Response in Consumer Sector
In consumer sector, suppliers most probably come in contact with distributors or middle-men rather than directly to customers. For them, distributors are the actual customers and had to be in contact with them at all the business stages. The direct contact with customer happens very rarely and only in extraordinary situations like extreme complaint or due to some urgency the customer opts to contact suppliers directly. Hence, fast and comprehensive response to customer is very important as the communication happens rarely under urgent circumstances and emotionally charged situations. If the responses are not managed properly the customers have the right and potential to cause damages to supplier in regards to deal and relationship. But inversely, if the responses are efficient and useful then the customers are prone to become business ambassador of the supplier.
Efficient consumer response (ECR) is the key strategy to handle responses and do business in consumer segment. ECR is the technique to work together to understand and deliver consumers needs efficiently, faster and at low cost.
There are two basic principles of ECR:
Efficient consumer response encompasses a supply chain management system. It is a managerial strategy which primarily focuses on consumer demands and follows the whole supply chain process for responding efficiently to that demand. ECR not only deals with responses and operational areas of retail marketing but also provide ways in which suppliers, retailers and third party distributors work together. There are basically two levels of activities that are performed in ECR. The first level is specifically concerned with our topic of discussion i.e. consumer demand and responses. The second level is associated with product supply management. The measure of success of this system is the level of efficiency achieved in customer satisfaction.
The communication between the two parties could happen in any of the three modes i.e. face to face, telephonic and email/fax but it is important for the supplier to judge the responses on quality and comprehensiveness in all the three modes. Hence, the main objective here is always to enhance customer satisfaction and reduce total business cost. Good consumer response is an essential asset for an organization and directly or indirectly helps them to grow substantially in business.
Related Articles
- Measuring Customer Response
- Medium of Customer Responses
- Qualities of a Good Response
- Response in Core Sector
- Customer Acquisition

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