1 how to build a truly customer-centric business with technology … · 2019-11-28 · 3 how to...

How to build a truly customer-centric business with technology1

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How to build a truly customer-centric business with technology


Welcome to the era of customer-centric business - the new normal

IntroductionAs technology continues its rapid march across all industries and nations, customers are presented with more and more choice.

Marketplaces are becoming globalised, with products sourced from towns and regions previously unheard of. These products are being rapidly delivered on a national scale, triggered by just a few clicks.

Emerging technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality/virtual reality, Software as a Service and Platform as a Service, robotics, AI, big data and data security - they’re more than buzzwords, they’re reality. And they’re already shaping businesses - how you work, where you work and how you service customers.

In today’s competitive environment, putting customers first is not aspirational, it’s essential.

Worldwide, businesses are expected to spend close to US$4 billion on IT in 2019.

That total is expected to grow by 3.7% in 2020.

https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2019-10-23-gartner-says-global-it-spending-to-grow-3point7-percent-in-2020

https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2019-10-23-gartner-says-global-it-spending-to-grow-3point7-percent-in-2020

3 How to build a truly customer-centric business with technology3 How to build a truly customer centric business with technology

This is exciting. This is the world you live in. In this competitive arena, the quality of service you give, the value you provide, and the consistency of your brand, communications and ethos will see your business thrive.

Businesses that adopt a customer-centric business model, putting their clients at the heart of their operations, anticipating their wants, needs and ultimate experiences, have a far greater chance of success.

To achieve a customer-focussed mindset, a business needs to work from the outside in. Your starting point is no longer your business needs and strategy, or your processes, or even your staff (though they’re high on the list) – you start with your customers. Businesses that make this shift early stand to gain a tremendous competitive advantage.

Nobody knows that more than VodafoneVodafone keeps its business customers front of mind in everything we do.

Instead of taking a one-size-fits-all approach, we find solutions for our customers’ unique business needs, from $5 Roaming* and Tech Fund plans, to personal account managers for businesses with 10 connections or more.

Like all businesses - small, medium and large, Vodafone is learning and adapting as technology and markets change. We understand the challenges you’re facing.

This paper will outline the proven benefits of putting your customers first, suggest how small to medium businesses (SMEs) might inject more customer focus into your business, and bust some myths about what that focus really means.

*$5 Roaming: Vodafone $5 Roaming lets you use your plan in 80 countries for $5 extra a day. Countries may vary. Only Your Max Speed data is accessible when $5 Roaming. Visit our website for more info:

https://www.vodafone.com.au/business/international-roaming

https://www.vodafone.com.au/business/plans/flex

https://www.vodafone.com.au/business/plans/flex


How to view your business through your customers’ eyes, while building the culture and tech to realise it

National contextThis emphasis on the buyer’s experience relates directly to the hyper-connected digital age you’re living in.

All levels of business can benefit from examining and re-thinking their efforts to meet consumer expectations and provide the easiest buying journey possible. The rewards include greater loyalty by increasing customer satisfaction which has the flow-on effect of higher sales and profit margins.

Businesses that make a concerted effort to put themselves in their shoppers’ shoes and work to improve every aspect of their consumer journey will ultimately be more profitable than businesses that don’t.

of businesses are aware of the benefits of a customer-focussed approach80%

Research published by Bloomberg found that while 80% of businesses are aware of the benefits of a customer-focussed approach, 51% don’t think their business is implementing the theory enough.

To be a market leader, you have no choice but to develop a customer-centric company culture that’s dedicated to providing an exceptional buyer experience.

Client-centricity is the most important factor in a successful business digitalisation, since client-centric companies are 60% more profitable compared to companies not focussed on the customer.

4 How to build a truly customer-centric business with technology

https://www.superoffice.com/blog/how-to-create-a-customer-centric-strategy/






The best customer-focussed business practices


Walk a mile in their shoes

When you’re at the helm of a business, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day operations and lose sight of what your buyer wants and how to provide that better than anyone else.

Thankfully, the fix is simple. Place yourself in your customer’s shoes and walk every step of their journey.

Pretend you don’t know anything about your business and are discovering what you offer for the very first time.

