Introduction
The appearance of challenges in the course of firms’ development is inevitable. Crises are part of evolution as their successful resolution contributes to the creation of a new working environment and the achievement of the next level of effectiveness. However, problem-solving might be a complex issue because of the existence of multiple factors that should be considered to ensure that an offered approach creates the basis for further growth and eliminates all aspects that have a negative impact on the organization (Proctor, 2013). That is why the paper revolves around the creative techniques that can be used to reconsider the work of a selected company and attain success by overcoming the existing difficulties.
The organization chosen for the analysis is a fast-growing tourist agency. Due to the correctly selected approach to working with clients and interesting tours, the company managed to acquire its loyal audience and create conditions beneficial for its further development and empowerment. At the moment, the firm enjoys a high number of customers who want to use its services. Its target population includes representatives of various social classes and communities, which presupposes the need for flexibility to adapt and create the best possible offerings. It also means that the agency has to cope with the increased diversity of multiple demands and requirements. It becomes one of the significant problems that impact the work of the company and might deteriorate results if left without attention and intervention.
Analyzing the current situation, the problem with customer service should be admitted. The number of clients increased too fast, and the company was not ready to work with it effectively. The answer time at least doubted as managers have to process multiple requests and devote attention to every customer. It also means that other ones have to wait or reschedule their consultations with specialists. The emergence of the given issue resulted in a decreased level of clients’ satisfaction and loyalty (Kotler, Kartajaya, & Setiawan, 2016).
Moreover, sales were reduced because of the inability to process all existing cases. The given situation became a critical challenge for the organization as the problematic customer service, and the existence of unsolved problems related to it might undermine the work of the whole company and precondition its collapse. The need for emergent actions and interventions to reconsider the existing approach becomes apparent.
The pivotal aim of the paper is the creation and suggestion of three creative scenarios that can be employed to solve the problem and achieve positive outcomes. It also presupposes the comprehensive analysis of the company and its current needs to ensure that offered methods are appropriate for it and can be integrated with the work of the agency’s departments responsible for the provision of services to clients. The utilization of creative ideas might also help to generate a competitive advantage and overcome the high level of rivalry peculiar to the sphere.
Analysis
First of all, one should determine how the outlined problem affects the organization, its possible consequences, and its significance. The modern approach to the management of companies emphasizes the fundamental role of customer service for the evolution and successful functioning of various companies (Kotler et al., 2016). The given aspect is a critical element of the future rise as it preconditions the loyalty of clients and their desire to use the services of a particular company (Atkinson, 2014).
As for this case, the devotion of customers is fundamental for any tourist agency as the level of rivalry is high in the given sector, and the only way to survive is to attract individuals in various ways (Kotler et al., 2016). At the same time, the further development of the company will mean an even higher number of clients and requests, and the problem will become even more complicated.
Another critical element of the problem is the customers’ need for information and fast provision of demanded pieces of data about particular tours. The existence of multiple offerings in the market means that clients have to analyze them all to find the most convenient or affordable option. In many cases, they address managers of tourist agencies for them to outline all peculiarities of existing products. In the discussed firm, employees try to cooperate with all individuals and increase their satisfaction levels.
However, it means that much time is demanded, while the number of requests continues to grow. It deteriorates relations between the main actors of the process and shows the company’s inability to cope with the growing demand. The long-term results can be disappointing as customers might use the services of other tourist agencies and undermine the work of the organization (Jobber & Ellis-Chadwick, 2016). This situation will result in the collapse of the organization, its stagnation, and failure. For this reason, it is critical to find a competent and creative solution that will help to mitigate the negative impact of the outlined issue.
The offered approach presupposes the utilization of unconventional methods to management as they provide new opportunities and help companies to evolve. The suggested three scenarios take into account the nature of the existing problem, main factors that preconditioned its appearance, and relevant clients’ demands that should be considered to create the basis for the future stable development and growth of the tourist agency along with its becoming a leader in the selected segment.
Creative Ideas for Problem Solving
Brainstorming is used as the method to analyze the existing problematic issue and consider all vital elements because of its advantageous character. The given paradigm provides opportunities for the analysis of all possible perspectives on a problem and their discussion to determine their ability to work in particular environments and contribute to the improvement of the current situation in the organization (Cotton, 2016). With the help of this paradigm, the following three scenarios as possible ways to reconsider the work of the company are introduced:
- Creation and offering of a unique application that can be downloaded from an organization’s website. It will provide clients will all demanded information and align a productive collaboration with managers.
- Development of new customized tours that can be constructed via the application. It will spark interest and meet new requirements
- Use cloud services that contain all information that might be interesting to clients (especially prices and available tours) and open access to it
Creation of Special Application
The first scenario presupposes the development and use of a particular application that will help managers to work with clients better. At the moment, every employee of the agency has to work with 5-6 clients per day, which significantly reduces performance levels. Additionally, it means serious delays and long waiting times for all customers. The increase in the number of individuals who use the company’s services will make the situation even worse (Proctor, 2013). It is forecasted that a critical fall in the level of interest will be achieved. Moreover, the inability to access the needed information and solve their problems will decrease clients’ loyalty and precondition the appearance of the desire to cooperate with other tourist agencies. The proposed creative solution can reconsider this situation and eliminate the problems outlined above.
