Customer Strategy In Services Industries

Services industries are diverse, and range from the full service-only dimension through to services that support a product. In almost all cases the service involves capturing, or engaging with, the customer. A Service Value Networks (SVNs) approach offers a new way to engage with the customer. This approach moves the existing business models into the near-real-time customer tracking environment. This paper discusses complex doorways (elucidated by a SVNs approach) through which competitive new business approaches may be better understood, and developed, in line with customer drift, and/or customer changes in sentiment. The customer decision-making process to engage in a transaction process with the business, and the specific business-customer encounter pathways that ensue, contribute to the final customer engagement decision. The „bricks‟ (off-line physical) business and to „clicks‟ (on-line virtual) business both fit within the SVNs approach. This approach may be applied to tertiary institutions and student monitoring

Service industry and its business-customer encounters

This study uses the pharmacy industry to demonstrate the applicability of a service value networks (SVNs) structural equation modeling (SEM) approach as new method to investigate services industries. The author’s theoretically developed front-end business SVNs approach to customer engagement is modelled using observed business, customer and environmentally related variables. The business and the customer engage via multiple significant interaction pathways, which combine to deliver the net business-customer encounter outcome. This SVN SEM approach sheds new light on the complexities in delivering a businesscustomer exchange, and offers the manager an alignment tool that targets customer satisfaction, customer servicing and customer perceived value. This SVN SEM approach offers a more complex and engaging approach to that of customer relationship management (CRM)

Delivering competitiveness across management consulting firm and client firm boundaries

This study helps frame management consulting theory. It establishes the management consulting firm's networked competencies systems as mechanisms advancing a contracting client firm's operational capabilities, while also optimizting its business deliverables systems. This strategic 'management consulting firm' to 'client firm' relationship focuses into enhancing client firm sustainable (competetive) business positioning

Business-customer alignment in the Australian pharmaceutical industry

Emerging technologies are delivering new pharmacy business models including: web-based operations (like E-Pharmacy); low cost discount models (like Priceline), and diversified chain models (like V-Pharmacy). The regulated Australian industry is experiencing mounting external business pressures from supermarkets, doctors, consumers and politicians. This exploratory research targets the competitive services strategies of the existing pharmacy business models, pharmacy business performance, perceived pharmacy customer value delivered, and the business↔customer alignment mixes. It investigates the option of incorporating a new potentially disruptive solution-set that may enhance the industry's future competitiveness. A service value network (SVN) framework is projected as a likely future competitive scenario