Do you ever wonder why organizations do what they do and the way that they do it? Companies can’t exist unless they meet the needs of current or potential customers. It is the customers that drive business practices.
Let’s consider some examples of how customers define business practices.
- Examples of business practices that have been defined by customers.
Twitter has become a customer resource for solving problems. Delta Air Lines offers customers the option of using Twitter to contact customer service to resolve problems. If that same customer flies another air carrier that doesn’t use Twitter as a customer service solution, what do you think their opinion will be about that airlines’ commitment to its passengers?
External customers may determine the business practices around hours of operation, office locations, discounts offered to customers, access to information (website, phone/online support, social media), loyalty programs, etc. Customers may expect you to match competitors’ customer services practices.
Internal customers may determine business practices as well. For example, internet startups have a reputation for providing free drinks/snacks in the office, recreational activities such as ping pong or video games, and highly flexible work hours. As a new startup, these practices can become the baseline of what is expected by new employees.
- Examples of how your Company’s business practices have been defined by internal customers.
Based on the last employee survey, a company responded to the lack of clarity surrounding career advancement opportunities. They developed and rolled out a more formalized framework that mapped potential advancement options related to all roles.
- Examples of how the quality of service is determined by customers.
Examples of quality may be related to the length of wait times, the number of times a customer has to provide the same information, length of the process, and confusing or unclear instructions.
People communicate their customer service experiences in various ways. Word of mouth is the most common way people share their experiences with family and friends. To reach larger groups, they choose public forums such as Yelp, Angie’s List, the Better Business Bureau, Ventnation.com, Glassdoor.com, and various social media sites (Facebook, YouTube™, Pinterest, etc.). What other options do your customers use?
Below are two examples of viral customer service videos.
United Breaks Guitars (4:37): Over 14 million views on YouTube™ (uploaded July 2009). The Wikipedia® site states: “According to the New York Times, 4 days after this song was released, United Airline’s stock suffered a 10% drop in value and cost shareholders $180 million.” In the end, United asked to use the video to train its baggage handlers.
This is a great example of how lapses in quality can impact everyone. The Company may lose customers or lose their business for a period of time. Employee morale may be affected. In this United Airline example, there could be a wider effect. The decrease in shareholder value could lead to a decrease in the value of retirement accounts, impacting not only current retirees but other investment funds containing UAL stock.
Rejection Therapy Day 3 – Ask for Olympic Symbol Doughnuts. Jackie at Krispy Kreme Delivers (5:14): Over 5 million views on YouTube™ (uploaded November 2012). Jia Jiang wanted to to desensitize himself from the pain associated with rejection. To overcome his fear, he developed the 100 Days of Rejection Therapy initiative with the aim of making 100 crazy requests, each of which would lead to rejection. On Day 3, he visited Krispy Kreme in Austin, TX. Watch how Jackie, a Krispy Kreme employee, responded to his crazy request.
This example of how a positive customer service experience can go viral. How many people like Jackie are in your organization?
Key takeaways
Business practices are driven by internal and external customer needs.
Customers hold companies accountable for the quality of the service they receive.
Each customer interaction has the potential to affect both those directly and indirectly involved in the customer service experience.
Over the next week, notice how customers’ needs are addressed through your Company’s current business practices as well as the business practices of other companies with which you interact. In what ways do you measure the quality of service you receive? What are your customers saying about your Company?
Next week we’ll look at The 5th Tenet of Better Engaged Employees – Feedback from Customers is a Gift.
What thoughts do you have about how your customers define quality and service? What needs to be changed to become more quality focused and service oriented?
P.S. First time here? Welcome to the Agent In Engagement site. Thanks for taking the time to stop by! I hope you’ll explore the rest of the site. Let me know what employee engagement topics interest you.
Other recent Agent in Engagement articles by Gregory F Simpson:
- Employee Engagement Briefing for Week of November 3 – 7, 2014
- The 3rd Tenet of Better Engaged Employees – Provide Solutions and Show that You Care
- The 2nd Tenet of Better Engaged Employees – Service Comes from the Inside Out
- The 1st Tenet of Better Engaged Employees – Customers Make the Rules
- Archetypes of The Hero’s Journey and The Employee Engagement Journey
- The Hero’s Journey and the Employee Engagement Journey
- What Crayons Can Teach Us About Employee Engagement
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I’m Agent in Engagement Simpson…Gregory F Simpson.
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