GreyMatter

As a consultant or employee, I’ve contributed to ‘Culture Building’ in dozens of organizations, spanning small startups to large enterprises with more than 10,000 employees. Building a culture is challenging in the best of circumstances. However, it doesn’t have to be harder than necessary.

Most organizations are “Sales” focused. That’s how they survive in the worst of times, and thrive in the best phases of growth. Therefore, when starting on the road to Customer Centricity, it is not a surprise to encounter the argument:

“We are a Sales organization, and have been for the past 10+ years”.

What’s wrong with that observation? Why is Sales focus perceived as being in the way of customer-centric behavior?

Here is what typically happens…

If you have any CX-related metrics in place, a few folks in the central/enterprise team looking at CX seriously will review the available (or newly created) reports that are coming in, seek more info from customer touch-points if needed, identify problems that emerge from the data, design solutions (in their head-office based ivory towers?) and roll them out as new policies/processes for all to follow.

In more evolved teams where the CEO or Business Head is directly engaging with the workforce, and is passionate about CX, a periodic email will often go out from his/her desk stressing upon the important of the “customer” and how this new ‘Customer Focus’ will shape our winning strategy in the months to come.

Even more evolved organizations may institute a “Customer Council” – the official custodian of all things customer. This will be the seat of all the action from where above-mentioned priorities, need-gap analyses and new projects & improved processes will roll out.

Is it any wonder that building a CX culture (or any culture) is an uphill task?!

Yes, having your CEO or Business Head define priorities is important for the team, but who stands guard against too many “top priorities” being rolled out too often?

Yes, customer-centricity is an important ingredient in staying competitive for any business, but why not co-opt the ground forces in building the vision for what it means to be customer-centric? Why not collaborate with them to help identify problems and their solutions? After all, aren’t they the ones that are closest to the customer?

If you are a Sales focused organization, why alienate the team with a new vocabulary? Why not call it “Sales Council” instead of “Customer Council”, and make a genuine attempt to have your Sales leaders understand why Sales and CX are on the same side?

Why should Sales be at loggerheads with CX when an improved customer experience and enhanced customer service leads to increased Sales? Why should any function, for that matter?

Senior folks often assume that functional skills and training programs are meant for the rank and file… that they have little need to learn themselves. But, senior leaders in every function can also learn – from their field force as well as from their customers. Personally, I have always gained significant insights from conversations with customers and those on the front-line that service their needs. They know what’s broken and what works. Really.

Awareness is a two-way street. It is only when we embrace that truth will we begin to understand what’s really needed – both, within and outside the organization. And, only then can we contribute towards shaping the culture of the world we inhabit.

We have been hearing it for years… It takes significantly more effort to acquire a new customer than it does to retain one.

In fact, current estimates suggest that it can cost 5X to 25X more to acquire new customers, as compared to retaining them. Yet, a large majority of organizations are focused on “new business” (as in ‘customer acquisition’), constantly pouring resources into a leaking funnel. But, what they ought to focus on is retaining their customer base and engaging with them in a meaningful manner.

Here are some ways to do just that…

1. Improve Relevance – Understand your unique “tribe” and get to know them better – their needs and wants, what they want from you. Establish mechanisms to listen to your customers – not just an annual C-SAT survey but on an ongoing basis. Then, work on providing relevant products and services that satisfy those needs and wants.
2. Build Engagement – Is your customer buying a home loan or a home? Is he/she in the market for a medical insurance policy or for peace of mind? How can we make their journey easier? No, engagement does not equal spending big bucks on media buys, or counting likes on a social post. It takes effort to figure out what really matters to your target audience, and even more effort to give it to them. But the reward is worth it.
3. Develop Partnerships – Build partnerships with distributors, channel partners and even other service providers. The world is one large ecosystem, if you’re willing to see it that way. If you are a ride-hailing app (Uber?) your scope of service doesn’t just include matching a driver with a passenger. Wouldn’t it be far more delightful if your regular customers popped inside the vehicle and had the option to play their favorite playlist (Spotify?). Partnerships are a great way to extend your base offering in ways that are meaningful to your audience. Again, relevance is key.
4. Build Category before Brand – I can’t recall the number of times I have encountered organizations getting this wrong. Even in a category that is nascent, every brand rushes to build their own brand presence, instead of first building the category. Handhold your customers to help them understand what’s involved. Avoid jargon. Think from their point of view. Test your theories. Validate all assumptions. Simplify. Then, simplify some more. Now you’re on the right track.