It’s not always just about gaining a basic understanding of new concepts. Sometimes, it’s more about internal buy-in and ensuring that everyone is on the same page and knows how to comply when there is a culture shift.
As companies shift into a new paradigm and pursue a more customer-focused mindset, they must consider how the entire organization will accept and adapt to the mentality. It really goes beyond the idea and deep into transforming a culture.
When working toward internal acceptance, companies often face the initial challenge of explaining the “what,” but quickly realize that they really need to work hard to explain the “why” and then the “how.”
In other words, explaining that an organization is going to shift their mindset and change their culture to focus on the customer could be somewhat self-explanatory and somewhat straightforward. However, the change in processes and decision making strategies may seem more convoluted. In that case, employees need to understand what this cultural shift really means – both to them and to the company – why it is an important strategy for future success, and how they can adopt the new way of thinking.
To work toward internal buy-in and implementation, consider explaining these four aspects (as shown in the infographic below) that employees should focus on that will empower them to execute on the customer-focus mindset.
- Context – To understand the mindset shift, focus on how the customer-focus mentality factors into specific situations. For example, a UK insurance company Aviva’s customer-experience team analyzed call logs, finding that when agents told customers they should receive their revised policies in four to five days, 75 percent of customers got nervous and called back to check on the status. When Aviva changed should to will, only 6 percent called back.
- Customization – Employees must understand that segments exist and each segment has their own set of needs. Pairing contextual information with transactional, demographic, and market data can help organizations tailor experiences to specific segments. For example, Protos Eyewear has developed an algorithm for creating customized, 3D-printed eyeglasses.
- Enhancement – Engagement enhancement will happen through employees and focusing on the customer. Engagement enhancement can be physical (activating more of a customer’s senses), mental (soliciting the customer’s ideas and influence), emotional (providing peace of mind, laughter, or some other positive feeling), or any combination of the three. Employees must understand how this works.
- Consistency – Equal parts culture and process, the ability to deliver consistently positive experiences to customers requires alignment across all parts of the business. The goal is to create connections and visibility across silos so that people see how the work of one silo impacts the others and how they collectively impact customer experience.
For a more on how companies are transforming to better serve customers, check out 4 Ways to Make Customer Experience the Heart of Your Business .