Experience that journey from the first realisation of a want or a need, to researching how to satisfy it, to buying, receiving and using the product. Also, take the time to think about what happens if they have questions or need help.

To make sure you’re really looking with a fresh pair of eyes, you can ask a friend or family member to go through the whole customer journey while you look over their shoulder.

This simple audit will help you identify areas for improvement. You might even discover new opportunities for additional products and services.

The benefits of a successful customer-focussed strategy:

Happy shoppers spend:

Increased sales opportunities:

Return business:

Happier staff:

People are more likely to make a purchase when their needs are quickly and easily met.

A greater understanding of buying behaviour and an increased focus on client needs will uncover new opportunities for sales.

When customers feel understood with their wants and needs met, their loyalty tends to increase.

When staff are getting positive customer feedback, and feeling like they’re part of a valued business that is genuinely meeting a need, it leads to better employee engagement and retention.


Get systematic about buyer behaviour

It might pay to consider implementing comprehensive systems to track and collate your customers’ buying behaviours.

Well-handled enquiries and feedback are crucial in creating a positive customer experience. It’s recommended that you then align these technologies and processes to support and drive customer engagement and improve their experience.

The modern customer journey is made up of individual touch points across numerous stages that often overlap or happen out of traditional order. The overall perception gained through these experiences influences customer loyalty, ultimately deciding whether a customer will stay.


Get techy with it

Research found that 57% of small businesses had strong growth if they prioritised IT investment, a crucial element in any successful customer-driven strategy.

There’s no shortage of software and apps designed to get your business organised, integrated and streamlined, and most of them are accessible on mobile, from anywhere. They can help you plan projects, set milestones and project timelines, they can make team members accountable and monitor the progress of tasks, and you can share documents with colleagues, and collaborate in real time using video or chatrooms.

Technology can eliminate repetitive, manual tasks - like shifting and resetting due dates, assigning tasks and flagging when work is ready for another team member - allowing you to focus on the customer and add value to their experience.

Analysing website traffic and social media stats will also offer insights into when your prospective buyers are most active, which can help drive marketing efforts and tell you more about who your audience is. This can help you ensure their wants and needs remain front and centre of your operations.

Remember:Don’t just showcase your products or portfolio, tell your customer how you can help them. Why you add value to them. Why they need you.

1. Automation can save buckets of time by taking the repetition out of administrative tasks.

2. The right tech will save you money as you won’t need to hire more staff.

3. Tech can collect key data. This information can reveal patterns and trends the business can act on.

Finding the right tech for your business has multiple benefits:

https://insidesmallbusiness.com.au/growth-development/why-investing-in-technology-can-help-small-and-medium-sized-enterprises-grow





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The Culture Club

When thinking about implementing a customer-oriented structure, culture is just as important as technology.

While technology has an undeniably crucial role to play in building a successful customer-orientated business model, the people within your business will ultimately make or break your approach.

Shifting your employees’ mindset so they start thinking like your customers is just as important as using the right digital tools and channels. You may need to coach your employees on how to answer phone calls and emails in a personal, professional and friendly way. Empower your employees to make decisions to right any wrongs (real or perceived) and help make the best suggestions for the customer.

Everyone likes a pat on the back, and a token of thanks has been proven to be more effective than a pay rise or a bonus. Remember to recognise and reward excellent customer service from your employees with a bottle of wine, a lunch voucher to your favourite local café, some chocolate or a personalised card.

One final thing: no-one likes a hypocrite, so adopt the top-down approach and lead by example. It’s your job to not only treat your customers well but your employees too.


5 customer-centric myths busted


Myth 1: They want to hear from you regularly

They don’t.

Sending out regular mass emails pushing new products does nothing to help your sales or goodwill towards your brand.

You probably know this instinctively. Think about what you mark as spam, delete instantly or the mailing lists you unsubscribe from. You do so because you’re not getting anything of value from them.

• Try making recommendations based on established needs or previous behaviour instead of just flagging the latest shipment of goods.

