Final answer:
Business process improvement (BPI) is the act of making business processes more efficient and effective, which can enhance customer relationships.
This involves gathering customer information, consulting experts, and performing a root cause analysis to identify and solve fundamental issues.
Step-by-step explanation:
When a business evaluates its business processes to make them more efficient and effective, which in turn can improve its relationships with customers, this process is commonly referred to as business process improvement (BPI) or business process re-engineering.
To accomplish this, companies may use several strategies such as gathering information from customers and other stakeholders, finding expert information to inform their strategies, and doing a root cause analysis to identify the underlying problems within their processes.
By engaging with customers and stakeholders, businesses can understand the areas where their processes may not be meeting expectations.
Seeking expert guidance, whether through in-person consultancy or resources such as books and articles, provides external perspectives and tried-and-tested strategies. Importantly, conducting a root cause analysis ensures that the improvements address the fundamental issues rather than just the symptoms.
Therefore, these actions help in optimizing operations to better serve customer needs and build stronger customer relationships.