In the last decade we have seen a switch in the marketing industry, the main focus for companies is “Customer Satisfaction”. Everything has become more customer centered, from the travel experience to the entire customer journey. In recent years, there is an even stronger focus on Sustainability and Customer Satisfaction. What is the correlation and why is it so important? Much of our shopping is done online, meaning millions of items are shipped to customers each week. This seems to satisfy the needs of ‘quick and easy’ with a click of a button, but it also adds up to a lot of waste. Unless customers are environmentally aware and dislike throwing away Styrofoam into a landfill, our trash cans will be full of unnecessary cardboard. It is also bothersome to unwrap everything and have unnecessary packaging materials in our living room. The question is how can we be smarter about how we package, ship and send items to customers?

Sustainable Competitive Advantage

In order to create a sustainable competitive advantage, one must begin by scanning their environment, also known as a situation analysis or environmental scan. This is done with the purpose to see what is happening around the brand. How is the economy? What are competitors doing? Subsequentially, one must take a look within, and analyze one’s strengths. With the adding of time, sustainable competitive advantage can be created around just about anything. However, the focus is to center competitive advantage around already possessed skills, what it is you are doing well and the resources you already have.

Superior Product Quality

The customer is always looking to be satisfied, and from an ecological and environmental point of view, if a product is truly sustainable, the client is happy. When consumers evaluate quality, they refer to their own concerns; the ease of use, ease of cleaning, ease of set-up and ease of features in their overall evaluation. Once Apple first came out with their iPhone, they performed very well in consumer quality, until they reached a roadblock with the iPhone 5, raising their role in premium price in the market. Apple has now become the top-selling product on the market and the most sought product around.

Superior Customer Service

Customer Service cannot merely be something done sporadically. For the majority of businesses, the quality of service is what determines businesses success rate. Most businesses have an entire division dedicated to seeking out customers’ needs, understanding their unsatisfaction as well as finding ways to offer better services and keeping customers satisfied.  A strong customer experience consists of solving problems quickly, allowing the customer to come to a purchasing decision on its own time, and genuinely connecting with the interests of the customer. Thanks to attributes and resources, competitive advantage can be performed at higher levels in contrast with others in a similar market or industry. Being ‘green’ is now the hot topic and if innovation is desirable, sustainable competitive advantage generates massive ROI (Return of Investment) for the company. Intel for example, succeeds thanks to innovation. When a company delivers superior customer service, there may be an increase in sales, greater brand awareness and more smiles on the faces of employees and customers. Customer satisfaction is a key part of many successful businesses.

Supply Chain Relationships

Ever since the Pandemic rose, innovation and sustainability are hypothesized as distinguishing factors for businesses. Efficient supply chains grant firms to produce the right product at the right price at the right time, which is challenging to compete with. Let us look at Dell for example, it is a popular company with durable and high-quality products. At its early stages, Dell joined surplus parts with custom specifications and used a supply chain mechanism to deliver effectively, eliminating the need for the company to store large amounts of inventory. The right product, put at the right price at the right time, rapidly brought the product to the buyer’s house. The above-mentioned company is an example of strong supply-chain relationship, showing success in the sales of the product.

Efficient Processes

Most often, bureaucracy is what leads an organization, and it serves as an obstacle rather than a trampoline when it comes to getting things done. This adds many costs and ultimately, slows down the organization. Agility and having processes, allow things to be completed on time and deliver a great sustainable competitive advantage. For instance, L.L. Bean is an excellent example. The outdoor apparel retailer fully embraced the switch to digitalization in order to reach this goal. L.L. Bean examines its customers by distinguishing slow-moving items, analyzing seasonal demand, recognizing market trends, and offering products with limited lifecycles. It is always beautiful to see products moving through warehouses in an impeccable way and, L.L. Bean has done just that, winning the hearts of millions of people and, at the same time, filling the closets of thousands of customers.

