Is Customer Service a Tactic or a Strategy?

I get confused sometimes, more often than not, some would say, about the right word to use.  Like when you are driving 65 miles per hour are you on a turnpike, a thruway or a highway? Or a neighborhood road with the cops fast approaching. (bad joke – sorry about that)

The same is true for tactics and strategy.  Which do we focus on, and does it matter?

A strategy – according to Dictionary.com is a plan, method, or series of maneuvers or stratagems for obtaining a specific goal or result: a strategy for getting ahead in the world.

A tactic, again from the dictionary is a plan, procedure, or expedient for promoting a desired end or result.

hmmm sounds like the same thing.

Which is customer service for your business?  Is it part of the plan or procedure for your company’s success or it is merely the name of a department for when customers get angry?

Companies that truly focus on customer service, or building customer relationships, create a culture from the top down that puts the customer first in every aspect of the business.  It is perhaps MORE than a strategy or a tactic. 

We might even say that True customer service is the foundation from which all else is created, developed, promoted and sold.

I just developed my Summer 2010 Strategic Statement which includes four objectives and under each are between 5-7 tactics or specific tasks to help me achieve the objectives which lead to the strategic statement.

I just realized that the word CUSTOMER isn’t anywhere on the page. 

Take a look at your short term goals.  Have you made the same oversight? Perhaps we’d better go back and revisit the strategy.  I know I am.