Brand Dilution and service dilution are the way to Go forward by the companies? No way.

?The brand is Not a loose word. - In the last few years what has changed really is the way the concept of Brand has been loosely handled and spoken. The world’s greatest brands have been created with their adamant approach to their core and their resistance to being a part of a mad rush to gain market share at any cost. Companies today fail to realize that a reduced level of services too much fluidity in Brad’s relevance to its core customers and increasing frustration is lowering the entry barrier and widening the gate of opportunities for the new Entrants and core players. Every product expansion needs to be a balance between core values and gaining market share

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Production expansion against the Brand perception - Every Brand and company does not need to cater to each segment and in this process, they are hurting themselves. Take for example some leading hotel chains that have tried to expand by offering franchises to virtually every hotel and as a result, the specific service standards to that brand perception are totally out of the box. A pricing differentiation exist based on service delivery but demanding brand premium ignoring the customer’s service standards cannot be the normal of Business and it in long term it is a perfect recipe to Kill the brand premium. A leading Retail company trying to gulp each, and every store location, and it adds the footfall but adds nothing to Brand Value or premium because that addition brings nothing to the unique product differentiation in the market. Market dominance is not an automatic route to Brand premium in long-term.

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Client servicing is not optional- A lot of companies in the name of pandemic or technology have virtually made the client servicing zero. For example, a lot of banking or courier companies are advertising themselves as 24-hour customer care companies, but their service lines work only for 12 hours. Their customer assistance agents do have nothing more except those worded sentences irrespective of the individual consumer’s plight. In the name of backend or escalation customers have virtually no channel to get in touch with the organization. Due to the consistent flow of business, these companies are least bothered by the customer’s frustration.

A swift business acquisition is a key to gaining market share, but the equally swift resolution of clients’ complaints is important for the retention of customers. Welcome Niche Players, you have the door open to step in.

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Information technology supports but not replaces the human – Technological advancements are there to make the processes smoother but not an excuse to skip the service deliveries. IVR is not a customer service or replacement of swift resolution of customer grievance hence advertising 24 hours customer care in the name of FAQs or IVR is neither customer experience nor customer service. Today you see a lot of time walking into to front offices specific requests are denied or take 5 days which is really a few seconds’ job in the name of systems and processes. All the technology and businesses exist to serve humans who think, feel, and react and need to be responded in a similar way.

The processes of companies are no excuse for poor services.

Pricing premium is welcome, but service delivery is big No – Today a lot of companies are working big on brand building and asking the customers to pay accordingly but when it comes to service deliver standards, they want to cut all the corners. For example, a lot of airlines want to follow the full-service carrier pricing strategy but when it comes to the service package, they want to follow the model of no-frill airlines. Another example would be some American hotels that want to charge the premium pricing of a 4 or 5 star but when it comes to basics like quality breakfast or baggage handling, they do want additional exorbitant charges for the same. A USD 400 or 200 product has a service differential and after paying that premium the customer is asked for those services again?

The revenue maximization principle is based on better product delivery and better asset utilization but certainly can not be maximized by charging for a package of services and again asking to pay for those individual components.

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Revenue maximization of an Individual asset has a limit – Pricing and better revenue management call for grabbing an opportunity to earn when it exists, but every asset has a limit to which it can contribute. For example, an American city is on the verge of losing a healthcare conference because the city hotels tried to price themselves beyond the justified limits. Another example would be the Telecom space in India trying to collect all the miscalculations of the past in a short span of time but a problem which is created by themselves a customer needs to make 10 frustrating calls followed by 5 das waiting period.

Arising in a situation of no competition would be a totally different discussion.

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Investment in human problem-solving capacity taking a backseat – Every technology company would love to develop processes that reduce human interaction and increase reliance on automated responses. A customer care executive needs to be equipped with enough knowledge and tools to quickly resolution of customer problems. Investments must be made in this direction and processes need to be directed in a way that facilitates the speedy resolution. Sadly, most of the organizations are developing the processes in the name of the technology that suits them and bothers less. There is totally a disconnect developing between the customers and the organizations.

Various advertised channels to reach companies are more of cosmetic nature and organizations are solving the problems only on their chosen means and of course time limits which simply has no rationale. Increased business and customers should translate into increased investment in customer care capabilities rather than increasing the duration of problem resolution.?