Professor Stephen Adei, a former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Public Administration, GIMPA, has tasked institutions to utilise effective customer relations to prosper their businesses.

He advised business and corporate entities not to downplay good customer relations or disregard its impact because it could make or unmake a company, saying disgruntled customers were likely to withdraw their custom, while satisfied ones could spread the good news to win others over.

Speaking during the fifth Ghana Customer Service Conference, in Accra, on Thursday, Prof. Adei expressed concern about the low level of customer service among goods and service providers, and urged them to put in place the needed mechanisms to uphold them.

He stated in addition to paying particular attention to customers, organisations should endeavour to also tailor their products to meet the requirements and the needs of their customers.

He noted that some companies may have good customer care relations, but their products and services may not meet the needs of their target groups.

“Businesses and corporate entities should, therefore, be creative and develop products and services which meet or even beat the expectations of their clients,” he advised.

Prof. Adei called for the practice of mutual respect for both senior and junior staff as it was one of the best means of inculcating in the frontline staff the need to relate politely with customers.

Prof Adei urged businesses not to consider customer service as an after-thought but it should always be factored into the initial planning of matters concerning the wellbeing of a company.

He urged management to do their best to adequately address all matters of concern, which would be reported by customers as the customer ‘always come first’.

He cited high profit returns, good moral behaviour, satisfied customers as some of the benefits a company stood to gain from developing good customer relations with their clients.

He urged companies to occasionally reward staff members who had good customer relations to serve as a motivation to others.