A hundred years ago, business leaders and marketing gurus were busy working out the value and impact of customer service buzz phrases. Opinions vary as to who actually invented one of the most famous, “the customer is always right” in the early 20th century, but it became a rallying cry that endures in many companies to this day.
The contemporary equivalent is organizations that describe themselves as ‘customer first.’ For our generation, where competition across all industries has become stronger than ever, it has become a new way to get back to a really important priority — the customer.
In my world, which in simple terms is enterprise IT security solutions licensed on subscription, competition is fierce. But along with product performance, price, experience and a whole list of other factors, customers pay close attention to the way we (and our competitors) treat them. I’m sure many businesses have seen this in the way their relationships with customers have evolved — if you can deliver on customer care, service and relationships, customers will reciprocate with their continued business and referrals. Customers want to see, hear and feel that they really matter.
When it came to launching our company, as a leadership team, we felt the only option open for us was to immerse ourselves in a customer-first approach. But customer first isn’t just making the leadership decision to be that way and slapping it on your website. Being customer first means truly committing to prioritizing the customer, organizing around that priority, and empowering employees to operate with that philosophy.
It starts at the top
Our experience is that to be a customer-first company, you have to live and breathe a culture that truly values customers. That means they have to take priority over other critical business functions, like replacing them with, say, new customers (while that may sound cynical, there are plenty of businesses who operate like that). For subscription model businesses in particular, it’s critical to provide consistent value to existing customers. If you don’t, you risk them not renewing and revenue suffers. You can’t just sell it and forget it. Customers need to know and feel you have their back, and the way to do that is with actions, not just words.
It starts with leadership. CEOs and their top leadership have to demonstrate a passionate belief in the customer-first philosophy. Showing strong leadership will have a major impact on the success of the entire initiative, and by definition, the business. Employees need to see that the executive team isn’t just giving lip service to being customer first, but living it as a value and making decisions that demonstrate it.
Clarity and consistent communication are key
For us, the foundation was clear and consistent communication, training and feedback across the organization. Leaders must provide clarity for all colleagues on how their customer-first philosophy works in theory and in practice. This includes a commitment to listen to customers, ask for feedback and demonstrably act on it. Only then can the organization look at each aspect of customer interactions to identify what works and what doesn’t.
Open communication with employees is also required. If you’re making changes to align with a customer-first mindset, employees need to understand why so they can internalize the priorities and focus their efforts in support of them.
Working through difficulties and challenges
Let’s be honest, every company has its ups and downs. Particularly when you’re a high growth, high innovation company, you move fast. The train is running full-steam ahead. At some point, you might hit a curve, teams get stretched and things can break. But leading with a customer-first mindset as your true north is how you stay the course and keep on track. It’s your guiding principle to right yourself.
In practical terms, as a bare minimum, customers should expect the following from a vendor: a strong, reliable product or service that is easy to use, one that helps the business succeed and is backed with responsive and knowledgeable support. But the business has to prepare for how they’ll engage with customers when things go wrong because inevitably they will. Whether it’s dealing with product quality issues, or working through organizational support changes, or rolling out what may be perceived as a controversial new pricing model — a customer-first business tackles issues head-on, prioritizes fixing them (really prioritizes them, up to and including reorganizing teams or changing leadership if needed), and takes a proactive approach to customer communication.
When customers see that you take swift action and have a plan to fix issues, they’re typically more willing to partner with you through the bumps.
Hire from your target demographic
If a supplier wants to develop a successful, long-term relationship with its customers, it needs to innovate, and that includes innovation in hiring.
What separates one business from another for the customer? If you want to engage with customers and build a relationship, you need to develop a culture within your company that recognizes the requirements of your customers and identifies with their experiences. That means getting your business right in terms of product/service, support, systems, processes and people. And hiring people from your target demographic. Trader Joe’s and Apple are just two big name companies who follow this model.
But cybersecurity companies, like mine, who cater to security operations center (SOC) analysts all the way up to CISOs are now following suit, hiring experts who have worked in the trenches and experienced data breaches first-hand to ensure the most intuitive, catered products for their users. What better way to understand your customer than to hire people who have walked in their shoes?
People and culture are an important differentiator. It’s not about people who sell themselves, it’s about people who care about the business and who work for the success of the business and their customers. And having a culture that encourages that perspective.
Your customers could be your best future employees
One of the best ways to find these people can often be from within the ranks of your customers. What stronger vote of confidence in your business, its product or service, support, people and culture than someone who is happy to come and work for you after having been a customer? When Victor Kiam bought Remington Products, he memorably coined the catchphrase: “I liked the shaver so much, I bought the company.” It conveys an equally powerful message about your business if there are employees that can say: “I liked dealing with the company so much, I joined it.”
Integrity above all
But, at the heart of all of this is integrity, a reflex-like ability to just ‘do what’s right’ for your customers. This is about building a culture of people who are honest, do what they say they are going to do, and treat the customer (and their data, information, or whatever else) with respect and care, a “no ego” culture.
Integrity also applies to how a company behaves when things go wrong because, as I mentioned earlier, at some point they will. If you look at any customer service problem as it’s played out over social media, for instance, poor response times and an inability to admit errors and apologize often overshadows the actual cause for complaint. The worst cases turn into a perfect storm of negativity and brand destruction. Get it right, on the other hand, and it becomes a bit like riding a bike: so memorable that you — and your customers — will never forget.
Any business interested in being customer first will have its ups and downs. That’s why it’s useful to see it as a journey where you learn from your mistakes and improve as a result. Customers are people after all. Successful personal and professional relationships rely on many of the same tenets — open communication, empathy, honesty, a willingness to work through challenges together. Customers will stick with the businesses — and business people — who consistently put them first.
