CEOs, Your Customers Are in Pain
| posted by Fast Company staffCan you hear them? Are you close enough to understand what's broken about your customer experience? I've been out and about with your leaders and the frontline, and what they really need is for YOU to get your skin into the game.
Do Just Two Things
First, have the guts to do this: once a month gather about twenty front line folks. Put them in chairs in a circle and put your chair in the middle. Ask them what's broken. Don't be defensive, don't debate the issues. Listen and listen hard. Then do something about what you heard. Then tell them and your customers what's been done. Next, do a customer loss review. Once a month or once a quarter, have your marketing folks pull together the list of customers who left you along with the sales, revenue and profits they took with them. Get a list of those customers and give ten names each to your execs to call these customers. Again, listen and apologize. NOW, you've got the voices of your pained front line and pained customers in your ears. Take action on it. That's it. You don't need a research study or a customer satisfaction survey - what's needed is your commitment to make this a priority. DO IT NOW - IT'S TIME!
Comment
Recent Comments | 1 Total
September 7, 2006 at 9:30am
Allan TearA big "right on" to that, Jeanne ! So often customer service analysis and marketing powerpoint separates the executive from the visceral experience of the customer and the people doing the work.
An additional suggestion: as companies extend their networks to deliver value to partners and outsourcing providers, execs need to use the folks within these organizations as "eyes and ears" too.
Partners that deal with your customers on your behalf have a unique and valuable perspective, unburdened by your organizational culture and assumptions. Often companies spend time talking _to_ their partners, and forget to listen and understand.