Evaluating the customer service provided by public relations agencies using event history analysis

Abstract

Over the last few years, the delivery of excellent customer service and its consequences, retaining current clients and gaining new business has become much more vital as the rapid onset of digital transformation has resulted in increasing customer expectations and demands, as well as competition in the market. This has become even more important recently with the global Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the resulting lockdown to help curb the spread of the virus, that has resulted in cost-cutting measures within many businesses, the reduction of budgets and loss of business for many PR agencies across the country. This research study set out to investigate the role and benefits that the use of event history analysis can play with regards to the analysis of the quality of customer service PR agencies delivers to their clients. The analysis therein, was therefore based on 12 interviews with PR and Communications managers, who are the clients of 7 predominantly Gauteng-based PR agencies. This was a convenient sample of representative industry players and it was possible for the researcher to draw tentative inferences from the research. The research set out to ascertain if and to what extent critical service encounters related to customer service, as well as to what degree do critical service encounters reflect the value of the rendered service by the PR agency. Amongst other findings, the study showed that Critical Incident Theory can be a useful tool through which to investigate the customer service quality delivered by PR agencies to their clients. It can also provide actionable insights for these agencies to enhance their service to their clients.