• Segmenting or grouping your mailing lists based on customer types, preferences, buying behaviour or other data you’re capturing is a good way to achieve this. This approach will also stop you from flooding their inbox with irrelevant content that will see future messages marked as spam or blocked entirely.

• Communication needs to be about the customer and their interests, not pushing your goods or services (customer-centric, not product-centric).

Here are our top tips for valuable communication:


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Myth 2: The customer is always right

They’re not, but their feelings are.

It’s not something you want to dwell on, but sometimes you’re going to get it wrong - at least in your customer’s eyes. And as technology increasingly makes for a customer-driven market with reviews and ratings everywhere, your customer is absolutely king – or queen.

In the customer-centric model, they may not always be technically right, but their feelings can’t be argued with. When you hear from an unhappy customer you need to be thinking about the experience they’re having and remember that a touch of empathy goes a long way. Was something unclear? What can you do to avoid this happening again? Do you need to communicate better, rephrase information, put it at the top of your webpage or highlight it in bold? It’s important to ask questions about how you’re operating.

Successfully gathering and tracking feedback will help you see if your sights are truly trained on the customer. If there’s an increase in sales and an improvement in customer attitudes before and after you’ve made changes, you’re on the right track. If not, revisit your assessment of the customer buying journey.


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Myth 3: All my customers have the same customer journey

They don’t.

In a digital world catering to personalisation and individualism, treating every customer like a clone is one of the quickest ways to lose customers. There is no such thing as one generic customer or one generic journey. Many marketers fail to understand this crucial point.

The truth is, different customers will often have different journeys. A lot of SME owners do not understand the link between customer journey mapping and personas. With variable personas, you’ll usually get different journeys. Human beings have different emotional reactions, often with different “wow” moments, and can follow a number of paths to your door. Even when two personas take the exact same journey, they may have different perceptions of it.

Understanding this key point when mapping out customer-centric journeys could be the difference that puts your company ahead of your competition.


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Myth 4: I already know what my customers want

You only know part of a changing story.

Business leaders with years of experience often develop strongly-held opinions of what customers want and don’t want. They believe that no one knows their customers better than they do.

The fact is, someone else does know - the customer!

Even if you have gathered valuable information about your customers, and you’ve spent time establishing exactly what your customers want, it’s no reason to sit back and rest on your laurels: service expectations change fast. If you don’t have formal processes monitoring these changes, then you don’t know your customer as well as you think. Those processes include listening to feedback about your brand and your competitors’ brands on social media and in other forums using appropriate monitoring software, to gain insights into customers’ and prospects’ lives.

As you embrace customer centricity, the important thing is to reconsider and truly investigate your customer systematically with fresh eyes.


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Myth 5: A satisfied customer is a loyal customer

They’re not.

Many business leaders assume a satisfied customer is a loyal one - this is not true. If you want to become a customer-centric business, the biggest mistake you can make is to settle for ‘satisfied’ customers. Mere satisfaction means a customer has a very short Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). Basically they bought something from you, it was ok, but if there’s a better offer next time - you’re gone.

While online customer journeys are crucial, it’s worth the time to elevate your top customer service agents to a higher tier by building their soft skills. You can look at simplifying their communication processes to help move customers from being ‘quietly content’ customers to those who will sing your praises.

Adopting a customer-centric mindset and not settling for “satisfied” can be the differentiator of your success.


A story of two customer experiencesIt’s a common tale in online retail.

A customer orders an item from your online store, let’s say a shirt. Your automated tracking system sends emails confirming that the order is underway, that the item has been despatched from the warehouse; and finally, that the shirt has been delivered. Yet the customer apparently hasn’t received it.

An email arrives from the customer: “The shirt I ordered wasn’t delivered, I want my money back.”

You explain that the parcel has been delivered according to the delivery instructions and store policy agreed to by the customer. But they’re indignant. They needed that shirt for a special occasion. Again, they demand their money back.

You have no way of knowing whether the parcel was there on their doorstep when they got home from work, or not.

This is where you can deliver one of two possible experiences:

The first experience involves no empathy. You can reinforce that you have completed your end of the bargain, that you have delivered according to your legal requirements.

