Life would be perfect were it not for the customers!

Many years ago I formed the opinion that, once an organisation reaches a certain size, it develops the ability to remain busy, no matter what the level of sales. By that stage, responding to customers’ requirements almost becomes a disruption; customers, in fact, only provide the cash to keep the mechanism turning!

Of course, things have changed since then. For instance, we in the UK no longer have an indigenous car industry, although we do have some of the most productive car factories in the world, and the company I then worked for no longer exists. The attitude however does appear to survive, it is most frequently evident in those organisations that are in, or can trace their roots back to public ownership, or that are so powerful that they have no effective competition.

Where customers have a choice then they take their business to wherever they can get the best products, quality, service and price; they vote with their feet. In that situation only the leanest, fittest and most innovative businesses survive, and they do so by having the happiest customers.

Of course, it depends on what you are measuring, people do what you INSPECT, not necessarily what you EXPECT. If you have targets and key performance indicators (kpi’s) are they designed purely to deliver excellent results by providing consistently excellent customer service at the right price, or is too much time taken up with non-value-adding activities just to keep the system running? Having inappropriate internal measures creates non-value-added activities and waste in your management processes; they lead to additional and unproductive workload and costs.

Customers provide the cash that keeps an organisation solvent, keeping them happy and loyal is essential for a sustainable business. Wise organisations value negative feedback; it is an opportunity to learn and to make improvements. Ignoring or passing them off will inevitably lead them to looking elsewhere. Measures that focus on delighting customers are therefore essential, and that focus must remain at all levels throughout an organisation; doing so is easy in a small business but requires increasing attention in larger ones.

Could it be time for you to check what you measure?