Managing Customer Satisfaction

In any commercial organization, marketing is the bedrock of business. Though in the last few years, we have seen that marketing is being embraced even in non-commercial organizations like Churches, Schools, professional Training Centres, Hospitals, professional firms etc, but not in all cases are people practicing what is known as marketing. Marketing started from early man.

The Institute of Marketing defined marketing as: “The management function which organizes and directs all those business activities involved in assessing and converting customer purchasing power into effective demand for a specific product or service, and in moving the product or service to the final consumer or user so as to achieve the profit target or other objectives set by the company.”

The consumer is the ultimate in marketing. The consumer is the customer; he is the one that justifies all efforts of production. Without the customer, organizations are not in business. If consumers are not satisfied, they will not buy the product. Products may be tangible and intangible. As much as it is important be satisfying the consumer, that is the customer, it is also important that the company should be making profit from the whole deal since it is not offering a social service.

Organizations, should embrace the concept by Hung Davidson. In his book titled ‘Offensive Marketing’, he says offensive marketing “obliges a company to innovate continually, to plan what is best for number one, rather than following competition, and to respond to competitors’ moves by counterattack, not by imitation”. In its ideal form, it is profitable, offensive, integrated, strategic and effectively executed. At the risk of gimmickry, but in the greater course of good reader, recall that these five aspects can be summarized by the word; P-O-I-S-E:
‘P    for profitable: proper balance between firms’ and consumers’ needs;
‘O    for offensive: must lead market and make competitors followers;
‘I    for integrated; marketing approach must permeate the whole company;
‘S    for strategic: action related to long and short-term strategic plan;
‘E    for effectively executed: speaks for itself.

“Marketing involves balancing the company, the integration of the organization and an exchange between the company and the consumer which is mutual. Because firms are offering services, the customer must pay for the services.

Civil Service Reforms: Highlights of Federal Government Reform Programmes

One major preoccupation of the present administration has been Policy Reforms aimed at improving the machinery of government and service delivery generally.

 A compelling reason for the reforms was the parlous state of the economy of the nation, and the erosion of public confidence in government

and its institutions to deliver the much expected dividends of democracy. Beside the internal pressures, there were external factors as well, especially those of NEPAD and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and the urgency of attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The Reform agenda focused on:
-    Public Sector Reforms;

-    Privatization/Liberalization:

-    Governance, Transparency and Anti-Corruption;

-    Service Delivery.

The main goals are:

-    Wealth Creation;

-    Employment Generation;

-    Poverty Reduction; and

-    Value Re-orientation.

Salient features of the reforms include economic development strategies, public service reforms, pensions overhaul, national Health Insurance Scheme, Bank recapitalization, service delivery (servicom) and anti-corruption campaigns.

The underlying philosophy of the Reform is change. Indeed, change for the better for too long, has been evasive in Africa. Our living condition is characterized with poverty, poor service delivery, corruption, environmental degradation, etc, amidst increased oil revenue.

This paper is therefore timely as the reform measures aim to address a host of national malaise.

Listed below, are a summary of the reform measures being undertaken by the Federal Government. They have implications for both States and Local Governments. The challenges to readers include acceptance, adaptability and the resolve to turn things around for the good of all.

Financial Sector Reforms

“Reform” simply refers to bringing about change that is capable of provoking improvement. This may take the form of removing undesirable qualities or processes; it could also take the form of injecting new rules, procedures, processes, etc.

In order to provoke necessary improvements, in Africa embarked on reformation in several sectors of the economy such as political, economical, financial, industrial, solid mineral, oil and gas energy, telecommunications, legal etc. some of the reforms actually started prior to the commencement of the current dispensation but were accelerated while some other reforms were conceptualized and executed or in the process of execution in the current dispensation.

For the purpose of this paper, we shall however limit ourselves to the financial sector which, most often, is myopically considered as banking and non-banking financial institutions only. It therefore implies that we shall extend our discussion beyond the development in banks and insurance sub-sectors of the industry.