Okay, I pulled 2% out of the sky. But at least I was generous!
Company after company tries to “get closer to customers” by taking incremental routes. And company after company fails to accomplish much permanent change (and often not much temporary change).
But is business paying attention to these bad outcomes? Nope. In fact, reminds me of a true, “you betcha” Minnesota story. A flock of domestic turkeys (who can drown in a rainstorm) were standing in a feedlot when a downpour started. The leader marched right up a running auger to hide, only to become cornmeal additive. Then, the rest of the flock followed.
Found any feathers in your cornbread lately?
Seriously, what’s up? Lack of education? Wishful thinking? A “we can beat the odds” mentality? Not really wanting to become customer-centric but wanting to claim it? Other?
I’m polling for answers on Linkedin, but I’ll share my best hunch. None of the above. Instead of these possibilities, I sense that most C-level execs think of “process” as a means to save money. They’re unaware of the consequences of either good or bad process on revenue. So they fail to associate “process” with “customer.”
Perhaps the only remedy is an increasing number of smart execs and companies creating new, customer-centric strategies then successfully reedesigning process to align with strategies and execute them. That’s the formula for improving customer experience and delivering new value to customers. And that could raise the question from not as smart execs, “What are they doing that we’re not?”
