Customer experience work is as much about knowing what motivates people as it is about getting the job done. That’s where the power core comes in. Most companies have a predominant power core. Frequently it is the strongest skill set in the company or the most comfortable to senior executives. Because executives know the power core best, people gravitate to perform in that area.
Understanding your company’s Power Core is a first crucial step in knowing how to proceed with your customer agenda.
Knowing the strength and pull of the power core will:
- Uncover the hot spots and potholes for driving a customer profitability culture.
- Frame the scope of work required to influence change.
- Provide clarity on the approach to take in creating partnerships with leaders and in motivating people within the organization through the change process.
- Zero in on your company’s motivation and ability to drive movement toward customer profitability.
The power core is an unusually strong yet often unspoken force. Never underestimate the power of its pull. Because executives make decisions through the filter of the power core, people want to perform there.
There are the six power cores that I’ve found to have the greatest impact on driving customer profitability inside the corporate machine and across the silos.
You’ll likely find one of them to be the dominant factor in decision-making and direction in your company. You may also see another in a supporting second place of strength.
Product Power Core
Resources and success metrics center on product development, not necessarily on customer focus.
Sales Power Core
Quarterly targets and sales goals pull the weight in the company. The ‘sale’ is the focus, sometimes at the expense of the rest of the experience.
Marketing Power Core
The marketing department defines the tenor and tone of the relationship with customers.
Vertical Business Power Core
Execution in the vertical business (e.g. publishing, pharmaceutical, insurance, telecoms, etc.) is how success is defined and measured, and forms the core of power.
IT Power Core
IT projects have an inordinate amount of impact. They receive high levels of funding and a strong voice in defining company priorities.
Customer Power Core
Company decisions come from understanding what will drive greatest value to customers in the short and long term.
Other Possible Power Cores
The six Power Cores are the most predominant out there. However, its likely that the Power Core in your company may not be one of the six. For example, Operations may emerge as your organizations most predominant skill set for running the business. You are a well-oiled machine driven by the mechanics of execution. This is sometimes seen in hospitality or in the distribution businesses. Your Power Core may be Finance.
Make Customers a True Priority of Your Business
The point is to identify your Power Core and to use the information to frame the scale of the work to integrate customer leadership and customer profitability. Regardless of what your Power Core is, it will have an impact on how you strategically address the work.
