Customer Segmentation Needn't Create Poor Customer Service - Womens Nike Beach Sandals

by Bsat Bsat bsat
Not the case Nike Heels. Two of the companies make me feel like a valued customer.

The third made me feel so unappreciated I closed the account High Jordan Heels. How the three companies handle "suspicious" activity on my account demonstrates the varying degrees of service:- Discover card has a fraud specialist (or customer service representative) call me in person to ask that I review recent transactions with her/him.

- Citibank's computer calls me with an alert, asking that I call a number or go online to verify transactions through a computerized process 2012 Nike Heels. - Advanta locks the account and sends a letter informing me they have done so.

In my experience, the letter arrived a week after the incident and I was not notified by telephone (I called them when the "offending" vendor notified me of the decline) Nike High Heels. I asked customer service to allow future charges from that vendor, but they could not do so.

Presumably, this meant an account freeze each time my authorized vendor attempted to process a legitimate charge.All three of my card companies require that I take some sort of action to verify suspicious charges, which is to be expected. The approach, however, leaves a very different impression. Citibank and Discover both apologize for the inconvenience of transaction verifications and -- while I have to go through an extra step with Citibank -- both fall within my subjective definition of quality customer service. Advanta, however, does not apologize for the hardships of declined transactions and a frozen account.To be fair, I do not know that my negative experience would have been handled differently if I were in a more profitably customer segment. It could have been result of badly trained customer service representatives, or perhaps this is standard procedure on all accounts. Tips for Segmenting Customers Without Sacrificing ServiceCustomer segmentation is a good thing. It helps you recognize how customers are different and it should draw your attention to needs of different segments, prompting you to better meet those needs. Some ideas on successful segmentation:- Segment by need rather than profit or revenue. A low-profit customer today could be high-profit tomorrow if you offer products and services that fill her/his needs. - Look for ways some customer segments can effectively be more "self-service," which cuts costs for the company while meeting customer service needs. - Build in ways to create exceptions in automated customer service processes, so as not to alienate those with special situations (in my example, by allowing a way to preauthorize account activity).

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Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.

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