August 2008

When Being Good at What You Do Can Be Bad For Customers

Many times a business reaches a comfort level with success and they stop caring about customers.

We see this everyday in large well established companies. As they become leaders in their markets they spend most of their time trying to squeeze more profit from existing revenue streams.

         
Where expertise is painfully acquired change is not welcome. Whether it is highly talented computer programmers or a dominant market share, companies often stop listening.      

 In the old product centered days business success had a formula. But when a business ignores change it is usually to the detriment of its customers.

We are not so far removed from those product centered days. Success has often been linked to an outdated business model that can be rigid and not responsive to today’s customer.

While it is human nature to feel good about oneself after a job well done, it can blind a business to the changing world around them. This product centered arrogance is still alive and well in many businesses and markets.

The better you are at a business (or trade) the harder the transition to the new customer centered world can be. The danger exists when a competitor (who may not be a task master) begins to engage customers in a dialog of what they desire instead of what the market leaders force on them.

Many “successful” organizations are run by people who are focused on “truth” of what they do. They produce their product with skill and pride and believe the “intelligent” consumers will still recognize value in their company.

The thing to remember is that if your customers stop seeing value in your product it is not their fault it is yours. 

Customer Expectations

The biggest difference between today’s consumer and the customer of 20 years agois customer expectations.

Yesterday’s customer had far fewer choices and had to settle for products that were very slow to change.

This product centered arrogance carried over to marketing and service areas as well. and the buyer had little influence on how a business operated.   
The expectation of a satisfying customer experience is now prevalent in every buying experience in every market. Whether its price, service or quality, the customer has raised the bar to a minimum acceptable level.

When customers receive an exceptional buying experience in one area it becomes entrenched in their mindset so that they notice it more when it is absent in the next experience.  

Whether the product is a Pizza or a new luxury car the  experience must be positive.

Every seller is being held to a new standard where they expect a business to be responsive to their needs.

If a profitable customer is pressed for time in the buying process they expect the seller to be aware of that or risk losing their business.
   Who is the customer, what are their expectations? All companies no matter how small or big should constantly strive to answer these questions.

About the author: Chuck Wallin is a 20 year IT and business consultant with an MBA. He has done work with such companies as Barnes and Noble, CHASE, Arrow Electronics, and First Data Merchant Services. His web site www.thecustomerconcern deals with issues of Customer Relationship Management.