Listen to Your Customers
FCustomers today expect greater
variety and customization, more sophisticated
product features, and better service.
In response, savvy marketers are shifting from a
traditional “make and sell” approach to a
knowledge-intensive “sense-and-service” strategy.
Raw data is transformed into information and, through the use of sophisticated tools and educated users, converted into
useful knowledge.
Information systems can impose greater structure on a customer-service process, which offers the potential for greater
management control and impressive
efficiencies.
FBut too much structure can result in
rigid operating procedures that run counter to
customer expectations of reasonable flexibility.
James Cash, “Listen to Your Customers,” Information Week, 27-Feb-95, p. 108