Stakeholder and Customer Management
Stakeholder and Customer Management
This domain tests whether you can identify who matters, map their influence and manage customer value without overpromising. The exam expects tailored engagement, not a single communication plan for everyone.
Core rules and concepts
- Mendelow's power–interest matrix guides engagement: high power/high interest manage closely; high power/low interest keep satisfied; low power/high interest keep informed; low/low monitor.
- Stakeholder salience depends on power, legitimacy and urgency (Mitchell, Agle and Wood). Salience can change during a project.
- Customer segmentation groups needs and value, not just demographics. Journey mapping exposes moments of truth and failure points.
- SERVQUAL identifies gaps between expectation and perception across reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles. Reliability is usually the most important.
- Satisfaction is not loyalty. A satisfied customer may still switch; loyalty includes repeat behaviour and advocacy.
- Net Promoter Score uses promoters minus detractors, but it is a summary indicator, not a full diagnosis.
- Service recovery can strengthen trust if it is fast, fair and specific. Complaints are useful data.
- Internal stakeholders shape external customer experience, so silos are a customer risk.
Worked example A major client has high power and high interest; a regulator has high power but low interest. A weak plan invites both to the same quarterly forum. A stronger plan gives the client an account plan, service reviews and escalation route, while giving the regulator compliance evidence and no-surprises briefings. Reasoning: engagement intensity and content should match the matrix position and salience, which can shift.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating every stakeholder identically.
- Confusing customer satisfaction with loyalty.
- Mapping stakeholders once and never updating.
- Ignoring internal stakeholders such as front-line staff.
- Promising outcomes before checking deliverability.