Achieving a customer-centric culture. Best practices overview

For Zappos Chief Executive Tony Hsieh, customer service is treated as an investment and not an expense or liability. Candidates who are hired are based on their understanding ability to live up to Tony Hsieh's customer service expectations and how will they fit into the Zappos culture.

Develop a Customer-Centric Team: Together Towards Quality Service (TTQS) Workshop. 

Introduction:

For enduring relationships and loyal customers, it is vital for organizations to be equipped with an effective customer-focused culture which facilitates successful product and service delivery. (Macaulay and Clark, 1998; Martin, 1992). 

Let's gain an understanding of “customer-centric culture” but we cannot make it clear without undertaken to understand what is the "organizational culture”  and “customer-focus”. 

Organisational culture

Schein (1999) refers to “organizational culture” as: 

A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems.  It is a human progress way of life by adapting and reinventing itself as the environment and circumstances changes over time. 

One can say is the personality of an organization which defines by the working environment, includes other elements such as value, ethics, goals, mission, and vision.  The result is the popularised notion of “how we do things around here” (Schein, 1999). 

Customer-focus

Gathering all efforts towards great customer experiences and services which is a must in today's competitive hospitality industry.  Focus on their expectations, on their satisfaction of their needs and quality services offered to them.  Each segment of business strategic planning must consider customer satisfaction and experience. 

Deshpande´ et al. (1993) described customer focus as: . . . the set of beliefs that put the customers’ interest first, while not excluding those of all other stakeholders such as owners, managers, and employees, in order to develop a long-term profitable enterprise.

Very important to note that “customers” can be both either internal and or external; 

Organizations need to treat their own employees (internal customers) with similar care and attention

(Conduit and Mavondo, 2001).

Customer-Centric Culture

Customer focus is not a philosophy that can be developed through an emphasis on peripheral service attributes. Nwankwo (1995). Organizations can truly embrace customer focus only if they entrench it as a culture throughout their organisation (Kennedy et al., 2002).  Most effectively and efficiently creates the necessary behaviours for the creation of superior value for buyers and, thus, continuous superior performance for the business. Narver and Slater (1990)

Any organization to be successful in implementing customer-centric culture must ensure a there is a high level of understanding and in agreement at all levels that the organization existence relies on quality services offered to the customer and exceed expectations.

Six attributes of a customer-centric culture
Throughout the years, businesses conducted evaluation processes, performance metrics to compare best practices from other companies which lead to a better understanding of the customer-centric culture which also leads to the development of these six features which later were validated by survey and best practices evaluations.

The six attributes listed below along with the names of researchers’ evaluation and works that support businesses' benchmarking findings:

(1) Leadership.
Customers drive organizational direction and actions (Brooks, 1997; Whiteley, 1991; Galbreath and Rogers, 1999).

(2) Listening. 
Customers’ views are actively sought and it is easy for them to make contact/conduct business (Scheuing, 1999; Plymire, 1991).

(3) Analysis and understanding.
Customer expectations and their key requirements are understood (Brooks, 1997; Wikstro¨m, 1996).

(4) Integration and deployment.
Customers’ expectations are acted upon (Martin, 1992).

(5) People.
Customer-focused culture is understood and embedded throughout the organization (Kennedy et al., 2002).

(6) Review and improve.
Customer-focus strategies, procedures, and processes are regularly reviewed and improved (Alam and Perry, 2002).

Give a boost to your team on customer-centric culture skills today.  Developing a Customer-Centric Team: Together Towards Quality Service (TTQS) workshop.