Customers have jobs to do. And so do Companies. In essence the trick is to align and focus the company’s activities to maximize support to Customers to get their jobs done. From the unpredictable Customer’s decision journey through each stage of the life-cycle. And make money as a result of it.
Company’s that stick to the mantra have no problem focusing. These companies do not need to re-think how to “brand” their product or message every year and burn lot’s of money on awareness campaigns. These companies do not need Customer Service to solve the same problems over and over again. These companies do not need to redesign their processes, they can optimize. And these companies have higher success rates from their innovation efforts. These companies have competitive advantage because, without waste, their costs are significantly lower..
..And these companies get earned media that matters. Their Customers talk about how they never have to complain, not how well their complaint was handled (and no.. service recovery is not a good strategy for increasing loyalty). Their Customers talk about how easy it is to do business with them, not how they saw this great video or were “randomly” surprised. Their Customers recommend them to their friends because, well… , they know they are truly helping their friends.
Their Customers talk about the steak, not the sizzle. Which matters, because the sizzle dies when the steak lands on your plate.
What do you want your Customers to talk about? And how do you get them talking about it?
