All about customer focus: The importance of Customer Focus?

The importance of Customer Focus: Simple, customer-centric processes.

We visit many companies. What we still see very often are monstrosities of processes that are simply because we have been doing it that way for years... Processes that have arisen from a certain way of working that is mainly internally oriented. A way of working in which the customer experience plays no role whatsoever. A process designed for what the organisation needs, is used to or likes is usually not the most customer-focused process. Designing a customer-centric process starts from the customer: what does the customer want/expect? What does he need? From there, you start shaping a process.

A practical example to illustrate:

An extreme example you might say, yet we still often come across this kind of thing in practice. In this case, the simple process of communicating an address change could be so much more customer-oriented. Customers need this to be possible online or at least by phone; make that possible. Simple customer-centric processes make the customer feel that it is all about him, that the organisation he is a customer of is thinking about what he wants and how he experiences being a customer. All this contributes to a positive customer experience.

In a customer satisfaction survey we conducted for a client, we found that customers called remarkably often to give a change of address. They wanted to make a change of address by phone, which turned out not to be possible. A form had to be downloaded, printed out, filled in, signed and then sent through the post. It turned out that even customers who had seen this on the website still called to pass it on by phone because they assumed that this must be possible nowadays.

Distinctiveness

Traditional ways of differentiating yourself from the competition matter less and less. Do you remember the 5 Ps? Which of these is really still applicable to differentiate yourself from your customer for a long time? Price? There is always someone who can do it cheaper. Place? With a huge increase in online purchases in recent years, place no longer matters. You can order just about anything you want on your smartphone or tablet, wherever you want. Organisations that are successful distinguish themselves by aligning their products, services, and ways of working with what the customer expects. A quote that sums this up is that of Amazon's founder: "We're not competitor obsessed, we're customer obsessed. We start with the customer and we work backwards.". A strategy that has done Amazon no favours.

And you, are you a customer of your insurance because they are the cheapest? Or are you a customer with your insurance company because they don't give a hard time in case of a claim? I myself am a loyal customer with my insurance because they put me first, my needs, my lifestyle and my wishes. Frankly, I have absolutely no need to compare the price even with the competitor anymore. That is the importance of being customer-centric. As an organisation, it sets you apart in the longer term.

Customer-centricity is cheaper.

Indeed, this is often the case. So the importance of customer focus is also in terms of cost. We stay with the insurance example. The other day, I called with a small claim. In a pleasant conversation, the insurance employee and I came to the conclusion that the damage was about Euro 150. To my surprise, the employee then said: I will transfer this amount to you right away, then we will handle it immediately. I was satisfied, but probably so was the insurance company. To build up a file for such a claim, send damage experts along and assess damage reports would probably have cost a multiple of that Euro 150.

Another way customer-centricity can save costs is that customer-centric processes lead to less unnecessary customer contact. Customer contact is valuable, just not when it is about issues that could have been avoided. For example, questions about an invoice that is incorrect or inaccurate. These are not exactly the customer contacts you as an organisation are waiting for. Neither does your customer. You avoid these kinds of unnecessary contacts by tailoring the invoicing process to what your customer wants. That means that the invoices are correct, in line with what the customer expects (expectation management) and that the explanation accompanying that invoice immediately clears up any questions or ambiguities. This prevents customers from calling about such issues. It also ensures that there is more room for valuable customer contact, and less time and therefore money is spent on answering questions that are avoided, and it reduces your customer's frustration.

In short, the importance of customer focus is: Customer focus increases both your distinctiveness and your customer satisfaction, reduces the cost of (unnecessary) customer contact and gives more room for  valuable customer contact.