Xerox Serves a Diverse Set of Customers in the Business

question 43

Essay

Xerox serves a diverse set of customers in the business market.
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Customer group A demands a wide variety of services in addition to a perfectly functioning copier. These customers value the relationship with Xerox and are willing to pay a premium for product and service quality.
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Customer group B wants a quality copier but, most of all, they want a rock bottom price and choose suppliers on that basis.
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Customer group C demands a quality product and extensive service support but wants all of this for a "rock bottom" price. These customers will freely switch from one supplier to the next. As competition intensifies for Xerox, more customers are moving into this group each month.
First, describe how Xerox might develop a portfolio of relationship strategies to meet the needs of such diverse customer groups. Second, some customers in each group are more costly to serve than others. How should such cost differences be reflected in the particular relationship strategies that Xerox follows? Third, what strategies can Xerox follow to increase the switching costs of customers in Group B or Group C?

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Definitions:

Probability

The measure of the likelihood that an event will occur, expressed as a number between 0 and 1, where 0 indicates impossibility and 1 indicates certainty.

Nonprobability

A sampling technique where elements of the population do not have a known or predetermined chance of being selected.

Text Data

Digital information composed of words, sentences, or paragraphs used in communication or stored in electronic format.

Automated Systems

Technologies or systems designed to perform tasks automatically, often improving efficiency and accuracy in processes.