Becoming a Customer Focused Organization Craig Cochran Georgia Institute of Technology

Transcription

1 Becoming a Customer Focused Organization Craig Cochran Georgia Institute of Technology 1

2 First of all, a question: What is the single most important role of any organization? Make a profit? Pay shareholders Employ people? Enrich community? Create innovations? 2

3 Customers want more than you expect Stated requirements Unstated desires and expectations 3

4 In the mind of the customer, all these things are equal: Requirement Expectation Desire 4

5 How Your Organization can DIE in 7 Easy Steps: 1. The organization grows 2. Fewer people have direct contact with customers 3. Internal processes & procedures begin to take on greater significance 4. The notion of customers becomes abstract 5. The organization forgets the reason for their existence 6. Smaller, better-focused organizations prevail 7. The organization DIES 5

6 Two basic divisions of work within a typical organization: Indirect functions: No direct interaction with external customers (approx 60%) Direct functions: Direct interaction with external customers (approx 40%) By their very nature, a majority of people are insulated from external customers, but everyone has internal customers 6

7 The satisfaction of external customers requires a complex supply chain Marketing / Sales Customer service Planning Purchasing Production / service delivery Quality assurance Billing Human resources Top management 7

8 The relationship between internal & external customers 1. The supply chain is made up of internal customers 2. Inability to satisfy internal customers breaks the supply chain 3. Breaks in the supply chain have a direct impact on external customers 8

9 Driving an awareness of internal customers Customer charter Opportunities for frequent communication & dialogue Cross-training Movement toward cellular production Leadership that realizes everyone is their customer 9

10 Becoming a Customer-Focused Organization Leadership Drives Customer Focus 10

11 Customer focus is linked to employee focus Provide the tools Develop the people Share information Take a real interest Hire the right people Keep a sense of humor 11

12 Leaders drive ownership for the customer experience Provide guidelines Empower personnel Let people make mistakes Search for new and better methods 12

13 Customer focus must be made a top level strategy Key measures Analysis of satisfaction results Heavy focus on trouble Evaluation of top management 13

14 Becoming a Customer-Focused Organization Proactive Customer Feedback 14

15 Customer feedback The most critical communication an organization can receive 15

16 Customer feedback is a gift, but gifts are rare Angry Customer perceptions Ecstatic Reported 95%+ Unreported Reported 16

17 Customer feedback is a gift, but gifts are rare 1. You must reach out to the customer proactively 2. Your tools must be simple and streamlined 17

18 Start with open-ended feedback Easiest to obtain Provides a clear path to improvement Customer Dictates content Reinforces customers a people, not numbers 18

19 Capturing customer feedback shouldn t be an event The less frequent it happens: The more effort it requires, and The more stale the information is 19

20 Capturing customer feedback shouldn t be an event Use a variety of methods and a wide range of people on a continual basis for capturing feedback 20

21 Follow-through on feedback is critical The Big Three of follow-through: 1. Take action 2. Verify effectiveness 3. Tell customers what you ve done 21

22 Becoming a Customer-Focused Organization The Truth About Customer Complaints 22

23 Only committed customers bother to complain If they weren t committed, they certainly wouldn t take the time to tell you what they think 23

24 When customers complain, they re doing you a favor Make it easy for them to help you by providing a simple point of contact 24

25 Never debate facts with a complaining customer Perceptions are facts in the mind of a customer and they have the same weight 25

26 The 6 point strategy for complaints 1. Listen to what they re saying 2. Empathize with their situation 3. Apologize for their trouble 4. Record the details 5. Summarize has been said & agreed to 6. Thank them for bring this to your attention 26

27 The unfortunate truth about customers: They don t read instructions They don t follow directions They act without thinking They begin without planning They get easily distracted But here s the good news: Often some simple troubleshooting can fix the problem 27

28 Which do you use? Troubleshooting Formal problem solving Problem Complexity Cause(s) known Simple fix Quickly remedied Cause(s) not known Difficult fix Remedy not at hand 28

29 Follow-through on the fix to completion Don t allow the problem solving process to run out of gas before it s finished 29

30 Let the customer know what you ve done If you don t tell them, the customer may not think you ve done anything 30

31 For more information: Presenter: Craig Cochran

32 Smart and practical books from Craig Cochran: Available here 32

33 Discussion & questions 33