Is Your Company Really Customer-Centric?

“Get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves.”  – Steve Jobs

I just got back from China for a special research visit to Haier, the leading appliances manufacturer, and I had the realization that most aspiring customer-centric companies are overlooking something. Everyone appreciates the strategic value of getting closer to their customers. We can more accurately identify (and shape) their needs, evolve our products, and stretch our customer loyalty. The closer you are, the more valuable your customers, and your business, become.

In pursuit of customer-closeness, companies are digitally tracking their customers; adopting human-centered design, journey maps, and employee training; deploying metrics like customer lifetime value (CLV); adopting customer-first cultural values; and using AI to develop customer insights.

Such tactics are helpful, critical even. However, they sidestep a more powerful approach ... one that can align your entire organization around the cause of customer-centricity and, because this approach is more difficult to emulate, create a more sustainable competitive advantage.

The reason this approach is so effective when implemented is precisely why too many companies shy away from it. It feels “hard,” because it challenges accepted norms, requiring a rethinking of your organization’s design. Our current organizational models were built to optimize efficiency, not customer-centricity. And instead of redesigning the bridge between employee and customer, we distract ourselves by polishing the rivets.

At Outthinker, we’ve talked before about RenDanHeYi, the business philosophy developed by Zhang Ruimin, founder and chairman emeritus of the Haier Group, that works to eliminate the distance between employees, operations, and customers to proactively respond to customer needs. My trip to China was an opportunity to study Haier’s organizational approach in person.

What I thought about during my visit to Haier was: What would it look like to design an organization such that every employee can sense and is motivated to respond to the needs of customers?

Haier Model Institute, Thinkers50, and Business Ecosystem Alliance have recognized – with their Zero Distance Awards – select companies across nearly every continent that are taking on the challenge of eliminating the distance between customer and companies.

Organizations that do this well deliver on these six things:

• They give employees access and autonomy to proactively respond to user needs. Questions to consider: If an employee receives customer feedback, do they know what to do with it? Is there a clear path they can follow to capture that information and use it to solve a problem or create a new solution?
• They ensure everyone in the company takes accountability for the customer experience. Questions to consider: Who in your organization is responsible for the customer experience? If your answer isn’t “everyone,” why not?
• They eliminate organizational barriers that separate employees from customers. Questions to consider: Who in your organization interacts with customers? How is the information they gather shared across the company?
• They collect customer feedback and data with the goal of increasing value for all users. Questions to consider: What are your mechanisms for getting customer feedback? Is it only during the sales process or when there is a problem? How might you create a more continuous feedback loop?
• They assemble customer-focused teams that can move quickly and smoothly within the organization. Question to consider: How quickly can your organization respond to a piece of customer feedback?
• They operate in ecosystems and collaborate openly with partners. Questions to consider: Does your organization operate in an ecosystem? What are your methods for sharing customer data with your partners and empowering them to respond? 

If your company is doing some of these, consider applying for this year’s Zero Distance Awards. Born out of the RenDanHeYi model, the awards celebrate the work of organizations who have embraced this transformation toward customer-centricity.

Apply by completing this short submission form before August 30.

If they don’t quite sound like your company yet, there’s still immense value in reflecting on these principles. Consider how you might begin incorporating elements of a customer-centric approach in your organization. Remember, the path to Zero Distance or true customer centricity is ongoing, and every step counts.

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