Innovation and Customer Service

Customer service is today regarded as one of the most important components of marketing. Customer service is about ensuring that the service meets customers’ needs and expectations, which is expressed in terms of customer satisfaction. Through innovation, firms are able to devise new ways of doing things. In this chapter, the author presents a detailed assessment of the role that innovation plays towards customer service. Emphasis is put on the various approaches to innovation, both in the developing as well as in the developed countries. Special reference is made on the African context and experiences, as it is in Africa where industries need more than ever before, to realise that firms exist not just to make profit, but to serve customers better. This chapter argues that innovation must be a deliberate attempt by firms to do things better, not just a coincidence.