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INTRODUCTION
It has been long acknowledged that firms operating in an oligopolistic market exhibit a great degree of mutual interdependence, especially in the realm of pricing, so that they frequently resort to one or more forms of non-price competition in an attempt to gain market share. While oligopolies show relatively little variance in price charged, they advertise furiously and try hard to differentiate their product offerings, through product variations, enhancements in technical features and timely distribution. The last dimension is an example of a customer service which can become a significant component part of an overall corporate strategy for product differentiation, one that becomes especially attractive when price competition is negated. The purpose of this research is to assess the importance of customer service as a tool for differentiation in industrial markets by comparing the stated postures towards customer service of providers and recipients of selected services.
WHAT IS CUSTOMER SERVICE?
We will not go into a substantive presentation on the meaning and applications of customer service. An excellent explanation has been provided by LaLonde and Zinszer[1]. However, a few examples may be useful in providing the reader with the theoretical orientation of this article.
The concept of customer service has been a generic term used by industry and academia to describe a set of activities in which a firm engages to win and keep customers. For example, one definition simply states: "Customer service consists of those activities that enhance or facilitate the sale and use of one's products or services"[2]. However, customer service is more than this definition suggests; it is also a variable that expands the image of a product and thereby offers the possibility of giving the firm's products market acceptance, growth and the possibility of market dominance[3]. In other words, it has the potential to be a competitive weapon when properly applied by management. Also, unlike other marketing variables, customer service is unobtrusive, making competitive response problematic[4]. Frequently, customer service, like other services, is inseparable from the tangible product with which it is associated. The entire product's utility to the user will be influenced by the quality of service. For instance, transit delays may well diminish the value of a product and cause the buyer to regret ever having made the...