EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL CUSTOMERS

To be successful, an organization must first identify its customers and then learn as much about them as possible—including their age, gender, income level, lifestyle, and occupation. This demographic information, once collected, creates a customer profile that explains who the customers are and what they want in terms of service. Companies identify their main customers for a very good reason—so they can develop and market the goods and services their customers want.

Most organizations have two main sets of customers: external and internal customers. External customers are the customers whose needs we traditionally think of serving, because these customers are the persons or organizations that purchase and use a company’s products and services. Internal customers, on the other hand, are identified as other people or departments within a company that rely on colleagues to provide the support they need to serve their own internal and external customers. If you work at an organization’s computer help desk, for example, your internal customer is anyone who requests your assistance in using the software packages or hardware components on your company’s computer network system.

In many firms, unfortunately, internal customers are often ignored or taken for granted—an attitude that compromises the productive flow of work throughout a company. Employees should respect and serve internal customers as if they were paying clients. Typically, the ways in which internal customers are treated translate into how a company is perceived by its external customers.

Employment Growth—Customer Service Representatives

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in professional and service-related occupations is expected to increase at a faster rate than all other occupations, and these sectors will add the most jobs from 2004 to 2014. Office and administrative support occupations are projected to grow about half as fast as other occupations, while jobs in production are projected to decline slightly.

Beyond growth stemming from expansion of the industries in which customer service representatives are employed, a need for additional personnel in this role is likely to result from heightened reliance on these workers. In many industries, gaining a competitive edge and retaining customers will be increasingly important over the next decade. This is particularly true in industries such as financial services, communications, and utilities, which already employ numerous customer service representatives.

As the trend toward consolidation in industries continues, centralized call centers will provide an effective method for delivering a high level of customer service. As a result, employment of customer service representatives may grow at a faster rate in call centers than in other areas. However, this growth may be tempered: a variety of factors, including technological improvements, make it increasingly feasible and costeffective to build or relocate call centers outside the United States.

Prospects for obtaining a job in the customer service field are expected to be excellent, with more job openings than job seekers. Bilingual applicants, in particular, may enjoy favorable job prospects. 

Replacement needs are expected to be significant in this field because many young people work as customer service representatives before switching to other jobs. This occupation is well suited to flexible work schedules, and many opportunities for part-time work will continue to be available, particularly as organizations attempt to cut labor costs by hiring more temporary workers.