The second experience is quite different. You listen, you sympathise for the loss of their parcel and their disappointment at not having the shirt for their special occasion. You explain again, carefully, how their chosen delivery option works. You may suggest changing postal preferences for next time, asking for a signature. Depending on the cost of the item, at your discretion you may even offer to replace it for no cost, in the interests of good will.

Hopefully it’s clear which option is more customer centric.

Obviously, you haven’t done anything wrong, you’ve worked within your legal requirements. However, the customer may still feel their service expectations have not been met. You, or your customer service representative, has the choice of using empathetic human skills, to make the customer feel better - or not.


While this example shows how human skills can make all the difference to the customer’s experience, there are practical areas that also need careful consideration.

Speed and flexibility are crucial. If you’re not better than, or at least comparable to your nearest competition, the experience you deliver will instantly be rated below par. Furthermore, no matter how unique or in demand your offering, if you can’t deliver it reliably with full transparency to your customers, then you’re always going to struggle.

The business communication software company Slack is a case in point. They have their customer service employees read customer communications, observe customer behaviours, research the people they’re helping which in turn helps them create mini personas to better understand how customers use Slack. When they’re recruiting, Slack actually seeks out people who know how to express empathy in their writing.

By choosing the empathetic route, the customer not only receives a more satisfying experience, it also promotes future loyalty for your business, better social media feedback and improved online ratings.

More than just saying how customer centric you are, you have to operationalise it. Businesses of today need to embed customer centricity into their very culture.

https://hbr.org/2018/10/6-ways-to-build-a-customer-centric-culture




How to focus on your customers, by industry


Corporate Services

Today, more than ever, corporate services revolve around perception and reputation.

Buyer behaviour is driven by how your service stacks up against the competition, be it financial consulting, human resource management, security, or event management.

When buyers can come from next door, interstate or overseas, you need to go above and beyond in catering to your customers’ wants and needs throughout their entire customer journey.

The online financial marketplace HashChing, for example, offers transparency and accessibility as a point of difference in the banking sector, including a peer-reviewed system to rate and rank mortgage brokers. They also give access to 60 lenders for home buyers, including non-bank lenders. Knowing how complex financial transactions like home loans can be for customers, they advocate for transparency and consistency, embracing technology and digital solutions in the same way that businesses like Menulog and Uber do.

Expectations in this sector have skyrocketed and the competition has never been more visible or accessible. This is where a customer-centric mindset will see your business thrive.

• What can you do better than anyone else?

• Consider how your target market finds businesses like yours and focus your efforts on that

• Consider how your clients interact with your business and look for ways to improve that experience

Ask yourself:

https://www.theadviser.com.au/breaking-news/39084-new-no-deposit-home-loan-offering

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/hashching-puts-its-hand-out-to-go-it-alone/news-story/a764770254970ded57567303696cabe5

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/sydney-fintech-hashching-is-looking-for-6-million-to-drive-more-borrowers-away-from-the-big-banks-2017-3

https://www.yourmortgage.com.au/mortgage-news/hashching--meet-the-mortgage-whisperers/219575/

https://www.yourmortgage.com.au/mortgage-news/hashching--meet-the-mortgage-whisperers/219575/


Marketing

The marketing and technology space today is facing unprecedented pressure as the internet continues to break down geographical barriers – none more so than for intangible products.

Logo design can come from the US, social media scheduling software out of Ireland, market research agencies from India and graphic design and animation from Argentina. In this environment, it has never been more pressing to stand out by offering exceptional customer service – the crux of the customer-first business model.

Creative marketing agency Hardhat has a half-basketball court at the office, a whisky bar and everyone can bring their dog to work – but the strength of their offering comes from their client-centric pivot. Founders Justin Kabbani and Dan Monheit realised from the outset that it was their digital expertise that clients wanted to tap.

They’ve also become experts in behavioural economics, “looking at the who, what, when, why of people’s habits and being able to apply it in a strategic sense to the work we’re doing,” says Kabbani. On top of that, they’ve adopted Agile project delivery methodology, which helps Hardhat do more with less and smooths out work processes. All of this allows them to offer exemplary customer service supported by Vodafone’s personalised account management and $5 Roaming* which enables them to stay connected whilst they attend global events like South by Southwest in Austin, Texas.

