Good customer service
- Good customer service includes product knowledge, customer engagement (being friendly, helpful and attentive), post-sales service (support, repairs, returns and warranties) and using technology, such as online chat and apps.
- It leads to customer loyalty, repeat business, good reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations, and can allow higher prices. Poor service loses customers and brings bad reviews.
Consumer law
- The Consumer Rights Act 2015 says goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described, and services must be carried out with reasonable care and skill. Customers can get a refund, repair or replacement.
- Businesses that break consumer law can face fines, pay compensation and damage their reputation.
Suppliers
- Procurement means finding and buying the goods and services a business needs. Businesses consider price, quality, reliability, speed of delivery, payment terms (such as trade credit) and ethics.
- Logistics means getting goods to the right place at the right time. Good relationships with suppliers help a business serve its customers well.
Key terms
- Customer service
- How a business looks after its customers before, during and after a sale.
- Customer engagement
- Attracting customers and building relationships with them.
- Post-sales service
- Support after a sale, such as repairs and returns.
- Customer loyalty
- Customers choosing to buy from the same business again and again.
- Procurement
- Finding and buying the goods and services a business needs.
- Logistics
- Getting goods to the right place at the right time.
- Trade credit
- An agreement to pay a supplier at a later date.