Customer service management in Africa : a strategic and operational perspective / edited by Robert Ebo Hinson, et.al.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Customer service management the world over is dynamic, with companies transitioning from a transactional to a more strategic view of the customer. Customers have evolved and transformed from 'passive audiences' to 'active players.' Consequently, businesses are moving away from the old industry model that sees value as created from goods and services to a new model where value is created by experiences. Today, customers engage in dialogue with businesses at each stage of product design and product delivery. This dialogue is an interactive process of learning together. Together, businesses and customers create value through customized, co-produced offerings. This co-creation of value help firms highlight the customer's or consumer's point of view and improve the front-end process of identifying customers' needs. Co-creation, a new paradigm in the customer service literature, describes an environment in which businesses and customers create value through interaction aimed at further development of new business opportunities. In the past decade, co-creation has spread swiftly through theoretical and empirical analyses. Many professionals interested in marketing and consumer research, service management, and innovation management have applied "co-creation" models, enriching the approaches and the theoretical perspectives in the respective fields. Given the increasing recognition of the customer as a co-creator of value, this comprehensive and well-timed book aims to be an essential reference on the emerging role of the customer as a strategic partner in the co-creation value. This book discusses the management and delivery of customer service under seven broad themes: 1) customer service as shared value; 2) customer service systems; 3) customer service strategy; 4) customer service structure; 5) customer service style; 6) customer service staff; 7) customer service skills. The book examines the concepts, roles, and practices of customer service management. The authors also address the following central questions: 1) What is the new definition of customer service management? 2) How should organizations position themselves to create value for customers and stakeholders? 3) How should individuals representing organizations project themselves to align with the customer delivery promises made by their organizations?"-- Provided by publisher.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher.