to the following questions

21.. What does the term product refer to?

One can say a product is a good, service, or idea consisting of a bundle of tangible and intangible attributes that satisfies consumers and is received in exchange for money or some other unit of value.

How an organization views a product depends upon its perspective.

The organizations that are production-oriented look at a product basically as a manifestation of resources used to produce it and the organizations that are marketing oriented view a product from the target consumer’s perspective as a bundle of benefits by benefits I mean to say functional as well as emotional benefits. Accordingly they will have to see how their consumers view their products. Most of the organizations have realized that there is no need to prepare a marketing mix for a product that offers few consumers benefits, because that product will not sell.

You have to consider the product from the target customer’s perspective. Like the cosmetic companies are combining chemicals to make lipsticks, vitamin manufacturers produce little pills, watch makers produce mechanical devices that keep time. -What are marketers doing they are basically enhancing their products for their target markets-as lipstick has becomes beauty and hope, vitamins become hope for a healthier life and watches become status symbols?

So we can say that a product therefore is a bundle of physical, chemical and / or intangible attributes that have the potential to satisfy present and potential customer wants. In addition to the physical Good itself, other elements include the warranty, installation, after sales service accessories and package. A customer buying an air-conditioner and a maintenance contract from Carrier Aircon is buying a different product than another who buys the same model without the maintenance agreement. Now lets discuss the levels, that are present in a product

24. What are the famous ‘4 Ps’ of marketing?

Product

The foremost of the marketing four Ps is the product that a company intends to sell. It can be a car, toothbrush, nail polish, utensil, clothing item, etc. Although manufacturing a product does not fall in the work of the marketing department, yet how the product should look, how it should function, and how it can be used by the customers, is mainly determined by market research. Based on this same marketing strategy, the position of the product in the market is determined. To be successful in developing the right product, the marketing department should give regular inputs with regards to the needs and wants of the customers to the manufacturing department. Guarantees, warranties, and support services for the product should also be decided after researching about the offerings of the competitors.

Price

The price should be determined in accordance to a number of factors such as the number of product features, the price of similar products in the market, how much the customers are willing to shell out for the conveniences offered by the product, etc. As price is the revenue for a business so special attention should be paid while determining the pricing strategy. Discounts, allowances, and financing options fall under the pricing marketing mix strategy too.

Place

"Place" refers to making a product available to a customer at the right place and at the right time. For this, a business needs to have a proper distribution network in place along with appropriate storage facilities. A business should ensure that there is never a shortage of the product in the market. A business should determine which is a proper marketing tool and technique - retailing a product directly or letting others do the wholesaling and retailing.

Promotion

The last one is promotion i.e. making the end customer aware of the uses of the product. Advertising, managing public relations, branding, and sales promotion, all fall under this category. These promotional methods help a customer make his choice with regards to buying or not buying a particular product. Since the cost of promotions can be extremely high so the company should wisely decide upon which customers to target and how, by planning creative and intelligent marketing promotion methods.

As can be seen, developing your marketing 4 Ps - product, price, place, and promotion, is what ultimately determines how much profit a business is making. So a business, before devising strategies for a perfect marketing mix, should be absolutely thorough with its market research.

25. What do you know about brands and branding?

Branding has become one of the most important aspects of business strategy. Yet it is also one of

the most misunderstood. Branding is sometimes considered to be merely an advertising function.

And many managers and business writers hold the view that branding is about the management of

product image, a supplementary task that can be isolated from the main business of product

management. This note provides an alternative perspective, arguing that:

• Branding is a strategic point of view, not a select set of activities.

• Branding is central to creating customer value, not just images.

• Branding is a key tool for creating and maintaining competitive advantage.

• Brands are cultures that circulate in society as conventional stories.

• Effective brand strategies must address the four distinct components of brand value.

• Brand strategies must be “engineered” into the marketing mix.

This note develops a set of concepts and frameworks to guide the design of brand strategies

Think of the brand as the culture of the product.

While the product has a name and a trademarked logo, and perhaps other unique design features—all aspects that we

intuitively think of as “the brand”—in fact the brand does not yet exist. Names and logos and designs

are the material markers of the brand. But, because the product does not yet have a history, these

markers are “empty.” They are devoid of meaning. Now think of famous brands. They have markers

also: a name (McDonald’s, IBM), a logo (the Nike “swoosh,” the Traveler’s umbrella), a distinctive

product design feature (Harley’s engine sound), or any other design element that is uniquely

associated with the product. What is different is that these markers have been filled with customer

experiences, with advertisements, with films and sporting events that used the brand as a prop, with

magazines and newspaper articles that evaluate the brand, with conversations with friends and

colleagues that mention the brand. Over time, ideas about the product accumulate and “fill up” the

brand markers with meaning. A brand culture is formed. Let us consider how this happens.

26.What can you say about pricing?

PRICE – The amt of money charged for a product or service, or the sum of the values that consumers exchange for the benefits of having or using the product or service.

