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Part Five
Delivering and Performing Service
Strategy Insight
Delivering Service through Multiple Channels:
H&R Block’s Blended Channel Approach
H&R Block, the world’s largest tax services company,
served nearly 20 million clients in 12,000 offices in
the United States as well as 11 other countries in
2006. With so many customers, H&R Block delivers its services through a variety of channels. H&R
Block’s approach, referred to as a “blended channel” approach, is a multichannel strategy delivered
through various types of intermediaries that creates
tremendous flexibility for its clients and the means by
which they receive services. This approach allows H&R
Block to offer what it describes as services with “solutions for every taxpayer.” Customers may receive H&R
Block’s services through retail offices, through the
Internet, through software programs, or through
some combination of these channels. Each method of
service delivery is described in the following sections.
SERVICE DELIVERY VIA COMPANY-OWNED
AND FRANCHISED RETAIL OFFICES
H&R Block has approximately 12,000 offices worldwide, including more than 7,000 offices that are company owned. Customers wanting to purchase H&R
Block’s services through an office have three options.
The Face to Face option, in which customers can either
call an H&R Block office for an appointment or just
walk right in, provides an opportunity for the customer
to be interviewed in person and to have the company
completely prepare the tax return document. Here
customers are paying for an H&R Block representative
to spend time with them to understand their unique
situation and to do everything possible to help reduce
their tax liability. Those customers wanting to use the
Office Drop-off option complete a questionnaire that
captures key information and informs customers of
what forms and documents to bring to the H&R Block
office in order to have the company prepare a tax
return; the customer is then called when the return
has been completed. The third option, Online Dropoff, allows the customer to conduct a tax interview
interactively via the Internet or via telephone, fax, or
e-mail. Necessary tax data are then provided either
via the Internet or fax, and the customer’s tax return
is prepared by the local H&R Block office.
ONLINE SERVICE DELIVERY
When it comes to preparing tax returns, a relatively
large percentage of all taxpayers prefer the “Do It
Yourself” method. Traditionally these people have
completed their tax returns using pen-and-paper
means. H&R Block offers these customers an alternative means of doing it themselves by providing
its services through the Internet by using its website
to completely prepare and then electronically file
their tax return. Customers who prefer to complete
the entire process online can choose from many
options. If they are filing the 1040EZ form, they can
purchase and file electronically using the Basic option
for $14.95. If they want to claim deductions and file
just the federal return, the Premium ⫹ e-file option is
$29.95. The Premium ⫹ State ⫹ e-file option is $54.95.
The new Tango option, costing $70, uses innovative
technologies to make tax preparation even easier
and provides one-touch customer support throughout the process. Customers choosing this option can
store their return information either on their own
desktop or on H&R Block’s server. For customers with
more complex tax issues (such as rental property,
home offices, or depreciation), audit alerts (pointing out areas that often trigger government audits),
and one free (face-to-face) consultation with a tax
advisor, the Signature service option (for $99.95) also
includes having a tax advisor check the customer’s tax
return for errors, correct any problems on the return,
and then sign and electronically file the return for the
customer. This option also allows the customer yearround access to an H&R Block tax advisor for advice.
SERVICE DELIVERY VIA SOFTWARE
Another alternative for the tax preparation doit-yourselfer is to purchase H&R Block tax services
through its software offering, TaxCut. This program
provides most of the same services that are available
online but does not require the customer to be connected to the Internet. That is, the TaxCut program
also provides a customized tax interview (asking only
the questions that pertain to each customer’s tax situation), checks for errors that could draw the attention of
an auditor, imports financial data from other personal
finance programs and/or the previous year’s tax data,
and electronically files tax returns. Because the software is installed on the customer’s personal computer,
customers do not have to worry about their financial
data being stored somewhere that is accessible to others. Indeed, the software do-it-yourself customer tends
to be older, more mature, more affluent, and more
concerned with privacy than those who purchase H&R
Block’s online services. As with the other channels
of service delivery, customers can select from three
Marketing dei servizi 3/ed
Valarie A. Zeithaml, Mary Jo Bitner, Dwayne D. Gremler, Enrico Bonetti
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Confirming Pages
Chapter 14
Delivering Service through Intermediaries and Electronic Channels
TaxCut options—Standard, Deluxe, or Premium—
with differing levels of service provided.
SERVICE DELIVERY VIA THE TELEPHONE
Some customers do not wish to use H&R Block’s services to prepare tax returns, but they do have tax
questions that they would like answered. H&R Block’s
Ask a Tax Advisor program allows customers to submit a tax question online and have someone contact
them however they wish (via e-mail or phone) within
48 hours. Customers are charged on a per-question
basis for this service. H&R Block also provides customer service support for its other products through
telephone, e-mail, and live chat vehicles.
H&R Block’s blended channel strategy provides
clients with many choices as to how they would
like their service to be delivered and how much
of the work they would like to do themselves. At
one extreme, the customer can have the task of
tax preparation completed entirely by H&R Block
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by visiting one of its offices. Alternatively, customers can pursue a do-it-yourself option by purchasing the TaxCut software and completing their tax
returns without any assistance from H&R Block. And
those customers who would like to coproduce the
service by doing some of the work themselves may
look to H&R Block for assistance with specific issues
or questions. H&R Block provides clients with the
ability to choose what method, channel, and products are best for them, at the time that meets their
needs, and in the stage of the tax preparation experience that is relevant to them—in effect, allowing customers much flexibility by providing many
choices to blend the channels of service delivery in a
customized service. Thus, H&R Block has, through its
blended channel strategy approach, created value
for its customers by providing as much of the service as customers desire and through the channel in
which the customer feels the most comfortable.
Source: h&rblock.com.
Marketing dei servizi 3/ed
Valarie A. Zeithaml, Mary Jo Bitner, Dwayne D. Gremler, Enrico Bonetti
© 2012, The McGraw-Hill Companies srl
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