Designing—and Sustaining the Gains from—a Service Strategy Available to Purchase

Companies of all kinds are thinking harder today about customer service; most now consider it to be a fundamental part of their competitive strategy. For many managers, however, the new emphasis on service causes more confusion than clarity: Do we need to have an explicit service strategy in our business? What should guide its design? Should we be pursuing partnerships with our internal customers, and if so, what should they entail?