Loyal Customers

It may seem effortless to understand how loyal customers provide a competitive advantage. When a customer demands a product, this is a clear indicator that you have created customer loyalty. Back in 1985, Coca-Cola thought to change its traditional formula, which seemed to deter customers. Pepsi, its well-known rival, began to gain fame in the 1970s-1980s, thanks to an aggressive ‘Pepsi Challenge campaign’ where consumers tasted the soft drink blindfolded and oddly enough, preferred Pepsi as opposed to Coca-Cola, their original favorite. Company leaders thought the switch to Pepsi was due to the taste and not the advertisement. Nevertheless, Coca-Cola decided to change its classic recipe several times over the years, such as sweeteners, and modified its advertisements too. This modification was carried out in the hopes to come closer to the taste of Pepsi, which was so loved by customers. Loyal customers are essential in keeping businesses relevant, and having a loyal following can truly set brands apart.

Location

Everyone has heard the expression “Location, location, location” When a customer makes a decision, they also take location into consideration. The location allows a business manager to cater to customers’ needs based on where they are located or perhaps where they plan on going. Clients seek comfort and relaxation, thus, it’s important to serve customers with the idea of relaxation and ease. If company performance goes beyond customer expectations, the client will be satisfied and most likely remain loyal to your brand or company in time. On the contrary, if customers are not satisfied, they will most likely walk away and take other clients with them. Happy and satisfied customers are less price-sensitive, they will remain loyal and refer good comments about the product and service. Thus, businesses thrive because of their consumers and should always be pleased.

Attract And Keep Great People

People are the heart and center of an organization. The people are the most important element in creating sustainable competitive advantage. If they are treated well, businesses will attract the best and brightest who will surely work hard and smart for the success of the company. Google has built a large community for its employees. They love working there and Google surely benefits from all their efforts. The way to achieve customer satisfaction can be a challenge, but in order to reach success, there needs to be the promotion of both innovative (product, marketing and relational innovation) and sustainable (environmental, social and economic) habits.

Reputation

Reputation has a heavyweight when creating a sustainable competitive advantage. Recently, Amazon has had a very rapid market growth. Since 1997, there has been an 18,650 % increase in global internet usage and an 18,233 % increase in online sales. According to Digital Commerce, in 2021, Amazon accounted for 49.7 % of U.S. online retail growth. Amazon’s reputation has brought the company to become one of the best-known brands in modern times. Retailing must be innovative and sustainable, something Amazon has successfully done. The key to this success is consistency. When a company or brand is known to be consistent, the client will be more likely to stand by their side over time.

Satisfaction

In marketing, satisfaction is of special interest to both managers and academics. When analyzing economic sustainability, we see that its success relies on the financial performance of a company and its economic growth. In recent times, this entails any variables that allow companies to create value, reaching economic and competitive success. Such value can be created thanks to goods and services produced by organizations. The strength of a sustainable company also depends on reducing tax paid by employees, earning income, stimulating sales growth, optimizing production process, minimizing environmental costs, and lastly, improving government regulations.  Although there is a growing interest in the study of sustainability, there is still little evidence that examines and supports the relationship between customer satisfaction and sustainability.

The Future of Policy Making

If policymakers seek to fortify economic growth and improve the foundations for the future performance of global economies, the services sector will need to do better. However, strengthening growth performance is not the only challenge. The rapid movement towards more competitive and open service markets on a national and international level is critically important to promote new employment opportunities and generate more innovation and technological diffusion. This also means providing more room for entrepreneurs to explore new business opportunities in the service sector, particularly at the global level, and offering a fiscal environment favorable for the growth of services. Simultaneously, improvements in the functioning of labor markets and institutions are urgently needed to help economies accustom themselves to globalization and the shift to services. Instruction policies have a fundamental responsibility in giving workers the skills needed in an increasingly global service economy. Lastly, a lot can be accomplished to advance policies related to innovation and information and communication technology in services, especially because the combination of ICT and process innovation, holds the key to generating more rapid innovation and productivity growth in the services sector in today’s growing society.