Étape 1 / 4 - Compréhension écrite

Reading Comprehension

3 questions sur l'article de la page Découvrir. Du QCM à la production ouverte.

Question 1 - Multiple choice (QCM)

What is the primary objective of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) according to the article?

A) To attract the maximum number of new customers through digital advertising

B) To reduce the company's marketing budget by cutting acquisition campaigns

C) To build lasting customer relationships that maximise retention and lifetime value

D) To manage social media complaints faster than competitors

Question 2 - Vrai / Faux avec justification

"A high churn rate is beneficial for a company because it brings in a constant flow of new customers."

True or False?

False. A high churn rate means customers are leaving, which is extremely costly - acquiring a new customer costs 5 to 7 times more than retaining an existing one. A high churn rate therefore reduces profitability and signals a failure in customer experience.

Find one piece of evidence in the article to support your answer:

Question 3 - Open question

Why is customer retention less costly than customer acquisition? Use at least two specific arguments from the article in your answer (3-4 sentences).

Corrigé modèle

Customer retention is less costly than acquisition for several reasons. First, the article states that acquiring a new customer costs between 5 and 7 times more than retaining an existing one. Furthermore, retaining customers increases their lifetime value - a loyal VIP customer can generate up to 23 times more revenue than a one-time buyer over five years. This means that investing in customer satisfaction and loyalty programmes delivers a significantly higher return on investment than spending on advertising campaigns to attract new clients.

Étape 2 / 4 - Grammar Spotlight

Present Perfect vs Simple Past

Deux temps distincts pour deux réalités différentes dans les contextes de service client. Compétence directement évaluée en E4.

Observation - Extraits du texte

Compare ces deux extraits et observe la différence de sens :

"We have managed customer complaints since 2010." → Present Perfect : action/état qui a commencé dans le passé et continue jusqu'à maintenant.

"Yesterday, a customer contacted us about a delayed delivery." → Simple Past : action terminée à un moment précis dans le passé.

Forme 1 - Present Perfect : expérience continue / résultat présent

Subject + have / has + past participle (+ since / for / already / just / never / ever)

"Customer satisfaction has improved significantly since we introduced our loyalty programme." (résultat visible aujourd'hui)

"We have just received your complaint and will respond within 24 hours." (action très récente)

"Our team has never failed to resolve a complaint within the agreed timeframe." (expérience cumulée)

Forme 2 - Simple Past : action complète à un moment précis

Subject + verb in past form (+ yesterday / last week / in [year] / at [time] / when…)

"Yesterday, a VIP customer called to complain about a delivery delay." (moment spécifique)

"In 2022, we implemented a new CRM platform across all 45 stores." (année précise)

"Last quarter, the churn rate rose by 3%, which led us to review our retention strategy." (événement passé terminé)

Exercice A - Transformation de phrases

Transforme chaque phrase selon la consigne. Fais attention au sens.

"Our team introduced the new complaint procedure in March." → Use the Present Perfect to show the ongoing impact.

"We have dealt with customer complaints for over 10 years." → Rewrite using Simple Past with a specific year.

"Customer satisfaction scores fell last month." → Use the Present Perfect to connect this to the current situation.

Corrigé modèle

1. "Since March, our team has introduced a new complaint procedure that has already improved resolution times." (Present Perfect - impact visible)
2. "We started dealing with customer complaints in 2014 / over ten years ago." (Simple Past - point précis dans le passé)
3. "Customer satisfaction scores have fallen significantly - we must act immediately to reverse this trend." (Present Perfect - lien avec le présent)

Exercice B - Gap-fill

Mets les verbes entre parenthèses au temps correct (Present Perfect ou Simple Past) :

Word bank : introduced / has improved / received / have not yet resolved / launched / has become

(1) Last Tuesday, we over 80 online complaints - a new single-day record.

(2) Since then, customer satisfaction our top priority.

(3) Unfortunately, we twelve of these cases yet.

(4) In 2021, the company its first AI-powered chatbot service.

(5) Since the chatbot went live, response time by 40%.

