PUBLIC RELATIONS
Publicity And Customer
Satisfaction Are
Inordinately Linked: One
Cannot Succeed Without
The Other
By Irene Mbonge
W
hile there may be many varying
answers as to why human
beings exist, there may be only
one answer to why business organizations
and/or companies exist. A smart
economist may generate diverse answers
to this one simple question but all will boil
down to one point that organizations exist
because of the customer; as all activities,
of every organization, are targeted towards
satisfying a group or groups of people
termed as consumers or customers.
Quite often, the difference between
organizations that merely survive in
business and those that flourish is keeping
up-to-date, and fine-tuning to the
dynamics of attitudes and prospects in the
market place.
One such development has been the major
changes in attitudes of customers over the
years. There was a time when customers
were less critical and vocal if not totally
satisfied when dealing with a business.
This was the time when the choices
available on where and who to deal with
were limited. The power belonged to the
business owner, customers had nowhere
else to go and, therefore, customer
satisfaction was not so important. This is
not the case now.
Today, corporations face their hardest
rivalry, because they must move from
a product and sales viewpoint to a
marketing philosophy that will - in turn,
give the company a healthier chance of
beating competition. This is because today,
customers are becoming increasingly more
demanding, less tolerant and very critical
when not having their hopes met as they
Good customer service and good PR
have never been more aligned. One of
the quickest ways to understand an or-
ganization’s reputation is to look at its
response to a consumer complaint. A
company can spend millions on a brand
reputation campaign, use high-powered
PR agencies, and reap the benefits of
CEO thought leadership, but if unhap-
py customers hit a brick wall instead of
help, those investments may be squan-
dered.
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MAL32/19 ISSUE
have a lot of choices on where and who to
deal with. As a result the power has now
shifted to the customer. If they feel you
cannot satisfy their expectations, they will
simply leave and deal with someone who
will.
What a customer wants from an
organization is one important issue that
every business must address. Assuming
you go to a restaurant to eat. The waitress
comes with a smile to attend to you. You
go to another eatery that happens to be
bigger than the former and you meet a
stern waitress who is all about her business.
There is a tendency for you to return to the
small cafeteria and eat. The smile alone,
speaking in psychological terms, gives
you not just an internal satisfaction but
also generates a sense of belonging for the
customer.
Various factors affect customer satisfaction.
Such factors include friendly employees,
courteous employees, knowledgeable
employees, helpful employees, accuracy
of billing, billing timeliness, competitive
pricing, service quality, good value, billing
clarity and quick service.
A consumer’s buying behavior is
influenced by cultural, social, personal and
psychological factors. Having a personal
relationship with consumers generates an
intimate relationship with the consumer.
The customer is thereby ready to generate
dialogue on and relatively pardon short
comings of the product of the organization
if any. A majority of critics of the Public
Relations (PR) discipline will point out
that all consumers need to be satisfied is
good quality product at a reasonable and/