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Customer Integration into A Company’s Business Plans

Customer Integration into A Company’s Business Plans

Abstract

Customers play a significant role as the purchasers of goods and services. They help align supply chain systems, and as such, they are vital participants. In this sense, they are actively involved in the integration process within an organization to create and enhance its value. As companies are striving to remain competitive, customer expectations and interactions are increasingly being prioritized. Collaborating with consumers yields desirable outcomes, establishing the significance of customer integration into a company’s business plans, which is a focus of this research paper.

Keywords: customers, organizations, customer integration, a company’s business plans

Introduction

According to Hughes and Brooks (2019), customers are significant participants in the corporate world with essential roles attributed to their position in the supply chain. As the recipients of goods and services, customers are actively involved in the integration process within an organization to create and enhance its value. As companies are striving to remain competitive, customer expectations and interactions are increasingly being prioritized. In support of this argument, Ptok (2017) asserted that customer experience is an increasingly integral part of strategic planning. As such, collaborating with consumers will ultimately yield desirable outcomes (Alzaydi, Al-Hajla, Nguyen, & Jayawardhena, 2018). In this regard, this research paper aims at discussing customer integration into a company’s business plans.

Discussion

It is undeniable most relationships involving customers stop after the sales transaction. However, the success of an organizations goes beyond the profits generated. Therefore, it is essential for organizations to involve their consumers at every level. Customer integrations supports the exploration of new relationships between organizations and their consumers. As established by Alzaydi et al. (2018), technology is increasingly being integrated in business operations. In this digital era, technology, including social media, is increasingly influencing customers and the decisions they make. Besides, technology supports the improvement of organizational processes as well as the transfer of relevant information and knowledge. As such, it is of importance to incorporate technological advancements in the customer integration process.

With a focus on customers, customer integration facilitates the improvement of service delivery and development through the integration of improved business operations. It promotes an understanding of what customers need, and as such, positions organizations to fulfill these needs. Additionally, incorporating customers promotes the formulation of effective and efficient strategies that will help companies remain competitive (Poirier, Quinn, & Swink, 2009). It supports the implementation of practices and policies that will help retain customers as well as attract new customers to the company.

Companies tend to incorporate customer integration with a view on the significant aspects that promote organizational success, including, loyalty of consumers, the profits generated, and greater revenues (Alzaydi et al., 2018). However, consumers also shape customer integration as they ought to be motivated enough. Some of the factors that motivate customers are the level of cost-sharing, quality control with the possibility of initiating the consumer goods and material recall process, and improved decision concerning the purchasing of goods (Ptok, 2017). In this sense, customer integration supports a customer-centric approach, particularly since consumers are centrally placed in the decision-making process concerning business plans of an organization (Alzaydi et al., 2018).

Additionally, a study conducted by Hughes and Brooks (2019) established that there is a close correlation between the capability of an organization to collaborate with significant stakeholders (including suppliers and consumers) and the profits garnered. In this sense, customer integration promotes the formation of relationships that will enhance the success of an organization. However, organizations ought to enhance their organizational processes and extend innovations to consumers (Alzaydi et al., 2018).

Hughes and Brooks (2019) documented that customer integration can be used as a tool to measure the success rate of an implemented strategy in relation to the business plans of an organization. In this regard, it ascertains that ineffective strategies are eliminated and supports the integration of more effective practices. It ascertains organizations are better positioned to redirect their investments and resources towards relevant inventions and innovations. As such, customer integration makes significant contributions in maximizing the value of an organization, its operations, and businesses as well.

In correlation with its contributions in a company’s business plans, customer integration minimizes the occurrence of a change as their needs and expectations are fully met. In this sense the organizational operations are not halted as change is known to be detrimental and occasionally met with resistance. In this same context, customer integration into the business plans of an organization keeps build in expenses at a minimum as deferred operations impact costs and expenditure within an organization (Ptok, 2017).

