2014 has been quite an enlightening year for me so far. I have had the privilege to learn valuable life lessons from the likes of Anthony Robbins and Jay Abraham. Following my curiosity, I have explored Dr. Carol Dweck’s theory of intelligence (Fixed Vs. Growth Mindset). Observing the leadership qualities of high-profile CMOs, I have been able to share with you a few of their success secrets in the CMO Spotlight series.
Most of all, I have learned that the ONLY way to deliver a consistent, positive customer experience is through employee engagement. If you cannot breed and nurture an engaged, motivated, innovative workforce, you run the constant risk of losing business—existing and new. Team building events, employee education opportunities, Think Tank sessions, informal huddles, etc. have become more frequent at ALEA and the results are remarkable. Not only are we finding that there is greater aspiration and ambition to enhance performance, there is also a very strong increase in the sense of camaraderie as each employee strives to help other team mates work faster and better. The entire team is developing a Growth Mindset. This fresh infusion of energy and enthusiasm is also doing a world of good for our customer satisfaction levels. Everybody wins!
Here is Dr. Carol Dweck’s definition of fixed and growth mindsets:
“In a fixed mindset, students believe their basic abilities, their intelligence, their talents, are just fixed traits. They have a certain amount and that’s that, and then their goal becomes to look smart all the time and never look dumb. In a growth mindset students understand that their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, good teaching and persistence. They don’t necessarily think everyone’s the same or anyone can be Einstein, but they believe everyone can get smarter if they work at it.”
When we hire, we know we are looking for smart professionals. From there on begins the journey of growth. The work environment is designed to help these individuals push their limits, explore new areas through experimentation and results monitoring, weigh the pay-offs and go further. We know we didn’t hire an Einstein, but does that mean we won’t ever have one among us? I don’t think so. On the contrary, I am eager to see it happen! It’s what I wrote in my piece last week—I want all our employees to believe that they can and should be born twice.
Customer Experience Management—Top 3 Benefits of An Engaged Workforce
1. Enterprise-Wide Focus on the Outcome. As B2B marketers, we spend too much time and effort (and money) focusing on managing campaigns. The advantage of having a highly motivated and engaged team is the ability to focus instead on the positive outcome of the campaign. Remember what I said in a previous piece, you are not selling a drill, you are selling a hole in the wall because that’s what your customers want.
2. Increased Ownership and Accountability. B2B organizations are making some inroads into breaking down the silos and integrating sales and marketing. One of the toughest challenges in this process is trying to stop the blame game and finger pointing. When a Growth Mindset begins to take shape within your company, not only are roles and responsibilities shared, but so is ownership and accountability. Retaining a client and bringing new ones on board becomes a combined mission that transforms organizational performance.
3. Quality Leads Get Nurtured and Nourished. A current lack of readiness to buy should not be interpreted as an unchanging one. If a lead was once qualified as a good one, it’s worth it to stay on the radar by feeding valuable information and building a relationship of trust. That’s when your brand starts to earn the status of a pre-eminent advisor—see Jay Abraham’s strategy of pre-eminence. Is it typical to drop a once-hot lead because of a lack of readiness to buy? Not when your team is trained and enthusiastic about showing genuine care and interest in resolving buyers’ needs.
Looking for ways to evangelize your customer experience management? Gain the confidence of your team and bring the power of an engaged workforce into play. Watch your B2B lead generation efforts yield greater conversion, customer retention rates go up and customer referrals multiply.
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Share your thoughts and leave me a comment. You can also email or call me, Louis Foong, at (905) 709-3827.
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