Creating a customer focus culture - Easier said than done

Words on the wall and as an outcome of an executive retreat come easy. Taking such words from the wall into the hall is an entirely diferent matter. Many companies have no real idea of the prevailing culture and how this might affect achieving a shift towards the desired culture.

I agree with Rich Mclafferty who wrote in his cusotmer experience blog that there are two cultures that will destroy a customer focus strategy. The first is the culture of fear, and the second is the culture of mediocrity.

"In a culture of mediocrity people show up for work each day but there is a dead look about them. They have no inspiration, no creativity, and no expression — everything looks and feels grey.

Then there is the most destructive and evil culture — fear. People move very slow and quiet. There is little if any talking, mostly whispers. No laughing, no fun. Little if any trust, and eyes constantly darting around to see who’s lurking in the halls. Office doors are always closed, and when the doors open people duck down in their cubes — it’s not good to be seen or heard in a culture of fear."

Like Rich, I have too often seen organizations with these two cultures attempt to implement customer improvement programs without much success. "They say: 'we are all about the customer' but allow these negative cultures to remain in their organization. It sends an incongruent message the employees who in the end don’t care, or are paralyzed by fear to do anything different.

It’s easy to tell when your dealing with people from these two cultures. People that follow rules to the letter, don’t take any risks, and see everything as black and white come from a culture of fear. This usually makes a customer feel frustrated, uptight, and angry.

The experience from a culture of mediocrity leaves you feeling just blah. It’s not good, it’s not bad, it’s not memorable. It leaves a customer feeling a bit drained and uninspired. Let’s not forget, as customers we pay to get to feel this way — it’s not free!

An organization’s culture is the most important factor in the success or failure of a customer experience strategy. To inspire customers you have to have inspired employees, and that inspiration comes from people-centric leadership, and a customer-centric culture.

Think about how many organizations that are known for their people-centric cultures — you can probably count them on one hand. To me that’s pathetic, but it also shows there’s an opportunity for an organization to differentiate themselves from the competition just by changing their culture.

So flip that org chart! Create a culture that cares about people and customers. The result will be more satisfied and loyal customers, and a more vibrant and successful organization."