Every decade there is a new frontier, a key focus that businesses gravitate to, the thing that will make all the difference – if you do it well you win if you don’t you die, or at least become a dinosaur and fade out of existence….
The 2000’s was dominated with Customer Centricity – although this was always odd to me, as the opposite is to be rude or mean to customers, that just doesn’t make sense as a strategy.
This was the beginning of the age of customer accountability, giving customers the power – well at least appearing that way.
2000’s was dominated with Customer Centricity – this was odd to me, as the opposite is to be rude to customers – that just doesn’t make sense as a strategy.
The next decade from around 2010 has been all about personalisation and unique experiences, we are still in that phase and with it comes value accountability.
Over the last 8 years we have seen higher levels of accountability expected for delivering customer value, we have seen many regulators bringing customer impacts into the equation when considering regulations.
“This is only for big business, it doesn’t affect me”. I hear you say. Unfortunately that is NOT True!
Some interesting examples of this at the industry regulation level are:
- Transport (airlines/trains) are accountable for delayed services and are expected to report impacts on customers and even provide compensation in extreme cases.
- Insurance has had a big focus on claims decisions ensuring timely and accurate payouts, so much so that insurers have even used the percentage of payouts in advertising to show credibility.
- Telecommunications & Utilities have really been through the ringer in recent years are now required to report service continuity, service speeds, and billing issues (to reduce bill shock) to regulators.
- Banking has been in firing line for some time but he latest Royal Commission putting it under the microscope and will likely supercharge the timeline for change. The banks have already had to tighten timelines for transferring money between banks (which reduces both earnings and ability to make loans). Now they are likely to have to make fundamental changes in light of recent revelations.
The Royal Commission has also alluded to Retail as potentially being in the firing line. Why stop there, maybe Oil & Gas will be next…..
“This is only for big business, it doesn’t affect me”. I hear you say.
Unfortunately that is not true, these changes impact everyone, they change and shape of the landscape, the way customers consume and expect to consume our products and services.
This is the exact opposite of the underpinning ideas of social media allowing anyone and everyone to have a voice.
This heightened level responsibility puts more power into the customer’s hands. If we do not recognise this and adjust our business will fade to extinction. Blockbuster video (vs Netflix) is a good example of a change in customer value not being met.
Another unfortunate by-product is bad press, this creates mistrust with customers. “Well if company A did it, they are all doing it….” All businesses get tarnished with the same brush….
So if you think this is a tough environment get ready for the NEXT SHIFT. It is already happening.
The next shift is moving from Customer Value to Community Value. Seriously, we see this shift already taking place.
Community Value will be the next litmus test for business success.
Look at the Social Media concerns that are being addressed through Facebook right now. Looking primarily at the fake news arguments and the responsibility of Facebook. It is clear that the community feels that Facebook should be doing more to validate what is being shared.
This is the exact opposite of the underpinning ideas of social media allowing anyone and everyone to have a voice.
We are seeing similar outcomes in the Royal Commission, they are looking at loans that were not necessarily illegal but clearly been working to a different morale compass than community now expects.
In these cases the focus is not on legality but morality, not on customer services but on the impact to the community at large.
The direction of the future is for businesses to be responsible for morale decisions of each and every employee, and for each and every transaction. KPI will change to be morality and community focused.
Only those businesses that can link their strategy to the community and encourage the right behaviour of their staff will thrive in this new environment.
How will you make the change in your business?
About the Author:
Brad Horan is the Founding Director of Lucrature – Financial Peak Performance.
- He is excited about helping mid-sized businesses achieve profitability growth by getting the right management infrastructure in place to ensure every decision made within the business is 100% focused on the business goals.
- Although professionally trained in Finance and Operations Brad has a passion for the psychology of business and how financial measures can be used to drive positive behavioural outcomes.
- Brad believes that when you get the right mix of KPI, communication and action across all staff levels that your business starts to run itself, leaving the business leaders to focus on what they do best – being an Entrepreneur.
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