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Anne Gregory

Conclusion

Without doubt customer demands for greater and greater service levels are going to be with us for good. That goes for domestic customers and business customers alike. Just as they grow to expect more from those people who service their needs in the home – from supermarkets and other retailers to suppliers of everything from the telephone line to the rented television – they are also demanding more from those who service their needs while in the office. They are less loyal than they used to be and more willing to shop around. They are also more vociferous than they ever were before, and will complain loudly and clearly if things are not right or not put right as swiftly as they can be.

Added to that, service has become a part of what a company uses to differentiate itself from the crowd. In a highly competitive and rapidly changing marketplace, service can make or break a customer-client relationship. The reputations of good service providers need to be defended and promoted; the reputations of those who seek to join them need to be enhanced and built.

In this environment PR can help – both in the ‘traditional’ manner through proactive media work and the protection of an organization when under attack, and by developing communications links with key target groups, and working to develop new approaches to handling a company’s key clients and influencers.

Here are some points to remember.

(Anne Gregory. Public Relations in Practice. – Kogan Page, 2001. – P. 109-122)