Customer Experience

THE PERSPECTIVE THAT PAYS YOU

By Ian Richardson, Managing Partner, Richardson & Richardson Consulting LLC

Perspective comes in many forms:

• There is the entrepreneurial perspective, that of the business owner or owners. Entrepreneurs generally see the whole of the chess board in their organization, as well as those of organizations around them. Entrepreneurs are rapid fire and quick to string together patterns, trends, and unveil opportunities while identifying potential threats.
• There is the perspective of team leaders. They are dialed in to the pulse of their division or department. The have alignment with both the strategy of the entrepreneur and the needs of their team. They are able to see more granular than the entrepreneur. The team lead can give invaluable insight into culture, conflict, and underlying brush fires that might not yet be so hot that the entrepreneur can perceive them.
• There is the front-line worker. These team members have a pulse on routine issues, complaints, and common items. They can help focus the entrepreneur on efficiencies and improvements. They also can give insight into opportunities for improvement and growth for the team lead.
• There is the supplier or vendor partner; able to see both the customer and the organization from the outside in, as well as competitors and the industry landscape. This valuable perspective goes untapped far too often and can advise those who capture it in ways few organizations get to realize.

One perspective remains off this list. It is vital for all organizations to understand, collect, and internalize on a routine cadence. The customer experience. 

THE CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVE

Your customers are the financial lifeblood of your organization. Without your customers:

• There is no revenue that comes into the organization’s coffers
• There is no profits or returns to shareholders
• You will have no financial resources with which to compensate your employees
• Your organization will have no impact on your community.

Improving customer experience has massive impact on an organization:

• A focus on improving customer experience leads to happier customers.
• Positive customer experience leads to improved retention.
• Customer experience delivers opportunities for cross-selling and up-selling.
• Great customer experience leads to a robust customer referral program.

All of these items equate to one key outcome: growth.

GATHERING CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVE

Throughout 16 years of running my I.T. business, as well as the past 2 years with Richardson & Richardson, the most effective method I’ve found for getting customer feedback is to ask for it, as directly and clearly as possible.

In the next part of this series, I’ll share a few methods that have worked well for me over my career in gathering customer perspective.

If you’re struggling to gather perspective or get your team onboard with the need to do so, Richardson & Richardson can help. Check out our case studies for stories of organizations that we’ve assisted with similar issues and download our white papers for deep dives on tools you can use in your organization. If you’re wondering where to start, book a complimentary session with one of the Richardsons today to come up with a plan on how to move forward.

Always Forward,

Ian Richardson