Customer Focus is more than Customer Service

On my website I have for years had an orgazational performance oriented Customer Focus Self Assessment. From the database I have built up, I have compared the top quartile and the other levels of self assessed organizational performance.

It is clear that the Say-Do gap between intentions/aspirations towards customer focus (Say) and various aspects of implementation (Do) is considerably wider for those organizations below the top quartile level.

What Is Customer Focus?
It is an organizational competence: Customer-Focus is an aligned whole-organization approach to customer satisfaction and service in which Leadership, Processes and People are all customer-aligned.

In broad stokes, this means that:

• Every action is shaped by a relentless commitment to meeting and exceeding its' customers expectations regarding product and service quality;
• Internal processes are constantly evaluated and improved to meet or exceed those expectations;
• Employees are aware of their role in maintaining a valued relationship with their customers.
  

Three External Performance Levels
I found an article by executive recruitment firm Egon Zehnder that identified these three externally focused performance levels of Customer Focus with which I agree.

• At low levels, one is willing to help customers by providing them with what you know you have. Gathering information about the external customer and listening to feedback represents a low level.
• At moderate levels, the perspective moves from "what does the customer need today" to "what will the customer need next." You know the customer from the inside, which means you can predict how s/he might respond to a given offering and you can anticipate future needs that one may address.
• At higher levels, one becomes proactive in shaping the customer value proposition well beyond the transactional relationship - a trusted advisor who is intertwined with the customer's decision-making processes.

High performers build complex relationships with customers and, based on their deep knowledge of the customer and marketplace in which they compete, they provide services that customers do not yet know they need. High performers' insights about customers become a source of competitive advantage for both their own company and their customer's business.

Perhaps you can identify with any of these three externally focused levels? And, if you want to really know how you stack up as an entire organization, why not take the 10 minute self assessment on my website? www.customerfocusconsult.com

What say you? Any comments or insights?