Be everywhere, do everything, and never fail to astonish the customer.
Margaret Getchell
The competitive argument goes something like this: time is of the essence. Time to market is getting shorter. Sometimes, products are obsolete by the time they’re developed. Stakeholder or customer requirements are increasing.
When I get poor quality service, it’s personal. It’s one-on-one between the server and me. Unpleasant words may be exchanged. The whole experience becomes unpleasant. And, I retell the bad service experience many times as I relive the experience. So, now multiply this many times as the internet buzz takes over.
Why do you like a specific company? You can often blow off a defective product. It’s a thing that can be fixed or replaced. But what about the clueless service rep, the rude sales person, the ‘it’s your fault’ repairman, or the endless phone wait at the tech help desk?
Company after company is using the need for customer satisfaction as the driver and rationale for inducing change. The company is changing business processes, systems, the content of thousands of jobs, and creating jobs that never existed before. On the other hand, the company eliminated thousands of jobs as it tries to reinvent itself to please customers more efficiently and effectively.
Companies (and Me Inc.) are differentiating themselves from the competition by being more responsive.
Life Lesson Earned: Find out what you company’s ultimate customer needs, wants, and expects. Figure out who your internal stakeholders are and what they need, want, and expect. Then be responsive and deliver. This is your value add.