What does innovation really mean to you and your business? Are your seeing things through the eyes of your customers and your employees who are your internal customers?
What are your customers looking for from you?
According to Peter Drucker, in order for any business to succeed, a business must attract and retain customers. The key questions obviously become, “What do my potential clients want from me? How do they want to receive it, and how do I get them to keep coming back for more?”
Think about this for a moment. What do your customers view as important? Is it your quality, your speed, your service, your employees etc.?
Now the next logical follow up questions should be, “How can I make sure this is what they want, and how can we be sure we are giving it to them?”
Many organizations today are stuck in the rut of a “that is how we have always done it” mentality. They are so involved in their business on a daily basis that sometimes they have blinders on as to what is really happening. They miss what the client really wants, and ultimately what the client really sees as they interact with the organization.
I wonder how many of you can relate to the following example.
You bought a product at the store and now you learned that it was not the right size, so you decide to return it. You check the receipt and it states “no hassle returns within 30 days.” You return to the store with the clothing item and the receipt in hopes of getting the correct item. You proceed to the nearest checkout line. You hand the receipt, old item, and new item to the cashier and say: “I would like to exchange this.”
Cashier says, “Sure that is not a problem. I would be happy to do that for you. May I ask why you are returning it?”
“It was not the right size and I wanted a different color.”
Cashier says, “Okay can you please give me your name, your email address, your telephone number, your drivers license” (and at this point you start thinking why do they need all of this info … I am not buying a gun, I just want to exchange two sweaters???)
So after you provide the rest of the information the cashier then picks up the phone and you hear the dreaded intercom, “Manager to Checkout.”
You ask yourself, “why do they need to call a manager?” … at which point the cashier says, “Sorry this will just take a minute, but you will be credited $.75 and I need the manager to ok it.” Now for the first time you look behind you and notice that the line has grown and now seems to be snaking through the department. As the thousands of eyes glare at you from behind, you wait watching your watch … and alas you see the manager approach the desk. What does the manager do? … look at the screen, type 3 numbers, say “Thanks, you are all set,” and then walk away. You take your 3 quarters and your new sweater and walk through the store with your head facing the tiles, so you don’t have to face the glaring eyes.
· I am sure you would agree that the process was far from hassle free.
· If that store looked at that process through the eyes of their customers, do you think that they may decide to alter their return policy?
· How many customers did they upset because of one ten-minute transaction for $.75? It was not just you. Remember all of those glaring eyes in line?
· Why is that their policy?
o Does that policy exist for the benefit of the customer or the protection of the company’s assets?
· What message does this send to the cashier?
o To you, the customer?
o To other customers in line?
I think we can all relate to having a similar experience. What have we learned from this and how do we apply this in our own businesses? We need see things through the eyes of our customers and our employees. This includes making our systems and procedures easy and hassle free…REALLY!
Remember, get suggestions from your employees, empower them, and really focus on the customer.
Could you use help with aligning with your customers?
Contact us for a free consultation
or call 914-953-4458
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