What does “customer-focused” really mean? To me, it is a foundational pillar of a successful business strategy. The challenge is carrying the intention to be customer-focused throughout every aspect of the business. Every member of the organization must have the customer at the center of his or her priorities. Even those who may not see themselves as having an impact on the customer experience must have a line of sight to the customer experience and a clear understanding of how their role ultimately impacts customers.
Easier said than done. The most customer-focused companies are easy to spot when it comes to consumer products and services. The top performers are familiar brands, such as Nordstrom and Apple. Can we apply best practices from these top consumer brands to business-to-business marketing? I think so. I believe it comes down to clarity of focus on the customer experience:
- Make it easy to understand your product or service, and be clear about what problem it will solve for the customer.
- Set expectations up front – how long will it take to deliver/install/build? What are the system requirements to ensure seamless integration?
- Deliver on what you commit to, within the time frame you commit.
- Reinforce the good decision your customer made to buy from you by providing outstanding follow up during the post-purchase window (within ~30 days of purchase/install/delivery).
- Monitor ongoing customer satisfaction through client care, follow up communication, and surveys.
- Act on customer feedback. If you’re not going to do anything about feedback, then don’t ask for it.
To deliver consistently on all 6 facets, everyone from Product Development, to Service Delivery, to Sales, Marketing, Operations, and Accounts Payable is involved. Organizations that successfully focus their entire team on the customer not only have satisfied customers, but they also give their employees a sense of making a difference and doing a job that matters to the customer – and to the company’s bottom line.
