The big challenge that has nowadays the marketing is to achieve that the client sits down satisfied and with his covered needs, but owed so much to the social and cultural dynamics that has the current company as at the arrival of the new technologies, it is forced to print changes on his philosophy and way of doing. This client means to promote inside the company a «culture» for what needs to be provided with a personnel in positive attitude, with a big sense of the responsibility and with sufficient formation to be able to communicate to the clients all the intangible ones that it takes with it the word service or product.

The market has become suddenly more global and hard competitive, the quality in the attention has happened promptly to be an imperative of the XXIst century and for it the Spanish companies cannot allow themselves the luxury of suffering debts also in this aspect.

The businessmen know that the cost of maintenance of a client is significantly lower than the cost of obtaining the new one and in turn perceptibly minor to that of recovery of a lost client. Then: why already not to promote a culture of attention to the client who allows us to make them faithful? Let's use the relational marketing.

In the past the companies were faced to make products and they did of it his meaning of life, with the arrival of the competition the marketing had to be able to give the elements diferenciadores to be able to keep on selling, today the managers have detected that the last end of the companies they are
clients and therefore they must be faced towards them (focus customer). The competition has done that
the clients are much more demanding, and that the sale is more complex. The fundamental differentiation of the competitive companies is to make faithful and to pay good attention to the clients.

The fundamental target of any company is to obtain the entire satisfaction of the client (STC). Presently to cover the needs not «satisfies entirely». It is necessary to look for the extra cost. A satisfied client is that whose product expectations turn out to be overcome by the same product.

The search of new expectations in the products is canalized by two routes: a day pupil and another intern. The external route is formed by the proper clients with his direct and indirect demands, his behaviors and his new customs. The internal route is in the proper company. With an information and well structured internal formation, a company can go so far as to find new values in his products, which turn it into market leader.

Therefore, we can say that the attention to the client across a proper department is a powerful and useful strategic tool of the marketing since it acts like control device, compiler and in turn information diffuser both to the company and to the client, he helps to realize the sale forecasts and intervenes in the control and pursuit of the network of sales.

9.1. Profitability of the department

My professional experience as auditor in marketing and TV/radio commercial indicates me that it is important to obtain an analysis of the functioning of the department, since independently of obtaining the direct and indirect costs that it has the company will bring us a vision on the commercial viability of the company.

• Direct costs. There are the costs that produce to themselves day by day and unfortunately the only ones to which it usually pay attention:

– Cost of the treatment of claims.

– Cost of the returned products and of the realized fertilizers.

– Cost of the legal actions that have to be carried out, if they were.

– Cost of the politics of public relations faced to correct the committed errors.

• Indirect costs. They take place to average and long-term, and they are, probably, higher than the previous ones with the loss of image and competitiveness that it bears:

– Cost of the clients' loss straight affected by the errors and the bad attention.

– Cost of the loss of clients informed about mistakes committed with other clients.

– Cost of reception of new clients, who substitute the previous ones in the portfolio of the company.

– And finally, the biggest cost of all is the loss of opportunity of expansion of the company.

If we analyze everything it is ready of direct and indirect costs we will come to a clear conclusion: the good attention to the client is an important prop of the company, and perhaps be able to become a part of his success.

9.2. Importance and utility of the department

Independently of the characteristics of the company and of the sector, we can indicate that it is the department that takes as Home targets differentiating the company inside his market, as well as to create a corporate culture capable of linking the whole human team in the managerial targets.

It is such his grade of importance that strategically is advised is an independent department not to suffer any pressure. In case an independent department should not exist, I advise that to be created internal committees of work formed by the departments of: marketing, sales, finance, logistics, production, etc. in order to mark the rules to be continued as if they should have a proper department. In both cases, the personnel that composes it must be flexible and innovative in the ideas that allow him to evolve professionally of form parallel to the needs of the clients.

To realize the importance and utility that has the department, I will indicate next the Home areas of activity in which it acts:

• Attainment and fidelización of the clients.
• To minimize the service time.
• To accelerate the cashings.
• To discover the progress areas.
• To mark the tendencies of the market.
• To improve the control of the network of sales.
• To detect quickly the entry of the competition.
• To control real sale prices.
• To act like information source.

