COMPANIES ARE ALWAYS TRYING TO FIND THE SILVER BULLET TO MAKE THEIR BUSINESSES SUCCEED. THEY TURN TO ADVISORS/CONSULTANTS FOR HELP.
THE GOAL OF ALL THE
• advice ,
• articles,
• books,
• videos,
• seminars,
• webinars, and
• training programs
related to business is the same.
EVERY METHOD FOR
• attracting social media followers,
• getting more responses from advertising,
• improving customer service, or
• developing high-quality products
have one single goal, and it’s the only thing that leads to a company’s success:gaining and retaining customers.
Newsflash – If you aren’t attracting new customers – and hanging on to the ones you’ve got – your business is doomed.
SO, IF THAT’S THE END-ALL, BE-ALL OF SUCCEEDING IN BUSINESS, HOW DO YOU MAKE THAT HAPPEN?
Beyond the tips and tricks you can learn from the endless stream of internet advice, it is of the utmost importance to instill this value in your employees. From the part time custodian all the way to the CFO – it is the responsibility of each and every member of the organization. They need to understand the Line of Sight to the Customer, the impact their role has on gaining and retaining customers.
When all employees understand the impact they have on this “make or break” component of your business, every action they take on the company’s behalf should reflect this knowledge.
Every action and reaction should be through the lens of “How does this impact the customer”. Processes, procedures, products, etc. must be built around that fundamental concept. Therefore:
• Having employees work until close on Monday and then open Tuesday hinders the customer experience and is not effective for the employee.
• Creating complex processes to submit and be reimbursed for expenses because ONE person does not support gaining/retaining customers. It also makes those in positions to gain/retain customers feel like the company is not supporting them.
• Creating goals for internal departments that work to pit them against each other undermines the customer experience
• This list really could be endless, right?
When employees understand that, as individuals, they each play a vital role in building repeat business, they will see additional value in the role they play for your company.
A single bad experience can turn a customer off to a company for good, and send them right down the street to the nearest competitor. This means that whether they are:
• Packing shipments to go out,
• Ringing up customers at a cash register,
• Planning distribution routes, or
• Making company-wide policy decisions;
it’s the responsibility of every employee to offer each customer an experience that will make them come back of their own volition. That is why each and every employee knowing the Line of Sight to the customer is so vital!
You must gain, and more importantly, retain customers to achieve success: this is the ONLY way to create a truly successful business.
Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.
Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