“We listened to what our customers were asking for, and we built some great relationships... Now we have a really compelling story. We’re a full-service creative agency with a strong digital heritage and serious strategic and creative firepower.”

- Justin Kabbani

Founder, Hardhat*$5 Roaming: Vodafone $5 Roaming lets you use your plan in 80 countries for $5 extra a day. Countries may vary. Only Your Max Speed data is accessible when $5 Roaming. Visit our website for more info:




Tuning into customer needs is crucial for an SME – but you also need to implement software to support your teams, tracking all interactions and tying them together. For example, a customer might use Facebook Messenger to contact you with a question about your software. If that same customer calls you, they’ll expect you to know about the Messenger conversation and possibly even other email trails or past purchases. (They’ll probably also prefer if you reply in Messenger – their channel of choice, rather than the channel of your choosing.)

Considering the needs and preferences of the customer is vital to business success and the customer-oriented model.

• Is there a consumer need going unanswered?

• How can you improve your turnaround times?

• What else can you do digitally?

• How can you improve your customer service and communication?

Ask yourself:


Retail and Hospitality

Implementing a customer-orientated approach across the retail and hospitality sectors is much more than just providing good customer service or a good product.

Whether you’re in the business of food, clothing, accessories, beverages or electronics, your services, products, purchasing and delivery processes must be built around the customer creating a seamless customer experience from start to finish.

While the online retail sector has boomed, powered by the convenience of clicking on an item and having it magically show up on your doorstep the next day, good old-fashioned, face-to-face customer service may be the differentiator in some cases.

At Melbourne’s Pickings and Parry menswear store and barbershop, co-owner Chris Pickings recognised one key advantage his business had over the global giants: authentic personal service and a unique retail experience. Pickings also knew that being more customer centric was something they could bring to market more effectively than the competition. So they decked out their cosy, welcoming store with

vintage furniture, early 20th-century fittings, brass conduit and light switches, and they introduced a traditional barbershop where customers can sip on a top-shelf whisky while their beards are trimmed.

They consider their stores a kind of community, immersing their customers in heritage-style elegance and offering old-school craftmanship in all their products.

It’s not all old-fashioned though – Pickings and Parry continues to utilise technology designed for SMEs to maintain positive customer relations and contact. That includes cloud-based software for point-of-sale and for tracking payments, orders, cashflow and for doing forecasts.

As a priority, businesses in this area need to regularly review their consumer experience, make revisions to optimise customer interactions and drive visitors down the conversion funnel by ensuring their journey is as seamless as possible.

• Could your storefront use a facelift? What about your digital assets? Are they appealing to your target audience?

• Can you improve your customer interactions and service?

Ask yourself: • How are your products comparing

with those of your competition?• Do you have a point of difference

you can promote?

https://insidesmallbusiness.com.au/featured/australias-independent-retail-sector-among-the-best-in-the-world



https://www.broadsheet.com.au/melbourne/shops/pickings-and-parry

https://www.xero.com/au/campaigns/beautifulbusiness/pickings-and-parry/

https://www.xero.com/au/campaigns/beautifulbusiness/pickings-and-parry/

https://blog.retail.org.au/newsandinsights/the-importance-of-a-cutting-edge-store-fit-out


Construction

The construction sector is not usually synonymous with creating ‘special’ customer experiences, predictive product offerings, seamless communications or many of the other common customer-centric services.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t a multitude of improvements that can be made by looking at business operations from the customer’s perspective.

In construction, customer-focussed activities need to hone in on driving better relationships through project delivery and general interaction.

It’s essential that client-facing staff are comfortable understanding and managing customer expectations - developing empathy by hearing out any frustrations while building relationships beyond one project to ensure they’ll be a part of the next.

Retaining customers through excellent communication from the project team is crucial. This means team members need the right mobile communication tools for the job (as well as a mobile data plan to support them - which is where Vodafone comes in).

Putting customers first in construction and residential development often requires behavioural change from technical team members and other staff who aren’t traditionally client facing, to build closer collaboration and lasting client relationships.