Considering these factors, the development, and distribution of specific applications might become an appropriate and useful solution. First, prior to the arrangement of meetings with managers, all customers will be able to download this application from the organization’s website to acquire all demanded information about available tours, costs, additional services, and requested documents.
It will help to reduce queues, answer time, and align active cooperation with employees as clients will come to the office already possessing data that is needed to make confident choices. Additionally, managers will work with a lower number of clients per day as many individuals come looking for information and not having some preferences at the moment. Finally, the given application can serve as a platform for the popularization and promotion of new tours or last-minute travel offers, which are also popular among clients.
Adherence to this creative approach can help to generate several benefits. First, the company will solve problems with information sharing. Its clients want to know about popular directions for traveling, new ideas, and prices. The application can provide them with this sort of data and satisfy their needs for it. Second, because many difficulties in customer service emerge due to the flaws in communication between managers and clients, the use of digital devices might help to avoid this sort of problem and increase the level of individuals’ satisfaction. Finally, work stress because of many clients per day will be decreased, which will make employees work more effectively. In such a way, the employment of this scenario is expected to help the firm to overcome the current challenge and lay the ground for its further growth.
Creation of Customized Tours
Another approach that is offered regarding the outlined problem is the creation of new and customized tours that can be constructed by clients using the specific application. The fact is that the level of rivalry in the tourist sphere is exceptionally high, and companies try to attract potential customers by unusual offerings (Ingledew, 2016). At the same time, there are some directions that are traditionally popular among people. They can be not interesting for experienced travelers or individuals looking for something completely new. Original customized tours that can be created by clients on their own can be a perfect solution to this problem and promote the improvement of the company’s image.
The suggested solution demands the utilization of a specific application or the use of the website for clients to construct tours attractive for them. However, the given task can be accomplished without serious additional investment as the company already cooperates with airlines and other organizations providing similar services. For this reason, clients might benefit from the appearance of new possibilities for recreation and work with the discussed agency. Using this very approach, the tourist company will also be able to solve the problem with the decrease of loyalty among the target population and introduce new tendencies to the sphere, which will also help to generate a competitive advantage essential for the future rise.
More benefits associated with the use of the given application should also be considered. First of all, the firm will be linked to fresh and completely new offerings to clients. In terms of the modern approach to management, this condition is fundamental for the achievement of improved results by companies that aim at continuous growth (Proctor, 2013). The creation of positive bonds between the name of an organization and the quality of its products is a core component of any fast-growing unit. At the same time, individuals demand diversity in all spheres, which can also be achieved due to the adherence to the offered intervention.
Use of Cloud Storage
Finally, the organization can solve problems with the availability and storage of data using cloud services that are available today. Technologies are an integral part of the modern most successful companies as they provide multiple opportunities to increase effectiveness and achieve better results (Proctor, 2013).
Regarding this case, cloud storage can be used to share information with clients who will become able to download it directly from the server and improve cooperation between employees as they will acquire an opportunity to discuss some cases, use all available information not looking for some additional sources, and work using the Internet from various locations. That is why the given scenario can be considered one of the potent ways to reconsider the work of the discussed tourist agency, create the basis for its further development, and, moreover, introduce opportunities for the integration of new technologies.
As far as cloud storage becomes fundamental in the modern business world, there are multiple developers who offer their services in the creation and supporting this sort of application. The agency can select among the available ones to ensure that its data will be safe and limitless access to clients will be provided. Additionally, data can be shared with partners to guarantee that there are no problems in communication and cooperation that might result in the critical deterioration of the work of the selected firm (Ingledew, 2016). The use of cloud storage will also help to increase the speed of interaction between managers and customers as they will be able to same data portions using their computers.
The benefits of the creative solution are clear. First of all, the availability of all data related to the work of the company will be appreciated by customers who want to know about the agency, its reliability, offerings, and costs (Proctor, 2013). Additionally, they will not have to wait or consult with employees to discover data about some exciting tours. Finally, it will help to transform the company and create a digital environment that is central to the further evolution of any organization in terms of the modern business world.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the use of creative problem-solving methods can be taken as one of the essentials of contemporary society. The investigated case proves this assumption. A company that faces a severe problem in the sphere of customer relations might solve it using techniques that presuppose the utilization of unconventional approaches. The creation of special applications, customized tours, and the use of cloud services can align the work with clients and contribute to the increased level of effectiveness. For this reason, the paper proves the necessity to look for creative approaches while solving some problems and their positive impact on the further evolution of organizations.
References
Atkinson, I. (2014). The creative problem solver: 12 smart tools to solve any business challenge. New York, NY: Pearson Business.
Cotton, D. (2016). The smart solution book: 68 tools for brainstorming, problem solving and decision making. New York, NY: Pearson.
Ingledew, J. (2016). How to have great ideas: A guide to creative thinking and problem solving. London, England: Laurence King Publishing.
Jobber, D., & Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2016). Principles and practice of marketing. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Kotler, P., Kartajaya, H., & Setiawan, I. (2016). Marketing 4.0: Moving from traditional to digital. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Proctor, T. (2013) Creative problem solving for managers: Developing skills for decision making and innovation (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.