In Search of the Common Good

Times of failures

Mainstream western commercial culture has for the past decade searched for its lost roots in customer centricity and the fundamentals of being closer to their customer. The result has been massive investment in technology, processes and human resources and a growing feeling of over-estimation of benefits and under-estimation of the efforts required. Throw in the economic recession that has characterised the first few years of the third millennium and we are faced with a situation that constitutes the anti-thesis for a customer-focused business culture.

The question is "When are we going to recognise this customer bankruptcy?". Enterprise worships technological advances that enable it to acquire new business, and protect its existing customers. While in theory this is what has been promised, in practice it is barren territory in most European industries. Why aren't leading captains of industry saying more often that a solid foundation for building a customer-focused organisation requires pursuing the common good? Why aren't CEOs of some of the leading institutions proposing practical structures, which incorporate customer centricity and values?

The biggest issue we face these days is the relentless drive towards cost cutting, imposing the will of the financial analysts. Built as it is on a materialist short-term philosophy, this approach makes a god of profit. But it sacrifices most characteristics of customer centricity that produce the common good. Short-term stock market performance represents the new ideology. In essence this is what corporate life now dictates, at the expense of customer centricity. We have failed to name these pitfalls for what they are, a power of short-term mindedness that is pervasive and in need of redemption. Reviewing stock market performance of some of the information-intensive industries, such as, financial services, telcos and retail, one wonders what type of spirit was behind the many customer centric projects that mushroomed in the middle to late nineties and drove the CRM technology machine? What was it that was unleashed with the Internet? Why there were so many failed ventures that were financed by educated and undoubtedly experienced people? Why did so many enterprises fail to deliver on their customer relationship promises?

A feeling lost

During my assignments, I have come to understand that each organisation has a customer feeling within, and unless the presence of such a feeling is addressed then the journey towards customer centricity will be thwarted. In essence, each organisation has its own customer feeling, distinct from its component parts. Many call this the customer-focus of the organisation.

I have worked with people who had a positive customer feeling who upon joining a new enterprise and encountering a negative customer-focus, they found themselves under the "spell" of a negative power, a counter productive atmosphere. In the process, these individuals lost their customer feeling and visibly changed for the worse. Similarly, I have seen others enter customer-focused organisations whose movements have been enhanced and grown through the process of getting closer to the customer. Further, I have seen exceptional people combine to turn an organisation around to a positive customer-focused enterprise.

It seems, therefore, that a customer-focused culture is possible and sustainable. Of course many will argue that this has a start and an end. Such a focus need not last forever. But the issue has to be tackled with the same zeal that CEOs are tackling their cost-cutting programmes.

My theory is that unless the presence of the customer feeling in an individual is recognized and supported, customer centricity will be short-lived in any organisation. In order to pursue the common good, people have to really care about their customers, both internally and externally. CEOs must ensure that individuals see this happen in practice and everybody will get a fair deal. But if there is no recognition in the organisation of the need to sustain, nurture and develop such a customer feeling, then it is no surprise that many CRM projects fail. Or areabandoned for the wrong reasons. Ask yourselves, where in the corporate agenda does this discussion ever take place? When was the last time we saw the media seriously explore the customer feeling dimension of life and people? How do we change this approach towards customer centricity? Among other things CEOs need to revisit the best of their organization's customer-focused traditions that have bound relationships together, and look again at the essentials underpinning the customer feeling. It will certainly mean that different industries will continue to see their customer centricity journey in slightly different ways.

The world of commerce has not yet lost this customer feeling dimension and many, including financial services and telecommunications, to name two information-intensive industries, are looking at some of the deep-rooted dimensions of their customer relationships so that their better aspects can be integrated into a more meaningful customer relationship management strategy.

A way forward

In practical terms each organisation needs to develop models whereby the customer feeling dimension is integrated more fully into their enterprise way of doing business. CEOs need to acknowledge that something bigger exists without and within and needs to be recognised - one customer at a time, if sustainable customer centricity is to occur. I often talk about whispering to a customer rather than shouting to all customers. For some, such a statement may simply confirm my eccentricity towards treating customers as individuals. For others, this constitutes the essence of a relationship.

The CRM industry has enabled many organisations to know more about customer needs and wants. One of the aims of a CRM project is to help change people's feelings towards their internal and external customers, and to bring about a genuine desire to get closer to the customer, where possible. In essence this is a process that should lead to a better customer feeling. Some gurus in the CRM arena may not see it like this. But then some don't see that a meal properly shared can also be sacred. CRM project leaders should dedicate more time encouraging individuals to reflect on their customer feeling and get them focused and respectful of what is about to happen on such a journey. In such a setting real change can occur.

My point is that just as a garden needs watering, so our customer feeling needs nurturing with positive life-affirming food. In order to do that, one needs to recognise that this customer centricity journey is necessary.

We also need to recognise that just as there are many ways to water a garden, so there are many customer centricity maps that can be followed. Clearly a disciplined sustained approach is best. What I believe makes for a holistic pragmatic customer centricity guide is the recognition that we are all interdependent. That we need to see the spark in one another and respect that customer feeling inside each one of us, to protect the most valuable customers, and nurture relationships with growable ones.

One customer at a time

And let's be open about it. I acknowledge that we stand in the embrace of difficult times, politically, economically, socially and technologically. But if CRM executives recognize that they are seed planters who scatter the customer centricity seed to the four winds and pray some of it finds fertile land, then that is when the customer feeling comes to the party and gets the growth going, one customer at a time.

This simple approach is based on a holistic nurturing of the customer feeling inside each one of us. In so doing, we will embark on making lasting organisational change rooted in such customer feeling awareness. And will help us keep close to our customers, committed, focused and conscious of the common good. Without it organisations face further failures in their CRM projects. With it organisations can go forever.