O serviço de atendimento ao consumidor como ferramenta estratégica de marketing: estudo de caso do setor alimentício em São Paulo

Abstract

Abstract: The Customer Service-SAC cannot be seen only as a relationship channel or a cost center. Consumer data is recorded in computerized databases that, transformed into correctly interpreted information, become knowledge that allows for more effective logical and strategic marketing actions, consequently in profit for companies. Our research aims to verify whether or not this informational product generated by the SAC is underutilized and whether its strategic role in food market organizations is recognized. Does the business community still perceive the SAC as a reactive service, which aims to comply with the legislation (Consumer Defense Code-CDC) and avoid complaints about products with PROCON or has it become a strategic department? A survey on the origin and evolution of customer service in the world and in Brazil; consumer rights; and the creation of the Consumer Protection Foundation-PROCON enabled us to present part of this answer in Chapter 1 - Origin of the Relationship with the Consumer. In Chapters 2 - Marketing, its Administration and Management and 3 - Strategy, Planning and Market, we listed the proposed definitions and concepts and linked them to the reality of the SAC so that we could substantiate the other part of the answer. The SAC should be used as a strategic marketing tool in companies. This hypothesis guided our research, defined in Chapter 4 - Method, in which we postulated to verify how the information generated by the SAC of 12 large companies in the food sector is perceived by 48 Marketing Managers. For that, we did 12 group dynamics and collected 12 opinions from SAC Managers about the use of this information in actions of strategic Marketing planning. In Chapter 5 - Results and Conclusions, we present the intersection of the perceptions and opinions of the Marketing and Customer Service Departments and the results are surprising. From them we conclude that the informational product generated by the SAC tends to be increasingly considered in the organization. Our research shows that Customer Service is definitely on the way to conquering a new role, with attributions of strategic support for organizations. This is a matter of time and it will certainly happen.