Aiming for a culture of cooperation and trust built from the ground up is what will set you apart.

• What’s important to your customers and ensure you’re catering to that

• What else can you provide your customers that will make their experience with you easier?

• How can you improve your customer contact or assist their buying journey?

Ask yourself:


1. Increased sales2. Increased return customers3. More word-of-mouth referrals4. Better ratings on sites like Facebook,

Trustpilot, TripAdvisor, Google, Yelp and the like

5. More positive social media engagement

6. Better sentiment across traditional and digital media outlets

7. Improved survey results and feedback

In our own business, Vodafone has learnt first-hand that putting customers first leads to happier customers and as a result, higher Net Promoter Scores than our competitors.

Creating a customer-oriented business is about understanding your brand value and delivering it consistently. That doesn’t mean you need to jump instantly onto every request (or demand) made by your customer, but it does require a focus on what they value most and alignment with your business strategy and brand promise.

No matter your business, measure your strategyRegardless of what industry you’re in, if you’ve successfully put yourself in your buyer’s shoes with a customer-centric approach and made appropriate changes you should see:

“Our business customers know what they want and need to build and maintain a successful business,” says Vodafone chief commercial officer Ben McIntosh. “In order to deliver this, we make sure we listen and keep our focus on them.”

To bring new levels of customer focus into your business, you must first define what that looks like for your business and investigate how well you’re meeting your customers’ expectations. Often there’s a large gap between the two.

The customer journey has many steps, from seeing a print ad or a sponsored post, googling your name or looking at shipping information or refund policies, right through to that product or service being delivered.

Each one of these steps needs to be considered from the customer’s point of view if you’re truly committed to becoming a customer-centric business. From there, be prepared to reap the rewards.


Laying the foundation for customer-centric business


1. You need to be fast. Fast to respond, fast to adapt and evolve, with fast-loading websites and apps.

2. You need to be integrated. Integrated comms tracking, order histories, customer preferences – the works.

3. You need to show you care. Be consistent; remember your customers are people.

Quick tips for a customer-first business model:

4. You need to be reliable. Show you are there for them and you’ll deliver what you say you will.

5. You need to be leading-edge. Using the latest apps, extensions, software and programs to streamline your services and stay ahead of the competition.

6. You need to be always on. Excuses like “My internet was down” or “I was overseas so my phone wasn’t working” won’t cut it.

All of this relies on being connected digitally.You need the ability to access your back-end systems from anywhere in the world, anytime.

Response times are crucial with customers expecting a preliminary response within 24 hours. And if your website goes down, you need to be able to fix it fast.


At Vodafone, catering to growing businesses is

That starts with the personal account manager service we offer to all of our Business customers with more than 10 connections, giving one-on-one attention and guaranteeing priority help from our call centre.

Vodafone has been rated as having the most satisfied small business customers by Canstar Blue in 2017, 2018 and 2019. When your business requirements change or you need new products or you’re having technical issues – Vodafone is right there with you.

This could be the easiest decision you’ll make all day. See how Vodafone can make a difference to your business. Call us now on 1300 111 111 or visit vodafone.com.au/business

This is where Vodafone becomes part of your solution.

Heading overseas to check out the latest and greatest? Only Vodafone lets you use your plan in 80 countries for $5 extra a day with our $5 Roaming*.

Our Business Flex** plans give you exceptional choice and value. Every plan comes with unlimited standard national talk & text and generous data inclusions, all for use in Australia.

*$5 Roaming: Countries may vary. Only Your Max Speed data is accessible when $5 Roaming. T&Cs apply. Visit our website for more info: https://www.vodafone.com.au/

business/international-roaming **Business Flex: Approved customers with an ABN/ACN only. Minimum monthly spend and early exit fees may apply. T&Cs apply. Visit our

website for more info: https://www.vodafone.com.au/business/

our specialty.

https://www.canstarblue.com.au/phone/small-business-mobile-phone-providers/

https://www.canstarblue.com.au/phone/small-business-mobile-phone-providers/

http://vodafone.com.au/business



https://www.vodafone.com.au/business/

1 how to build a truly customer-centric business with technology … · 2019-11-28 · 3 how to...

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