A Customer-Oriented Manager for B2B Services: Principles and Implementation

ISBN-13: 9781786307576 / Angielski / Twarda / 2022 / 272 str.

Valerie Mathieu

Spis treści

Foreword ixPreface xiiiPart 1. Understanding the Fundamentals of Customer Orientation in B2B Services 1Introduction to Part 1 3Chapter 1. Customer Orientation 51.1. Outlines and challenges of customer orientation 51.1.1. Customer orientation framework 51.1.2. Benefits of customer orientation 61.1.3. Implementing customer orientation 81.2. Marketing as the source of customer orientation 121.2.1. Marketing as a corporate culture 131.2.2. Strategic marketing 151.2.3. Operational marketing 161.3. The manager's customer orientation in response to marketing issues 181.3.1. Restricted marketing 181.3.2. Marketing exposure to technological challenges 20Chapter 2. Reality and Challenges of Service 232.1. Economy and service: from data to discourse 232.1.1. The economic weight of service 232.1.2. Discourses on service 262.2. Defining the service 292.2.1. The organizational angle: the concept of servuction 292.2.2. The market angle: a process and an outcome 322.3. Characteristics of the service 352.3.1. Intangibility 352.3.2. Simultaneity 362.3.3. Heterogeneity 372.3.4. Perishability 38Chapter 3. Markers of B2B 413.1. Reality of the market 413.1.1. Market option 413.1.2. Derived demand 453.2. The relational issue 493.2.1. Framework of the client-provider relationship 493.2.2. Relational excellence 51Part 2. Knowing the Customer 57Introduction to Part 2 59Chapter 4. Modeling the Industrial Sector 614.1. Direct market 614.1.1. Knowing one's market in its entirety 614.1.2. Segmentation 644.1.3. Targeting 674.2. Indirect actors 684.2.1. Identifying the actors 694.2.2. Managers' responsibility towards indirect actors 71Chapter 5. Understanding the Purchase 795.1. Buying center concept 795.1.1. Composition of the buying center 795.1.2. The buyer 825.2. Buying process 875.2.1. The launch 885.2.2. Call for tenders 915.2.3. From short list to contract 93Chapter 6. Identifying Service Targets 976.1. Different types of targets 976.1.1. Targets within the direct client organization 976.1.2. Targets in the sector 1016.2. Target satisfaction challenge 1036.2.1. The notion of satisfaction 1036.2.2. Measuring satisfaction 107Part 3. Making the Most of the Offer 111Introduction to Part 3 113Chapter 7. Acting Against the Risk of Commoditization 1157.1. Understanding the phenomenon of the offer commoditization 1157.1.1. Characteristics of a commoditized market 1157.1.2. Explanatory factors 1167.1.3. The commoditization trap 1197.2. Countering the commoditization of the offer 1237.2.1. Strategies for presenting the offer 1237.2.2. Strategies for enriching the offer 131Chapter 8. Formalizing Your Offer 1358.1. Positioning the offer 1358.1.1. The notion of positioning 1358.1.2. The manager and positioning 1378.2. Design of the service offer 1398.2.1. Structure of the service offer 1398.2.2. Service innovation 1428.3. Plasticity of the service offer 1478.3.1. Levels of plasticity 1478.3.2. Presentation of the service offer 150Chapter 9. Taking Care of One Commercial Action 1539.1. Commercial proposal 1539.1.1. Documents and materials 1539.1.2. Oral presentation 1559.2. Commercial negotiation 1589.2.1. Preparing for the negotiation 1589.2.2. Negotiating 160Part 4. Delivering the Service 165Introduction to Part 4 167Chapter 10. Unlocking Human Potential 16910.1. Associating the client 16910.1.1. Principles of client participation in the service 16910.1.2. A more complex reality in B2B 17110.1.3. The manager orchestrates the client's participation 17310.2. Mobilizing the team 17910.2.1. A team in a service situation 17910.2.2. An expanded team 18410.2.3. Customer-oriented leadership 186Chapter 11. Managing Service Operations 18911.1. Operational efficiency 18911.1.1. Operational effectiveness framework 18911.1.2. Specificities of operational efficiency in services 19211.2. Manager's responsibility for customer-oriented operations 19311.2.1. Operations and quality of service 19311.2.2. Operations and service experience 19511.2.3. Operations and profitability 197Chapter 12. Marketing the Tangibles 20112.1. Tangible elements of the service 20112.1.1. Nature of tangible elements 20112.1.2. Dual function of tangible elements 20312.2. Challenges of tangibles 20612.2.1. The human being in a physical environment 20612.2.2. Tangible element of the service brand 207Conclusion 211References 215Index 227

O autorze

Valerie Mathieu is Associate Professor at IAE Aix-Marseille, France, where she is Director of the Management and Service Marketing Master's and Associate Dean in charge of Corporate Relations, Graduates and Continuing Education.