How to Improve Your International Customer Service

Abstract

International marketing can be a balancing act between high sales‐maintenance costs and a reduction of business due to poor service. The way in which international customer service fits into a company′s overall international marketing strategy is examined. The emphasis is on the need for customer‐orientation (rather than production orientation). This also affects the practical aspects of logistics and their relationship to customer service. Management′s main aim is to provide the expected level of customer service at the minimum cost, and covering all the logistics activities. To achieve this objective, management should be guided by three interrelated concepts – the total systems concept, the concept of cost trade‐offs, and the minimum total cost concept. Each of these is discussed, and their interrelationship considered. The ways in which international customer service can be used to create competitive advantage and increased profitability is examined.