Customer integration into the business plans of an organization makes significant contributions in linking the components of a supply chain (Poirier et al., 2009), promoting an understanding that there is more to making sales and gaining profits. With the expectations of the consumers communicated, organizations will be better positioned to emphasize on quality right from the supplier (Hossai, Khadem, Al-Mawal, & Al Hajri, 2018). As noted by Poirier et al. (2009), the development of products is boosted by the involvement and help of trusted business partners, such as customers. In this same context, effective management of customers attributed to customer integration reflects positively on the marketing efforts and sales of the developed products (Alzaydi et al., 2018). Besides, it also enhances the level of customer service offered.

However, the results are not always positive when it comes to the contributions of customer integration on a supply chain and the different participants. In correlation with the need to share costs for successful customer integration, it is necessary to incorporate risk sharing as well (Poirier et al., 2009). Through this, companies will minimize losses linked to the strategies formulated as a result of customer integration. Besides, it will ascertain that organizations get to build beneficial relationships by integrating a symbiosis approach (Hossai et al., 2018).

While active customer integration into a company’s business plans is significant and yields desirable outcomes, it births a series of challenges which might be detrimental to the organization. One key challenge is linked to the increased levels of competition. In this regard, there is need to retain customer loyalty and minimize the chances of confusion among consumers, which are difficult to attain. Besides, the preferences, needs, and demands of consumers are rapidly changing (Alzaydi et al., 2018). This challenge is in close relation to the varying needs of consumers, which is are occasionally difficult to meet.

Another significant challenge attributed to customer integration is the need to gain access to consumer data as this supports the making of more informed decisions in relation to the business plans of an organization. With a financial implication, organizations ought to control costs since a shift in costs will ultimately affect the loyalty of consumers (Alzaydi et al., 2018), and mitigate the benefits of customer integration. In addition to this, organizations also find it challenging to keep control over the value creation process (Ptok, 2017), which is of importance.

However, these challenges can easily be addressed and ascertain that companies fully benefit from customer integration. In an attempt to address the defined challenges, organizations ought to consider the possibilities of a smooth and successful integration of customers into its business plans. In this regard, it is imperative to ruminate organizational activities that support the analysis and determination of these possibilities, which include, “1) product development, production, assortment, 2) information provision, consultancy, marketing communication, 3) transaction, logistics, and 4) service and support” (Ptok, 2017). Incorporating technology will also promote the eradication of the challenges linked to customer integration process (Poirier et al., 2009).

Undeniably, customer integration into an organization’s business plans yield significant outcomes. However, just as the customers have a role to play, the organization ought to make significant changes in relation to combating possible barriers and inhibitors. Some of the barriers commonly experienced include, “relational and cultural barriers, organizational and hierarchical barriers, physical and temporal barriers, as well as knowledge, information, and data management systems related barriers” (Poirier et al., 2009). Thus, it is necessary for an organization to restructure its operations and corporate culture to support customer integration (Alzaydi et al., 2018).

Conclusion

Customer integration promotes the creation of value in an organization and its practices, attributed to role of consumers as the purchasers of goods and services. Despite the minimal challenges attributed to the process of customer integration, the process is beneficial in various ways. It not only makes significant contributions in maximizing profits, but also supports the implementation of significant strategies with the aim of making an organization a success. Besides, it helps build relevant relationships between the relevant participants of supply chain. Organizations should make a habit of integrating customers into their business plans as this promotes a competitive edge and minimizes the organizational losses.

References

Alzaydi, Z. M., Al-Hajla, A., Nguyen, B., & Jayawardhena, C. (2018). A review of service quality and service delivery: Towards a customer co-production and customer-integration approach. Business Process Management Journal.

Hossain, M. Z., Khadem, M. M. R., Al-Mawali, N. R., & Al Hajri, A. S. (2018). Customer integration and supply management performance of small and medium enterprises: an empirical investigation. International Journal of Economics &Research, 9, 45-54.

Hughes, T., & Brooks, I. (2019). Co-Creation of Value–A Customer-Integration Approach. Strategic brand management in higher education, 159-76.

Poirier, C., Quinn, F., & Swink, M. (2009). Diagnosing greatness: Ten traits of the best supply chains. ProQuest EBook Central http://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Ptok, A. (2017).  The Role of Customer Integration, Marketing Metrics, and Advertising Effectiveness (Doctoral dissertation, Universität zu Köln).