To a buyer, price is the value placed on what is exchanged. Something of value – usually purchasing power – is exchanged for satisfaction or utility. Purchasing power depends on a buyer’s income, credit, and wealth.

Price is also one of the most flexible elements of the marketing mix. Do you agree ? Unlike product features and channel commitments, price can be changed very quickly. At the same time, pricing and price competition is the number-one problem facing many marketers.

Buyers’ concern about price is related to their expectations about the satisfaction or utility associated with a product. Buyers must decide whether the utility gained in an exchange is worth the purchasing power sacrificed. Different terms can be used to describe price for different forms of exchange, (rent, premium, toll, retainer, fee, interest, etc.).

A firm must set a price for the first time when it develops a new product, when it introduces its regular product into a new distribution channel or geographical area, and when it enter bids on new contract work.

28. What is direct marketing?

Direct marketing is just what it sounds like - directly reaching a market (customers and potential customers) on a personal (phone calls, private mailings) basis, or mass-media basis (infomercials, magazine ads, etc.).

Direct marketing is often distinguished by aggressive tactics that attempt to reach new customers usually by means of unsolicited direct communications. But it can also reach out to existing or past customers. A key factor in direct marketing is a "call to action." That is, direct marketing campaigns should offer an incentive or enticing message to get consumers to respond (act).

Direct marketing involves the business attempting to locate, contact, offer, and make incentive-based information available to consumers.

Types of Direct Marketing

Three main types of direct marketing include:

● Telemarketing: Direct marketing that involves calling people at home or work to ask for donations, an opinion, or for sales purposes.

● Email Direct Marketing: This form of direct marketing targets consumers through their Email accounts. Email addresses can be harvested from websites, forums, or purchased. Some companies require you to receive announcements to use their websites.

● Direct Mail Marketing: Advertising material sent directly to home and business addresses.

Other types of direct marketing include: distributing flyers; door-to-door solicitations; curbside stands; FAX broadcasting; television marketing (i.e., infomercials); coupon ads in print media; and voice mail marketing.

3. Does Direct Marketing Work?

That depends on how you define "work." Direct marketing does ensure people know about your business. But aggressive, misleading, or annoying direct marketing can leave people with a bad impression about your business.

Be sure to adhere to privacy and contact laws because there are stiff fines and penalties for direct marketers that violate direct marketing laws.

4. Should I Consider Direct Marketing?

Every business owner should consider direct marketing. However, the type of direct marketing that will work for your business depends on your industry, your business ethics, and your budget.

29. What advertising media can you name?

One of the foremost thoughts in a businessperson’s mind is how to advertise his or her business. Many companies have specific departments setup to handle the task. Before one can make an educated decision on how to advertise his or her business, he or she must understand the different types of advertising media. Online, digital, print, television and radio advertising are all types of advertising media. Each type might not work for every business, but understanding what each one is and whom it targets will help a person decide which options are best for his or her business.

Online advertising has become increasingly popular with many businesses because of its relatively wide reach. Businesses have many options when it comes to using the Internet for advertising. Many sites allow a business to advertise using a type of bidding system that allows it to select its target market and the daily amount it would like to spend on advertising. Businesses might also choose to purchase ad space to appear on certain sites that serve their target market.

Digital advertising is a form of advertising media that allows a business to purchase ad space to appear in video games, digital video, digital radio and other forms of digital media. Although some digital advertising appears on the Internet, some of it does not. Some video games that are played on computers and video game consoles have digital advertisements.

Traditionally, print advertising has been the most popular form of advertising media. This type of advertising includes ad space in newspapers, books and magazines as well as brochures, pamphlets, flyers and business cards. Many businesses carefully weigh the cost versus the benefit of print advertising, because some businesses might not have a target market that utilizes certain print media. With that said, brochures, pamphlets, flyers, and business cards are all great tools for business owners to have on hand at all times, because many people like to have these small tidbits of information available in order to learn about the business.

Television and radio advertising are two of the more expensive advertising media options. Local television and radio channels might sell ad space to a local business that is looking to promote itself. Larger companies with a national or international base might choose to purchase ad space on network television stations or satellite radio channels because of the larger audience that these options offer.

30. What promotional activities may be used by retailers?

TRADE SHOWS. Thousands of manufacturers display their wares and take orders at trade shows. In fact, companies spend over $9 billion yearly on these shows. Trade shows provide a major opportunity to write orders for products. They also provide a chance to demonstrate products, disseminate information, answer questions, and be compared directly to competitors. Related to trade shows, but on a smaller scale, are sales meetings sponsored by manufacturers or wholesalers.

PUSH MONEY (деньги за "проталкивание" товаров) is an extra payment given to sales-people for meeting a specified sales goal. For example, a manufacturer of refrigerators might pay a $30 bonus for each unit of model A, and a $20 bonus for each unit of model B, sold between March 1 and September 1. At the end of that period, the salesperson would send evidence of these sales to the manufacturer and receive a check in return.