Bringing the Customer inside the Organization

Too often in organizations, the voice of the customer is heard only by a select few. This is unfortunate because there is much that can be learned and therefore gained from what is communicated between customer and employees at all levels within the organization. The voice of the customer needs to be brought inside the organization.

When was the last time you asked any of these questions of your customers:

1. What do they really care about the most?
   And I  mean really care about in terms of your products or services and the way you provide them. This applies to your internal as well as external customers. In fact, I would hazard a guess that most people seldom ask the question. It is also important to ask your customers to rank what they care about because then you will be able to get your team to work on the highest ranking ones first.
2. What opportunities do we have to delight them (our customers)?
   There are 3 aspects that you need to consider here. The first concerns what you do before you deliver your products or services; the second aspect concerns what you do during delivery and the third aspect is what you do after delivery. It is my belief that a lot of future sales are lost because of the poor 'after' delivery service.
3. How well are we satisfying our customers right now in terms of what they care about?
   Never make the mistake of asking this question once a year. This is a continuous process that relies on regular feedback.
    
4. What are the best companies doing to delight their customers?
   If you are indeed close to your customer and have brought them inside the organization, they will tell you what other companies are doing. Listen to them.
5. How does the way we operate now make us 'difficult to do business with?'
   Simply ask the customer if your current way of doing business gets in the way of delighting them.

Finally, for all your internal customers ask the following:

1. What do you need from me?
2. What do you do with what I give you?
3. Are there gaps between what you need and what you get?

It is not enough to say that customers are a sales or marketing issue - everyone has and is a customer within an organization, and everyone has a responsibility to customers no matter what department they hail from. So, go ahead ask the questions and bring the customer inside the organization.

ian