“What’s Mr. Smith’s condition?” asked the raspy voice on the phone.
“He’s recovering so well he’ll be going home in a few days,” answered the nurse. “Whom shall I say called?”
“This is Smith calling. My doctor won’t tell me anything!”
Part of the reason so many organizations aren’t really customer-focused is because their managers don’t know the difference. They’re innocently ignorant. These managers don’t understand what intense customer focus really looks like. And they don’t fully appreciate the why and how of balancing their focus on the final or ultimate customers with their focus on external partners, such as distributors, retailers, dealers, agents, suppliers, physicians, and such.
The following chart illustrates the vast differences in customer and partner focus. To make our teams or organizations into high performers, we need to get all of our focus and activities into the “Intense” column.
CasualThe needs and expectations of markets, customers and external partners (like distributors or suppliers) are lumped together
ModerateA few segments and partnerships have been highlighted
IntenseThe needs and expectations of key market/customer segments and partnerships have been prioritized
CasualInfrequent market, customer, and external partner data collection and analysis
ModerateA trickle of data helps to focus improvement activities
IntenseMajor strategic and operating decisions are based on a heavy stream of continuous data
CasualManagers and internal production or support teams occasionally see customers or partners
ModerateVisits from and visits to customers and partners are becoming more frequent
IntenseThe boundaries between customers, partners, and our organization has blurred
CasualSome customer and partner expectations are occasionally collected
ModerateExpectations are prioritized and weighted along with effectiveness ratings to identify performance gaps
IntenseCustomer and market gap analysis provide competitive benchmarks and broad market comparisons
CasualProduct/service development, improvements, and innovations are pushed out to the market
ModerateCustomer/partner input and pilot testing help identify and shape innovation and improvement
IntenseCustomers, partners, and people working in the field explore, experiment with, and guide improvements and innovations
CasualBudgets (primarily through sales and marketing) focus on customer acquisition
ModerateIncreased investments in service/quality research, development, and improvement
IntenseCustomer retention and partner improvement is a key investment focus
CasualDepartmental organization structure follows internal logic and needs
ModerateProcess improvement and re-engineering and refocuses and restructures the organization
IntenseA decentralized, team-based organization is build around key markets, customer/partner priorities, and strategic processes
CasualTraining teaches everyone how to smile and handle customer and partner complaints
ModerateTraining teaches how to trace the root cause of errors and eliminate them
IntenseTraining provides the tools to identify internal and external customers and partners, prioritize their expectations, analyze performance gaps, and make improvements
A useful exercise is for management teams to individually assess their position on each section of this chart. Comparing answers and discussing differing points of view can reveal plenty of improvement opportunities. Better yet, are ratings from customers and/or internal partners.
A shake out of technologies companies will continue to give us plenty of examples of what happens when service/quality levels are only Casual or Moderate. We’ve all had our fill of dealing with companies who provide a useful service or technology but can’t even answer the phone or provide the most basic customer support. Trying to get service support from one of these companies is about as much fun as being poked in the eye with a sharp stick.
Many of these mediocre companies are one-technology-wonders who developed a specialized product or found a narrow technical niche and have never really had to compete for business. They haven’t had to worry about service because there were always more customers to replace those lost through careless neglect. Their casual levels of service/quality make them causalities in company graveyards.
Author: Jim Clemmer
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Smart cooker
Related Posts -
Net Neutrality Pits Google, eBay, and Amazon, Against Telcos As telephone and digital companies continue to grow through mergers and acquisitions, network (''net'') neutrality, has become a contested area of law in the United States. Contoversial statements from Telco officials, as telephone networks appear to monopolize, has fueled the fire of independent Internet giants, such as Google, eBay,...... - Growing Prospects for Those Utilising VoIP Gone are the days when communicating with your client from another part of the world would cost your a fortune, making you keep glancing at your watch nervously as minutes would pass by. With technology moving with the speed of light and thousands of engineers working constantly to improve......
- What All Is Involved In Getting A T1 Line? If you are a potential customer, don't even bother wondering what is behind the curtain. The telecom companies take care of the infrastructure, and you take care of the bill -- that's how it works. It doesn't matter if the "big tan telephone company cabinet" is involved or not......
- Virtual PBX Phone Service Virtual PBX phone service refers to hosted PBX that's emerged as a cheaper and more flexible alternative to hardware PBX. For small and medium businesses, virtual PBX phone systems are just the right solution to manage incoming calls and transfer them to the respective departments or employees, giving clients......
- How to Perfect Your Telecom Audit Process A Telecom audit is an important process for any organization. Human error, failure to pay close attention to details, constraint of time in checking long telecom bills, and insufficient knowledge of new technology and regulations - these mistakes can take a toll on the revenue of a company. Avoiding......
Related Websites - Network Marketing - What Happens When Reality Sets In? I am a very good researcher, when I decided to get involved with network marketing or better known as MLM I quickly started researching on google all the different sites that where involved with this industry. I read about the good and the bad. Often times these opportunities are seen......
-
Top 10 Sneakiest Business Tricks [/caption] There are a lot of marketing tricks that businesses use to drill into your brain that you you must buy their product. Being aware of these can help protect you from your subconscious mind. Of course, the flip side is that if you are business, you can use these...... - Custom Essay Online As we go into a new century of intense school standards, it has become highly imperative that students prove themselves right from the beginning. Schools are not emphasizing increased essay and term papers for have students to have students to increase their research skills. Taking help from professional in......
-
Emeryville Marina The Emeryville Marina is located in Emeryille, CA Phone: 510.654.3716 Website: http://www.emeryvillemarina.com/ Slips: 401 About the Marina: The marina is located about one mile from the San Francisco Bay Bridge. You can find it right near Trader Vic's as well as the other public marina, the Emory Cove marina....... - Points To Keep In Mind When Availing Cleaning Services Cleaning services are vital for any firm, especially if it has to often deal with clients in its premises. Hence, it is necessary to pick an office cleaning company that caters to all your needs, though you have to bear in mind a few important things before you make......
Related posts:
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by goalliant: I just post Casual, Moderate, and Intense Levels of Customer/Partner Focus on http://ping.fm/eXFWf...