Customer-Relationship
Management
Of the people, by the people,
and for the people
A slide show by Jennifer Gill
Topics
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Definitions
Complaint Resolution, Feedback,
Guarantees, Corrective Action
Four R’s
Technology
Brainstorming
Chili’s Example
Summary
Definitions
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“A view of the customer that asserts that
he or she is a valuable asset to be
managed.” –S. Thomas Foster
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Deciding that “you want lifetime clients.”
-Richard Buckingham
Definitions
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“The long-term success of the
organization and improved value for its
shareholders lies to a very great extent
in the company’s ability to develop and
sustain genuine relationships with its
customer.” -James G. Barnes
Four Tools
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Complaint Resolution
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Feedback
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Guarantees
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Corrective Action
Complaint Resolution
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Three types of complaints:
Regulatory, Employee,
Customer
 Compensation
 Contrition
 Ease of Resolution
Feedback
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Customer Data
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Customer Behavior
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Data-gathering
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Analyzing Data
Guarantees
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Customer Rights
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Guarantee Design:
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Unconditional
Meaningful
Communicable
Painless to invoke
Corrective Action
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The way a firm reacts to a problem so
that the problem never reoccurs.
Barnes’ 4 R’s
Customer
Retention
Customer
Relationships
Customer
Referrals
Recovery
Customer Retention
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A low-cost way to increase revenue.
Retention is cheaper than acquisition.
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Must be voluntary.
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Must lead to long-term relationships.
Relationships
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Attempting to know the
customer.
Commitment and
Communication
“Clients should call you
only once. After that, you
should proactively call
them.” –Richard
Buckingham
Referrals
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Powerful tool that results from customer
satisfaction or dissatisfaction.
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“Referral clients are already sold, before
they even call you.” –Richard
Buckingham
Recovery
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Empower employees so that they may
deal with mistakes as they occur.
Technology
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Internet communication as
a means of enhancing
customer relationships.
 Ease of use of the
technology important.
Brainstorm
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A customer enters a
restaurant and receives bad
service, bad food, and
overall dissatisfaction. Use
Foster’s tools or Barnes’ 4
R’s to resolve the problem.
Chili’s Vision
State College’s local Chili‘s deals with
customer complaints using the following
techniques:
 Feedback: Talk to customer
 Resolution: Pay for meal
 Corrective Action: Managers meetings,
cooks meetings, changes
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Summary
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Customer-Relationship Management is not
easily defined.
 Long-term relationships must be established
which are based on trust and communication.
 Each firm must decide on its own policy
regarding customer relationship, however, the
entire organization must be involved in the
process.
Quotes
“You can learn a lot about our motorcycle
company by understanding our customers.
By valuing and responding to our customers,
we have become the leader in the
heavyweight motorcycle market.” –HarleyDavidson website
 “The customers’ first choice in casual dining.”
–Chili’s Vision
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Works Cited

Barnes, James G. Secrets of Customer Relationship
Management. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001.
 Buckingham, Richard. Customer Once, Client
Forever. Washington, D.C.: The Kiplinger
Washington Editors, Inc., 2001.
 Foster, S. Thomas. Managing Quality: An Integrative
Approach. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2001.
 www.harley-davidson.com
 Henry, Todd. Interview on September 27,2001.
 Massnick, Forler. The Customer is CEO. New York:
American Management Association, 1997.