A positive customer experience is a critical competitive differentiator it today's stuttering economic climate. Yet consumers are giving companies a failing grade at a time when the need to be customer centric is being put to the test as never before. This whitepaper by Senn Delaney partner and executive vice president Bill Parsons helps leaders consider whether their company's culture is really as customer-centric as it should be. It provides best practices for methodically shaping a customer-centric culture as well as examples of recognized leaders in customer service, and how they created a sustainable competitive advantage.
is your culture
really customer
focused?
Companies are getting a failing grade at a time when the need to be customer centric is being put to the test as never before.
This article helps leaders consider whether their company's culture is really as customer-centric as it should be. It provides best practices for methodically shaping a customer-centric culture as well as examples of recognized leaders in customer service, and how they created a sustainable competitive advantage.
By William ParsonsIs your culture really customer In order to get an "inside-out" view of have more power than ever and appar-his company at the store level, 7-Eleven ently they don't have a great opinion of focused? Research shows CEO Joe DePinto recently donned a the current state of customer service. disguise and posed as an employee in Nearly half of those surveyed said compa-that you probably think it is, training in conveniences stores, baking nies don't understand or care about their but your customers are much doughnuts, placing orders and delivering needs or experiences, and more than half fresh product. said companies ignore their feedback. more likely to disagree. A
positive customer experience DePinto disclosed what he'd been up to In other words, companies are getting a during a celebration rally at the 7-Eleven failing grade at a time when the need to is a critical competitive dif- Store Support Center (SSC), adding that be more customer centric is being put to his learnings will translate into how the the test as never before. ferentiator in today's difficult store support center and field teams can economic climate. Companies further support those working in stores. If you ask the CEO of your company He said the most important thing he whether their organization is customer-that provide stellar customer learned is "how critical it is that we must focused, chances are very good that the service will be rewarded and take care of our stores and their employ- answer will be an unequivocal yes. In ees who are taking care of our customers. fact, there is a real disconnect between those that don't will pay the This is our mission ? and all of us have an the CEO's belief and what customers important role." experience. A Chief Marketing Officer price. Council study found that 56 percent With more than 30,000 franchises world- of companies said they're extremely wide, the international convenience store customer-centric, but only 12 percent of chain has built its success on convenience their customers agreed. This is a cultural and customer service. DePinto credits the blind spot that we see all too often in franchisees with the continued explosive companies who engage us to help create success of the 7-Eleven brand. He makes a customer-centric culture.sure the company not only thinks about what customers want and need, but also To improve the customer experience and strives to serve the needs of franchisees. create growth in today's "new normal," creating a customer-centric culture should "Our culture is about working to support be a top strategy. The data provides our franchisees to make them success- a compelling case; There is increasing ful," DePinto said in an interview with consumer demand for positive customer Entrepreneur Magazine after 7-Eleven experiences and increased risk to busi-claimed the top spot of Entrepreneur's nesses who fail to heed this call. 29th Annual Franchise 500 for the very first time. "It's our belief that when our According to the 2009 Customer franchisees win, we win." Experience Impact Report by Harris Interactive: DePinto's visible leadership is an exam-ple of how to create and truly instill a J 86% of consumers have stopped customer-focused culture. Unfortunately, doing business with an organization only a small percentage of companies can after a bad customer experience, up claim this distinction. 27% from four years ago. J 82% of consumers who had a bad The need to create a customer- experience told others about it, up focused culture is compelling 22% since 2006.
"The customer experience is the new J60% of U.S. consumers said that in competitive differentiator," according to a a down economy, they will always or study reported in the October 2009 issue often pay more for a better customer of Chief Executive magazine. Customers experience.
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