Publish date:
"Just having satisfied customers isn’t good enough anymore. If you really want a booming business, you have to create raving fans." – Quote by Ken Blanchard - Mollie Beck.
The raison d etre for any business to survive and thrive is being customer centric at all times. At times, companies lose focus. In this blog, we remind companies how they can revive and nurture the spirit of customer first attitude in a variety of ways.
Here are some ways to build a customer focussed business:
-
Listen to your clients. Get to know your clients, their specific requirements, and what makes them tick. Get insights via data collated from different sources and make informed choices. Informed choices include relevant messaging which keeps them engaged, loyal, and buying your good & services. Customer surveys are a great way to gain insights into customers & prospects thoughts & likes. But keep the surveys short and to the point.
-
Make space for ideas. Having gained insights, share the information with all departments within the company. Since customer focus should be a company priority, it is imperative to make the entire company keep the customer as the focus at all times, as “customer is king”. Create a culture, mission, and vision which is customer focussed. Opportunities at all levels of the company must be created to focus on customers. Everyone from top to bottom can gain about learning about customers firsthand.
-
Foster inter - departmental collaboration. The various departments need to work in tandem and sync to ensure that the work goes smoothly. Customer data remains isolated in various departments which unfortunately leads to disjointed experiences for the customers. This is a hindrance in the formation of important, individual client experiences. This is the reason for firms to give super powers to departments to collaborate with a shared view of all client engagement.
-
Training sessions. A culture of customer focus is also fostered with regular training sessions or seminars organised by the company for its personnel. Conducted by in – house personnel of experts called in from the outside, they need to be held so that message is driven home gently.
-
Lead by example. The top management / leadership of the company need to practice what they preach. Watching their seniors lead by example ensures that the message filters down. Let the leaders talk during meetings and town halls about their experiences.
-
Appoint a customer officer. Let the management give the responsibility to a senior person who is in charge of ensuring that the company remains customer centric at all times. He/she will ensure that in the day to day running of the company the focus remains on the customer at all times. After all, this is the reason for the existence of any business.
By creating a culture where clients’ needs are at the centre of every action, firms can create engaging experiences for clients and have an edge over other companies competing for a slice of the pie.
About the Author