(6) Last month, we a new loyalty programme for VIP clients.

Corrigé

(1) received (Simple Past - "last Tuesday") - (2) has become (Present Perfect - ongoing state) - (3) have not yet resolved (Present Perfect - unfinished) - (4) introduced (Simple Past - "in 2021") - (5) has improved (Present Perfect - result visible today) - (6) launched (Simple Past - "last month" = specific past moment)

Étape 3 / 4 - Vocabulaire actif

Active Vocabulary

Trois activités pour ancrer les 12 termes du CRM Lexicon.

Activité 1 - Matching : associe chaque terme à sa définition

churn rate

customer touchpoint

loyalty program

feedback loop

customer retention

customer acquisition

complaint handling

after-sales service

Activité 2 - Gap-fill contextuel

Complète ce rapport interne. Utilise la banque de mots :

CRM · churn rate · customer retention · complaint handling · after-sales service · customer touchpoints · customer lifetime value · loyalty program · feedback loop · Net Promoter Score · customer acquisition · brand ambassadors

Our annual platform has given us a 360° view of every , from first contact to . Our current stands at 14% - well above the industry benchmark - which signals an urgent need to prioritise over . Improving our processes, launching a new , and establishing a genuine will be key priorities. Our goal is to increase and our from 51 to 70, ultimately converting satisfied clients into .

Corrigé

CRM · customer touchpoints · after-sales service · churn rate · customer retention · customer acquisition · complaint handling · loyalty program · feedback loop · customer lifetime value · Net Promoter Score · brand ambassadors

Activité 3 - Catégorisation thématique

Ces 12 termes appartiennent à 3 familles thématiques :

CRM Strategy & Tools

CRMfeedback loopcustomer touchpointNet Promoter Score

Loyalty & Retention

loyalty programcustomer retentionbrand ambassadorcustomer lifetime valuechurn rate

Service & Recovery

complaint handlingafter-sales servicecustomer acquisition

Étape 4 / 4 - Production guidée

Write a Customer Service Email

Contexte professionnel MCO · Registre formel · 80-100 mots

Contexte professionnel

You are a customer service assistant at a French online sports equipment retailer. A client, Ms. Carter, has just sent a complaint email saying her order (reference #ORD-4872) was supposed to arrive last Monday but has still not been delivered. She is very unhappy and is considering cancelling her account. Write an email response addressing her complaint professionally and proposing a concrete solution.

Consigne

Write a formal email response of 80-100 words. Use the provided word bank and at least two sentence starters from the list below.

Banque lexicale :

delay · apology · compensation · satisfaction · inconvenience · resolve · loyal

Amorces de phrases :

"We sincerely apologize for…" · "We fully understand how frustrating…" · "As compensation for this inconvenience…" · "Please be assured that…" · "Your satisfaction is our top priority." · "We value your loyalty and…"

          Subject: Re: Your Order #ORD-4872 - Delivery Delay

          Dear Ms. Carter,

          [Your email here]

          Kind regards,

          [Your name] - Customer Service Team

0 / 80-100 mots

Corrigé modèle (91 mots)

Dear Ms. Carter,

We sincerely apologize for the delay in delivering your order #ORD-4872. We fully understand how frustrating this situation must be, and we want to assure you that your satisfaction is our top priority. Your parcel has been affected by an unexpected logistics issue and is now scheduled for delivery this Friday. As compensation for this inconvenience, we would like to offer you a 20% discount on your next purchase. We value your loyalty and hope this resolution demonstrates our commitment to providing a first-class service.

Kind regards,
Customer Service Team

Bien joué ! Tu viens de pratiquer une compétence clé de l'épreuve E4 : produire une réponse professionnelle formelle en anglais. Dans Appliquer, tu écriras un email plus complexe (120-150 mots) à un client VIP - même structure, niveau supérieur.

Passer à Appliquer

Chapitre 05 - Customer Experience & CRM

Reading Comprehension

Present Perfect vs Simple Past

Active Vocabulary

Write a Customer Service Email

Aide