Research Paper on:
Competitive Business Strategy and Customer Service

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
the theory was, that whoever could build a better mousetrap (and promoted as a better mousetrap) would have the best competitive advantage over his/her competition.  Things have changed however -- a global marketplace combined with fluctuating economies has changed the attitudes of business when it comes to competitive strategy. These days,  businesses more and more are trying to embrace a customer-oriented strategy in order to gain and maintain a competitive advantage - particularly in competitive industries. One expert in customer service  management - Robert B. Woodruff - notes that customer value is something companies need to learn and incorporate into their strategies in order to determine strategies that would help marketing  programs (Parasuraman, 1997). But what is customer service? In its most basic sense, customer service is the process by which an  organization determines the need of a specific market, then supplies the product or service in an efficient fashion in order to meet that need. Beyond that basic definition, however, are  other aspects of customer service. There is follow-up to ensure the customer is happy with the product/service. There are surveys to ensure that the company is doing a good job.  And there are employees who must have the mindset that the customer is always right - always. One way in which to  build better customer service is by encouraging customer feedback. Customer satisfaction and customer feedback are also essential to the successful running of a business (Helmeke, 1993). Customer satisfaction surveys, in  fact, offer valuable customer and market information that is important for a companys overall strategic business plan (Helmeke, 1993). The more a company knows about a customers characteristics, needs and