Keeping Your Business Customer-Centric: Overcoming Obstacles
Uncovering Obstacles in the Consumer Experience Pathway
In my Strategy lectures, I learned valuable lessons that have stayed with me as I've navigated business challenges over the years. According to my lecturer, Dr. Gordon Pearson, a clear direction, consistency, concentration, and flexibility are crucial in any strategy. Translating these principles to a customer-centric business can be daunting, but maintaining the Course is key to success.
However, leaders might face hurdles as they journey towards a customer-centric mindset. Gayana Helder, a Customer Experience Management expert, outlines the following three challenges that leaders must address:
1. Maintain belief in CX even when the going gets tough
In the customer journey, frontline staff often understand customers' needs better than leadership. A popular adage says, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." Frontline staff embody this sentiment, but without the power to make key decisions, they may require leadership intervention. When reaching set goals seems laborious, management might be tempted to 'take their foot off the pedal'—"lift their foot off the gas pedal" being a term used by John Kotter, management guru. However, this is the exact time to press harder, using success as momentum to drive further change.
customers value TRUST above everything else. Maintaining trust in customer relationships is vital in the long run. According to Kotter, "So you've had a few wins. It can be easy to lift your foot off the gas pedal after experiencing some success. Instead, this is the time to press harder and use those wins as momentum to further fuel the change."
2. Stay resilient in tough times
In challenging times, listening to customers and acting on their feedback may seem difficult due to its costs and effort. However, for CX programs to thrive, leaders must demonstrate a strong belief in their ROI. Harley Manning, Research Director in the CX practice at Forrester, points out that while improving customer experience leads to rewards, making the business case for CX initiatives is crucial. As funding for change programs depends on tangible benefits for the company, a customer-centric approach must demonstrate its impact on business growth and reduced customer churn.
3. Break down operational silos and conflicting KPIs
Operating in functional silos can lead to inefficiencies and higher costs. To address this, organizations should structure their organizations around the customer journey and help employees understand their role in delivering the desired customer experience across the company.
To foster cross-departmental collaboration, organizations can:
- Regular Meetings: Hold regular meetings across departments to ensure everyone is aligned with the company's goals and customer-centric strategies.
- Shared Reporting: Use shared reporting tools to track performance and customer interactions, promoting visibility and cooperation.
Open communication and data integration are additional key elements in breaking down silos:
The Writer is a Management Consultant (Change and Customer Experience). He can be reached on 059 175 7205, [email protected], https://www.linkedin.com/in/km-13b85717/
- Feedback Channels: Establish clear feedback channels to ensure that all departments can voice their concerns and ideas.
- Data Integration: Integrate data across departments, ensuring that all teams have access to necessary information.
By adopting these best practices, organizations can break down operational silos, prioritize the customer experience, and ultimately, align their efforts to deliver outstanding customer service.
- To maintain a customer-centric mindset, leadership must not only maintain their belief in customer experience (CX) during challenging times, but also press harder when success is achieved to further drive change, as advised by John Kotter.
- In the pursuit of customer-centric programs, demonstrating a strong belief in their return on investment (ROI) is crucial, particularly in showcasing the impact on business growth and reduced customer churn.
- Operational silos can hinder efficiency and increase costs within an organization. To break down these barriers, promoting regular meetings, shared reporting, open communication, data integration, and clear feedback channels among departments can help prioritize the customer experience and deliver outstanding customer service.
