How to Address the Customer Service Gap
Find solutions that would otherwise confuse organizations
Organizations believe that they provide 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 consultancy 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 two issues are contributing to this gap, a) greed and b) poor customer relationships.
Greed Many statements by management consultant Peter Drucker are famous. However, in The Practice of Management, Drucker clearly states: “There is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create a customer.” Organizations today are overwhelmed by two fundamental issues: competition and productivity. The focus is so sharp that increased revenue, higher profits, and increased productivity ignore the necessary myopia of customer focus.
Examples of greed include Starbucks, the airline industry, and retail establishments. Every time an organization thinks it can achieve more growth, it raises fees, not even a CEO or analyst stops to ask what the customer impact is. Before higher fares, the customer stays for two reasons: 1) first mover advantage in the case of Starbucks or 2) value, like American Airlines. However, when rates rise, customers tend to jump ship in search of 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 you lose a core customer base. Customer dissonance cannot be taken for granted.
Customer Relationships Customer connections are very difficult to build, that is, unless you focus on your core asset. First, as mentioned above, an organization’s entire strategy 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 do we get products, services, and advertisements out to our customers?” focus on all beliefs, all values and all attitudes for the company’s asset. In addition, it is imperative to treat the customer as such – an asset. that a client is involved.
Here are several techniques to align with your customers:
CRM Choir. We do not challenge 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 the software. Like a political candidate, if you want to push the meat, 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 being there. Get off your channel and stop managing start talking. Make a plan to meet with your clients as often as possible.
Enculturation. The entire organization must holistically focus on customer service. Everyone needs to focus on one thing, why they are in business. Examples here are FedEx, where the culture suggests that everyone’s employment is based on guaranteed overnight delivery.
Value and Brand. There is no doubt that a housewife buys appliances for the service. She buys because of the experience that others have had. Speed, cost, and service become part of the customer experience relative to value. Cadillac and Coca-Cola have become industry standards due to this success. Not many claim to be the Taurus of the business.
Avatars and Advertising. When the service you provide is this strong, your established customer base speaks for you. When the time comes when leads speak louder than your advertising creating new customer arrivals, your customer gap is reduced immensely. Crocs, the clothing company, created a billion-dollar entity with little publicity.
Value Once again is so important. What does the customer consider value? The default value is price, but this is not true. The price is only part of the value. The concept of value is complicated and more than guesswork, the only person who answers is the customer. Management should refrain from board meetings and speculation, if your organization wants the answer, ask the customer.
feedback loops. In addition to customer visits, ensure success with customer briefings, focus groups, interviews, 360 feedback, and other must-have 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, unknown, and complex. And the current competitive matrix further complicates the issues. There are numerous paths to be traveled and numerous bridges to be built to bridge the gaps. However, the most imperative thing is not to discuss matters in the boardroom and to leave the issues 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