Take a listen to a snippet from our newly released audiobook, to hear more about why customer strategy matters
Welcome to our latest blog on a vital business tool that is so often forgotten – your customer strategy.
We all have business strategies or plans, right? Then we have our specific strategies – marketing, sales, comms, finance, HR, IT… depending on the size of your business, it will be a full-on strategy or a simple plan, but the essence is the same.
But where’s your customer strategy?
You may think your customer strategy is covered off in your sales or marketing strategies, but we’re here to tell you, it’s not. Those strategies are all about you.
The customer strategy is all about them.
So, why have a customer strategy?
-To give your customers a voice in your business (a seat at your table)
-To hear what matters to them – what you’re doing well + what could be better
-To help you focus + prioritise the things that matter most to your customers
At the end of the day, happy customers mean more revenue, greater loyalty + more raving fans that sell your business for you – who doesn’t want that?!
Convinced yet? Read on for more.
Check out an excerpt from our Amazon best-selling book, Leading the Customer-led Revolution, below on why a customer strategy is a game-changer for your business.
CUSTOMER TOUCHES ALL PARTS OF THE BUSINESS AND REQUIRES A STRATEGY
Why?
Because without a customer strategy, there is no common view of the customer, there is no shared ownership across the organisation or functions of the role your business has in fulfilling the customer’s needs and wants.
When we don’t look after our customer, when we don’t give them a voice and a seat at our table, we create a barrier between the organisation and the customer. And much like the barriers that exist between the business functions or silos, self- interest and selfishness arise.
"Without a customer strategy, the customer simply has no voice."
And without a voice, they can’t tell you what they need. They can’t help you improve your business’s operations and offerings. They can’t help you create new products or more profitable services. They can’t help you weed out the bad stuff that upsets them and do more of the good things that they love about you.
That’s why you need a customer strategy.
"Without a customer strategy, you have no roadmap for success."
THE CUSTOMER WITH A SEAT AT YOUR TABLE: IT’S TIME!
We know customer is the ultimate reason we’re in business. We know that without them, we’d have no business or organisation.
There’s no doubt you’ve heard the term ‘the customer must have a seat at your table’. Way beyond a nice catchphrase or concept, this is fundamental to being customer- led. There must be someone in your organisation who sits at your tables and represents the customer. We’re not talking your Director of Sales or Marketing, or your Chief Technology Officer who has countless other responsibilities, competing priorities and balls to juggle.
We’re talking someone who is KPI’d on customer, who cares about where the customer sits in your organisation, who lives and breathes customer.
"You need a Customer Champion, someone who truly cares about the outcomes for the customer."
We’re talking a customer champion. Someone who truly gives a toss about the outcomes for customer. Preferably not just because they’re paid to, but because they truly care. Not someone who says they care or who has had ‘customer’ dropped into their existing title.
While not always possible, it makes a huge difference as it moves from boxticking to heart-centred, purpose-driven and outcomes related.
Convinced yet that you need a customer strategy or plan?
