Customer-centricity covers all your activities
Yesterday I did watch a program about the
banking industry and how they are ‘behaving’ after the crisis (which they
largely caused themselves). It was very clearly explained that the managers and
the sales people were driven to sell as much products (especially mortgages
etc.) as possible. Their bonuses were put in place to stimulate that behavior.
So, we all know what the result was and still is.
If you manage your sales force by means of
aggressive bonus schemes, you are not putting the needs of your customers at
the heart of your operation. Then you are far away from being customer-centric.
Actually years ago when I did start to work
for DEC, it was one of their principles NOT to pay bonuses to the sales force.
The reason was that they wanted the sales force to focus on delivering quality
to meet the customer’s needs. This policy worked very well, and the company
grew at a very fast rate. When the market slowed down, they decided to
introduce variable compensation to the sales force. This actually made things
worse and now DEC does no longer exist.
Many companies are making the switch from
being product-centric to becoming customer-centric. To be successful in being
customer-centric you need to embed this in all your activities. This means that
….
-
Bonuses for product sales
should be abolished
-
Customer Service should be at
the heart of your operation
-
Partners and customers should
be involved in your marketing and innovation
-
Internal systems should be customer
driven rather than product line driven
-
Senior leaders should regularly
meet customers
-
All activities should support a
great customer experience
Customer-centricity requires a new mindset
and alignment of activities.
Are you taking all the necessary steps to
become customer-centric?
Enthusiasm drives Excellence!
