Employees that prioritize customer needs individually and collectively operate in a customer-centric culture within the organization. Developing a customer-centric culture requires employees to grasp the evolving needs of customers to create the most significant customer impact.
The degree of customer impact correlates with the organization’s revenue growth, as well as the efficacy of its top management in all growth situations. It helps companies define a customer-centric culture, where all employees prioritize the needs of the customer in everything they do at work.
It seems that some organizations are better at creating managers and business leaders focused on improving customer impact. How do you recognize customer-centric culture in organizations?
A Mission that shows Customer Experience is a Top Priority
Companies must strive to create formal mechanisms that co-create a positive experience with customers and partners.
In these organizations, employees possess the freedom to continue to drive excellent customer service. They measure customer experiences and outcomes, sharing and tying them to an individual employee performance assessment.
These companies recognize internal cross-functional knowledge-sharing and collaborations because they know how to offer an improved customer service experience. In these cases, the employee experience will often reflect the same customer care that the organization wants to create.
Case Studies for How the Employee Experience Translates to Happy Customers
An excellent example of this is Southwest Airlines – a leader in the airline customer experience.
Southwest continually scores in the 60s in the public NPS (Net Promoter Score) benchmark measuring customers’ willingness to provide recommendations on a company’s product or service offering.
Southwest scores are higher than any of the other national carriers, and one of the industry leaders in the customer experience.
Anyone who travels on Southwest knows that the crew members deliver the safety briefing with a sense of humor, making it a standout in the industry. However, what few other airlines fail to realize, is that Southwest is personalizing the customer experience through these types of actions, making it more enjoyable for Southwest customers.
However, it doesn’t stop there with Southwest. The company has a feedback loop that asks employees for input regularly. Employees have the opportunity to put forward ideas that can improve both the employee and customer experience – and management listens.
Southwest gives its employees a voice, and the autonomy to deliver customers with a premium experience that they strive to improve continuously. It’s rare for companies to take this sort of initiative with their employees, but it works.
The results of personalizing the customer experience through enhancing the employee experience and engaging with staff are phenomenal. When Southwest decided to change its uniform, it asked the employees for feedback.
The company received thousands of responses from employees, showing high levels of engagement across all departments. The airline chose 43 employees to collaborate on the design from the thousands of entries. The result was a highly fashionable and functional uniform that’s machine washable.
Happy Employees = Happy Customers
Organizations that have happy employees have delighted customers. Implementing a successful digital transformation into your company can revolutionize your business.
Create higher levels of employee engagement through improved processes and communication channels. By putting your employees first, your position to deliver an outstanding customer experience.
