Customer Compatibility Management as a Tool to Increase Customer Loyalty and Operational Efficiency in Service Companies

Abstract

Customers of service companies, being an integral part of the service itself, confirm the thesis that each service provided is unique, and the variability introduced by customer behavior significantly affects both loyalty and efficiency of the company, and also creates operational risks. Customers don’t just consume or buy a service, they help create it, even if it means showing up to a scheduledмmeeting on time. Companies for a long time haven’t paid attention to the variability introduced by customers, and moreover, if earlier they considered it in terms of its impact on the organization’s operations, today they are increasingly considering the impact of variability on the behavior of customers themselves. In the same way that companies experience dissatisfaction when customers exhibit behavior that is out of line with their activities, customers experience discomfort when the experience of contacting an organization and receiving a service does not match their expectations and desires. Thus, customers and companies impose variability on each other. Accounting for variability, what Frey calls a classic accommodation, improves customer satisfaction through higher operating costs. On the other hand, reduced variability or classic reduction lower operating costs, but often at the cost of quality customer satisfaction. Achieving compatibility between organizational capabilities and customer preferences is a key issue for organizations in increasing business performance and customer loyalty. This article examines the types of variability brought by customers, reflects scientific discourse and analyzes the strategies of service companies in various industries in terms of managing customer variability, and also explores the areas of activity to achieve compatibility between the company and service consumers.