is826040844 satisfied cust largeCustomer service is important and if you operate a company, you’re already aware of that. You might not realize just how much of an impact it can make on your profitability, however. Data from ClickSoftware shows poor customer experiences result in approximately $83 billion losses each year from U.S. companies.

That’s no surprise. According to a September 9, 2017 article in Forbes, 90 percent of buyers will check out the web ratings and reviews before deciding who to buy from. [quotesright]Even a few bad experiences are enough to have your best customer or hottest prospect turn into your competition’s newest customer. [/quotesright]

Our last three articles dealt with ways to develop a customer-centric culture in your business that starts with a client’s first interaction and runs through every touch point and engagement. By implementing these ideas, you can reach new levels of customer centricity and improve your service and reputation.

But how do you know where to begin, and how do you maintain your success going forward? We found this excellent self-assessment questionnaire in the Custom Builder online magazine, which you can apply to almost any small- to medium-sized enterprise.

Success Examples

It all sounds great, right, but does it really work? Here are a few examples of companies that implemented customer-centric practices throughout their organizations, and the results they achieved by doing so. While these examples are all large corporations, there are also smaller companies enjoying the fruits of these strategies, although they seldom make it into the news.

is690054636 cust svc largeSprint Wireless

Back in 2007, the wireless carrier “fired” around 1,000 customers for contacting the company about billing and account problems. This set off a firestorm of bad publicity, just as Sprint was feeling the pinch of competition from bigger providers and dealing with an ill-conceived merger with Nextel.

The company posted losses of $30 billion for 2007, and appointed new CEO Dan Hesse to deal with the mess. He started out by closing 125 stores and laying off 4,000 workers.

[quotesright]The following year, Sprint lost 5 million customers, which caused a 32 percent decline in revenue over 2007’s figures. [/quotesright]

In the next five years, however, Hesse implemented a customer-centric strategy that turned the company around. You can read the full story here, but the bottom line is that by 2012, Sprint’s American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) had risen by 10 points from 61 to 71, which is the biggest improvement any company has achieved. It was ranked #1 in call-center satisfaction and had the best buying experience in the wireless industry for the third year running.

Rich Food Products

This company originally used a functional, silo-based process to design new products in response to customer requests. The strategy was not effective when it came to urgent turnarounds, however, and the company regularly lost business from urgent custom orders.

Management decided to try and build a more customer-centric culture in an effort to increase its “intimacy” with client needs. You can read the full story here in Harvard Business Review, but the short version is as follows.

Rich Products began a process redesign project, focused on understanding the customer’s journey, how clients used new products, and ways to build them faster while remaining close to the customer.

The end result was mapping a process that started customer-centric teams. These teams were involved from the generation of a new idea to following up with the client after launch. [quotesright]This meant they were delivering a service, instead of merely providing a product. [/quotesright]

Rather than just taking orders, the teams explore how the customer wants to use the products, and they look for additional ways Rich Products can contribute to the customer’s success.

By combining all the functional capabilities into a single team, the company can be more agile and move faster than it could previously. The company sees this as a game-changer, and results show on-time delivery has improved by 10 percent, access to and use of resources is better, and the company’s visibility is enhanced.

Argos

Argos is one of the UK’s leading retailers, offering more than 60,000 products both online and in-store. A subsidiary of Sainsbury’s, it saw a rapid decline between 2008 and 2012 as profits dropped from GBP450 million to around GBP100 million.

While some of the decline was likely attributable to the economic recession, investigation by new trading director Steve Carson showed feedback from customers didn’t match the mostly-positive results they were getting from somewhat “rosy” internal insights.

Over the next four years, Argos implemented a shift to a more customer-centric culture, which included:

  • Making it easier for customers to shop with them, with more focus on factors like “click-and-collect,”
  • Increased efforts to ensure stock availability,
  • Clearer product descriptions and better inventory control, to ensure customers received the products that they expected,
  • Training sales employees to approach the customer, instead of waiting to be approached, and to replace “scripted” interactions with careful, observation-based contact that was viewed as more sincere.

[quotes]Four years after this process, the company’s trading figures continue to improve.[/quotes] The focus is now firmly centered on the customer, employees are on board with the requirements, and recent surveys show branch staff engage much more with customers than they did previously. Read the full Argos case study here.

Not Easy, but Worth It

Improving your customer service isn’t a quick-fix process. It begins with a long-term, strategic commitment to changing your company’s culture, and the adoption of practices by everyone at all levels of business.

[quotes]It’s not just about providing better customer service on the front line.[/quotes] It is about infusing all your business activities with a dedication to enhancing your client’s overall purchasing experience from start to finish. Doing so might not be easy, but it’s certain to be worth it.

[quotesright]The problems that cause customer dissatisfaction are usually the result of multiple issues occurring across many divisions of the business. [/quotesright] As business coaches, we know companies often need a fresh pair of eyes to help them spot the flaws, and to bring fresh thinking to the re-engineering process. By working with your company’s management team, we view the opportunities differently and can help you identify and fix your customer service problems.

Resources:

  • http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/18/AR2008011803226.html
  • https://www.custombuilderonline.com/how-customer-centric-your-company-take-our-self-assessment-test-and-find-out
  • http://newsroom.sprint.com/sprint-earns-jd-power-and-associates-top-ranking-for-third-straight-time-for-purchase-experience-among-full-service-wireless-carriers.htm
  • https://customerthink.com/worst_to_first_how_five_customer_centric_habits_enabled_sprints_turnaround/
  • https://hbr.org/2015/06/how-ibm-intuit-and-rich-products-became-more-customer-centric
  • https://www.richs.com
  • https://www.about.sainsburys.co.uk/great-products-and-services/argos#about
  • https://www.cxnetwork.com/cx-employee-engagement/articles/this-is-how-argos-turned-around-their-strategy-to

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