Companies that have excelled at the art of customer focus display many admirable traits, but key among them is empathy for their customers. Here are three ways empathy is manifested in the way they operate:
1. Focus on Customer Success. There is a strong realization that focusing on helping their customers succeed is the best way for them to succeed. These companies are always thinking about helping their customers. The goal is customer success, not sales figures or customer loyalty scores.
2. Implement World Class Customer Listening. These companies generally have multiple listening posts and are very focused on understanding the ways in which they interact with customers. Their customer listening efforts are designed to understand the relationships they have with customers and what really drives those relationships. These companies are constantly looking for new and additional ways to generate insights about the ways in which they touch customers.
3. Never Be Satisfied. One of the common threads I have noticed among some of the most successful companies is their inherent inability to ever be satisfied. These companies constantly strive to make the experience for their customers better. Better than it was the day before, better than their competitors and better than the customers expect.
Walk a mile in your customer’s shoes. Understand what it is like to work with you—from their perspective. If you aren’t too easily satisfied with the status quo, you just might find opportunities to help your customers and your company succeed.
Phil, excellent post! As you say it is so important that company associates think like a customer and try to make the customer as successful as possible. And you are so right that listening is also key to the success of any company. In my travels, I have a found a certain type of frontline associate that views the customer as a person first, customer second. These folks understand that their job is to build relationships with customers (people) one at a time; on every customer encounter. Richard Shapiro, The Center For Client Retention @richardrshapiro
Great post! I named my company “Focus on Customer Success” and work with broadcasters all over the US to help them listen to advertisers, viewers and users of their other products and then deliver what their customers want. Client retention breeds success and that only occurs when customers’ needs are fulfilled. Thank you for so clearly defining this for us in your 3 points.