9.3. Functions and structure of the department

My professional experience indicates me that this department is perhaps the one that major number of definitions has as for his functions, since, depending on the sector, corporate and optical marketing culture, the differences can be very wide, from focusing it definitely on emission and control of orders in the industrial sector and something of consumption, even in the companies of new technologies, which Home assignments are those of reporting, satisfying needs and making the client faithful.

Home assets of the marketing in the new millenium, take those as Home functions of attending to the calls and requests of the clients, as well as realizing his pursuit and control up to the entire satisfaction of the same ones.

As for his structure, it will depend on the work quantity that between in the department to divide well by geographical areas, typical of the product, type types of sale or business units, and to assign area and tasks to every person of the department. With this department structure it is easier to control the work of the team that forms the attention to clients, and also it manages to finish with the bottle necks. The responsibilities remain delimited and the quality of the work increases greatly. But the fundamental thing of creating structures is to realize an analysis thoroughly of the work flow, to realize the allocations equilibradamente.

Come to this point, it is convenient to do the reflection of the type of client to whom we are speaking: retail client who acquires our product for his commercialization or final client of mobile telephony.

9.4. Methodology of the work

To assure the good functioning of the department it is necessary to create a series of agile and flexible procedures that facilitate the activity and do not create problems. The capacity of reaction of this department is fundamental to make a company triumph, for it and being too general practitioners, we are going to indicate all the possibilities of collaboration.

9.4.1. Orders

The orders can come to the companies for several routes: phone, letter, e-mail..., straight for a seller or for the same client. In any case it is necessary to complete a series of basic information to avoid errors: name of the client or number of code, it dates in the one that wishes the delivery, references and product quantity, name of the person who requests the order and any observation on form of delivery, schedules, etc. On the screen of the computer there must appear a paragraph of remarks where there are reflected the "special" details to be solved.

9.4.2. Information request

Focus Customer, theoretically is the Home target of the companies, but very few obtain to reach it in the reality, since in spite of creating or subcontracting this service or specific department, every day the opposite demonstrates us. This situation confirms with the effort that many companies do to reinforce and to improve his communication channels with the clients, more and more diverse: in person, phone, Internet …

9.4.3. Claims

The model that is designed must serve, in principle, for all kinds of claim that could be realized. At present the phone, across the call centers, has the biggest leading role, but Internet presents a promising future. At first it is observed:

• To whom must the claims speak as it is his level of importance and content. A good procedure will have to operate with the maximum tact and in turn with the maximum information contribution.
• What information must be requested the client to give course to the claim. The quantity of information that is requested will change according to the importance of the claim.
• The claims must qualify in three levels there being established a standard level of answer to the lowest two leaving the last one for those special claims that need a specific action.
• The personnel of the department must be prepared to be able to gather a serious claim, and to give him course delivering it, with the biggest tact, to the person who can act.
• In an average and low claim it is necessary to tackle quickly the opportune actions and to give answer to the claimant. The measurements will take according to the politics of the company.
• There exist general claims that have not associated immediate actions, but that it is interesting that they are answered being grateful for the constructive contribution that has realized us to improve our service. It is possible to treat from the publicity that it does the company, up to the closing-time of the establishment.
• False or imaginary claims. They take place for understood villains and normally the company is not guilty of anything. It is convenient to communicate with the client, to tell the error to him and to give him again the information.
• Having claim forms can facilitate very much the work, going so far as to avoid a heated discussion. Next we detail a model guy of basic form.

GRAPH 2. MODEL OF CLAIM

The claims it is necessary to analyze them and to treat them informáticamente to extract from them the pertinent ratios, as well as the opinion that our our clients have. His analysis and evaluation will give us an information that, if it is well treated, will be very useful for the company.

9.4.4. After-sales service

An after-sales service that works correctly can save to a company a high percentage of the expenses of promotion and sales. If on the contrary the product does not work, for very good that is, it will have difficulties in his commercialization.

The most habitual problems are the debts in the visits of the technical staff. There are companies that are following an autosanction politics if they do not fulfill the commitment to attend to the client in an established maximum time. Other of the cases that happen is the absence of spare parts, after the obsolete device stays in a little time. The manufacturer refuses to produce ancient pieces, and the client is defenseless, and with the imposition of acquiring another more modern device.

The SAT or service of technical attention can or not be included inside the department of attention to clients, but there is not doubt that a communication flown between both departments must exist.