Finding solutions that otherwise baffle organizations
Organizations believe they deliver exactly what customers want. Ask any firm and the Paretto Principle will prevail. 80 percent of most organizations believe they provide exemplary customer service. Ironically, less than 20 percent do. According to research by consulting firm Bain and Company, only 8 percent of companies actually provide customer service.
Our current environment exists with a gap in service delivery. There are numerous reasons for the gap, however we believe that two issues contribute to this gap, a) greed and b) the inability of customer relationships.
Greed Many statements by management consultant Peter Drucker are famous. However, in the book The Practice of Management, Drucker clearly states: “There is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create a customer.” Today, organizations are overwhelmed by two fundamental issues: competition and productivity. The focus is so sharp that increasing revenue, higher profits, and increased productivity ignore the necessary myopia of customer concentration.
Examples of greed include Starbuck’s, the airline industry, and retail establishments. Every time an organization believes it can achieve further growth, it raises fees, neither a CEO nor an analyst stops to ask what the customer impact is. Before the high fares, the customer remains for two purposes: 1) first-mover advantage in the case of Starbuck’s or 2) value like American Airlines. However, when rates increase, customers tend to opt for cheaper and more attractive alternatives.
The solution for any business is to conduct a comprehensive impact analysis to determine potential market losses. New revenue means nothing when a core customer base is lost. Client dissonance cannot be taken for granted.
Customer relationships Customer connections are very difficult to establish, that is, unless you focus on your core asset. First, as mentioned above, the entire strategy of an organization must exist for the customer. The strategic questions to ask are: “Who is the customer? Why does the customer buy? What is the value that our company provides? How to get to disseminate products, services and advertisements to our customers? All these questions they focus on all beliefs, all values ”and all attitudes for the asset of the company. Furthermore, it is imperative to treat the customer as such, an asset. Nothing happens, no one is paid, and electricity does not provide power to the plants unless there is a customer involved.
Here are several techniques to align with your customers:
CRM choir. We do not question the power and functionality of Customer Relationship Management. However, too many resources are put into these trivial software systems. Stop trying to increase human interaction with software. Like a political candidate, if you want to push in the flesh, go for it, don’t leave an email to chance.
Interaction. The proliferation of the Internet and technology has taken away the most precious asset of any relationship-interaction. Avatars like Proctor and Gamble and Southwest Airlines discovered long ago that the best part of customer service is there. Get off your case and stop managing and start talking. Make a plan to meet with your clients as often as possible.
Enculturation. The entire organization must have a holistic focus on customer service. Everyone should focus on one thing, why he is in business. Examples here are FedEx, where the culture suggests that everyone’s employment is based on guaranteed next-day delivery.
Value and Brand. There is no doubt that a housewife buys household appliances for service. Buy from the experience others have had. Speed, cost, and service become part of the customer experience relative to value. Cadillac and Coca Cola have become industry standards because of this success. Not many claim to be the Taurus of the business.
Avatars and advertising. When the service you provide is so strong, your established customer base speaks for you. When the time comes when potential customers speak louder than your advertising creating new customer arrivals, your customer gap is greatly reduced. Crocs, the apparel company, created a billion-dollar entity with little publicity.
Courage Once again, it is so important. What does the customer consider value? The default is price, but this is not true. The price is only part of the value. The concept of value is complicated, and instead of assuming, the only person who answers is the customer himself. Management should refrain from board meetings and speculation, if your organization wants the answer, ask the customer.
Feedback circuits. In addition to client visits, ensure success with client briefings, focus groups, interviews, 360 feedback, and other imperative mechanisms. Customer service is not one-dimensional and requires organizations to connect the dots between what they learn about customers and what they currently offer customers. This also includes organizational functions and customer response times.
The paths to customer service and customer loyalty are rocky, unexplored, and complex. And the current competitive matrix complicates the problems even more. There are numerous paths to follow and numerous bridges that must be built to close the gaps. However, it is most imperative not to discuss matters in the boardroom and to leave matters in silence. Broken promises are the missing pieces of the puzzle, as they become the keys to future growth. Customer gaps are filled when the organization’s culture, from top to bottom, exemplifies with admiration and energy an emphasis on a key corporate asset: the customer.
Copyright (c) 2008 Drew Stevens PhD
