No business can survive long term if it does not deliver good customer outcomes!
The key word here is outcomes – every business does, or should be, looking to deliver good outcomes its customers.
When the focus becomes anything else, selling a product or service, making money it all starts to fall apart!
An internal focus destroys good customer outcomes!
Our industry, Finance, is littered with examples of just this! Where the focus shifted from being there for the customer, to making money or improving the return on shareholder funds!
However, it is not just the finance industry that lost focus on delivering good customer outcomes for customers! History has many examples of once great businesses, that floundered because over time, the focus shifted from the customer!
Understanding – The key to a great customer experience!
Central to good customer outcomes is understanding your customer and what is important to them:
- Who are your ideal customers?
- What is their world like?
- What are their needs, problems, worries, frustrations?
- What is important to them?
- Why do they purchase your product or service?
- What do they hope it will deliver or do for them?
- How do they use it?
- What frustrates them about what you provide? What changes would they like to see?
- What isn’t being provided that they would value or find helpful?
What does a good outcome look like for your customers?
This question is not as simple as it may seem at face value!
The outcome is not that they buy our product or service! The outcome is what they do with it:
- The degree to which it changes or improves their world
- The problems or frustrations it solves or helps avoid
- The peace of mind it delivers
- The feelings it evokes
The product or service a business provides is simply a tool they use for something else – but it is so easy to lose sight of this fact!
Listen before offering a solution!
One of the most powerful actions we can take to deliver good customer outcomes is to listen!
Listen not to respond – but to understand!
Every customer is unique. The more we ask questions and deeply listen – the more likely we will be able to provide an outcome they are likely to share!
Build systems to bullet proof the customer experience!
To deliver a consistent customer experience you need to develop bullet proof systems! You do this by:
- Finding out what works
- Documenting your processes
- Training your people
Build systems to ensure, no matter who the customer deals with in your business, they will be provided with a consistent experience.
This is something we have worked hard on at The 500 Group over the past year. It also makes good business sense because it not only helps provide a consistent customer experience – but also, as it is systemised productivity improves!
Summary
Delivering good customer outcomes should be the objective of every business. When the overriding objective becomes something else, selling products or services, making money, customers pick this up at light speed, begin to disengage and look elsewhere!
It is also not a “one off” exercise, as customer needs and expectations continually change and evolve. It is however the only pathway for any business seeking to enjoy sustained success and growth.
If you would like to learn more about how The 500 Group is working to deliver good customer outcomes for our clients don’t hesitate to give me a call.
