Apologies from a CEO

(Photo from stockxpert)

Thanks to global sentiments & a mega local IPO, the Indian stock markets witnessed choppy times over the last few days (it still continues in the same vein for now). The market swung crazily between new highs & lows. Accordingly, investors had a hectic time on the floor.

Here is an example of the cheif executive of an online trading portal apologizing to its customers about loss & lack of its service during various points the last couple of weeks.

+es

• Who doesn't falter!! But how many accept they falter!! This is the difference that an act like this highlights. Publicly accepting the short fall is the first step in one's efforts to avoiding the same being repeated.
• With this note, the CEO is setting a good example to his team - its oki to say sorry as long as there are genuine attempts to avoid repeats. This is also a public affirmation that the business values its customers.

-es (could've done better)

• Going by my experince, many have had monetary losses of varying magnitude due to Sharekhan's loss of service. Maybe Sharekhan should have explored material ways of compensating - even if it were to be a token act. Maybe a brokerage free day / hour / transaction, or a gift hamper, or a charge free service from the Sharekhan portfolio.
• I would be delighted to see a Tarun Shah follow up mail a few weeks from now enquiring on levels of service. And Sharekhan should try & ensure there is a marked improvement in service during this period.

Have to say though that I am glad I am a Sharekhan customer. And glad to see a services organization raising the bar wrt customer focus in this space.

A lot more Indian services companies need to cover a lot of ground in this area - not because their service is bad, but more so because this segment intends to be world beaters.

-----

Dear Customer,

The last few days took all of us off guard. To make things worse, a lot of you faced issues with our service levels. Some of the issues faced by customers were trading system downtime, customer service cell not responding, fund transfer not happening etc. We don’t want to offer any excuses on why this happened as there can be no justification for the hardship you have undergone.

We apologize for the inconvenience caused to all of you. We will strive to make amendments in all the areas concerned to improve the service delivery to you. We exist because of you- our customers. It’s the confidence that you have placed in us that has resulted in us doing more than 4 lacs transactions per day and adding 45,000 new customers this month. We accept that we were found wanting on service delivery due to the sudden spurt in transactions/queries caused by this fall. We commit to improve upon the same in the days to come.

Warm Regards,

Tarun Shah

CEO

Sharekhan

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Internal Customer Centricity

An internal customer is "anyone you count on or rely upon to complete a task or a function or to provide you with information so that you can get your job done…and anyone who counts on you to complete a task or function or to provide them with information so that they can get their job done.

--Rosenberger, 1998

The best place to start with a customer centricity strategy is in your own backyard. Below is a sampling of some reasons for the above -

• A way to get people to look out beyond the ends of their noses and recognize that they are part of a larger work process
• Can dramatically improve the odds that the process's ultimate output will hit the mark
• Helps bring organizational focus on partnerships as opposed to transactional exchanges
• Internal customers are an integral part of the service delivery system that ultimately effects the external customer.
• Outstanding internal customer service is simply good business. Excellent service to the external customer is dependent upon healthy internal customer service practices.
• By helping other people within your organization, you enable it to succeed. Great internal customer service improves people's morale, productivity, and external customer service, and ultimately makes your organization more financially secure. Giving great service to your internal customers means that people you work with can see, hear, and feel that they are valued. When employees value one another, the result is increased performance, which contributes to the success of the entire organization, and creates a positive and productive working environment.
• While most companies aren’t in the habit of regarding their employees as customers, those seeking to instill a customer-centric culture should rethink their stance. Customer-centricity needs to come from the inside out.
• Customer-centric organizations value and respect internal customers as much as external customers. If you’re not serving a customer, you’re serving someone who is.
• Implementing an internal customer strategy provides a chance for the external customer facing teams to experience first hand great customer service. This also opens their minds to possibilities of implementing the same to external customer interactions.

Sources:

• http://www.qualitydigest.com/oct01/html/value.html


• http://customerservicezone.com/Customer_Service_-_Internal_Customers/


• http://www.donnaearltraining.com/Articles/InternalCustomerService.html


• http://www.amanet.org/LeadersEdge/editorial.cfm?Ed=267

Trusted Customer Relationships

Every once in a while, you come across content that does the job of putting across your point better than you yourself. Since I discovered David Maister's web site, I have been finding a lot of content that I so easily relate to. And I will let his content do the talking.

Following are excerpts about DM's views on building trusted customer
relationships -

• Decide upfront on how you want to be marketing - a series of transactions (one night stands) or a relationship based long term engagement
• DM brings in the comparison of an expert & advisor. Most people want to take charge (& be experts) rather than an advisor. Both works. Both are different. Just do not pretend to be what you are not!

A comparion between transactional & relation based engagement -

• Scaleable, can be codified & disseminated easily across the organization vs Interpersonal skills of relationship building based …are difficult to spread
• Appealing to those who find comfort the rational, logical or analytical vs Few are prepared for the psychological complexities involved
• Thinking of other person as THEM vs US
• You are OPPONENTS vs COLLABORATORS on the same side
• All you are worried about is ..Short term benefits vs Long term benefits
• There is lot of suspicion vs You are building trust
• Goal is to make yourself look attractive vs ..to understand the other party
• Negotiate & bargain vs You give & you are helpful
• Preserve options & avoid obligations vs You make commitments
• Focus on here & now ..present vs Future
• Develop detailed contracts vs Comfy with ambiguous understanding of future reciprocity
• Main goal is to WIN vs PRESERVE RELATIONS..there are lots of benefits in the future
• Style is impersonal & detached vs Personal, engaged & even intimate
• Preparational & rehearsal of what you will say & do vs Adaptable & flexible to responses of other person
• You listen to the other person vs You listen what they are feeling & why they are saying it
• Feeling is tense & animated vs Relaxed & comfy
• Interactive style is defensive & protective ..win the bargain vs Open & inquisitive
• Exaggeration, misrepresentation & even manufactured appearance is common & many times expected …not really lying, but not completely true either vs Complete integration is required ..exaggeration & misrepresentation is absolutely required

Bezos (& Amazon) Put Customers First

(Courtesy iStockphoto)

Its heartening to read articles that highlight customer centricity as a strategy has worked for organizations. They give a feeling of good guys can win too.

Once such recent article, that is being written about a lot, was published in The New York Times about Jeff Bezos & Amazon. A few excerpts from the article -

• The author Joe Nocera wonders - "Maybe, just maybe, taking care of customers is something worth doing when you are trying to create a lasting company. Maybe, in fact, it’s the best way to build a real business — even if it comes at the expense of short-term results."


• In a recent interview with Charlie Rose, the chief executive was asked an open-ended question about how he spent his time, and Mr. Bezos responded with a soliloquy about his “obsession” with customers. “They care about having the lowest prices, having vast selection, so they have choice, and getting the products to customers fast,” he said. “And the reason I’m so obsessed with these drivers of the customer experience is that I believe that the success we have had over the past 12 years has been driven exclusively by that customer experience. We are not great advertisers. So we start with customers, figure out what they want, and figure out how to get it to them.”


• Anybody who has spent any time around Mr. Bezos knows that this is not just some line he throws out for public consumption. It has been the guiding principle behind Amazon since it began. “Jeff has been focused on the customer since Day 1”.


• All of this, however, comes at a price. Indeed, as I’ve written before, customer service isn’t cheap. Certainly, a fair amount of the hundreds of millions of dollars Amazon has spent on R&D has gone toward developing, say, the Kindle, but a good deal of it has also gone toward improving the customer experience.


• There is simply no question that Mr. Bezos’s obsession with his customers — and the long term — has paid off, even if he had to take some hits to the stock price along the way. Surely, it was worth it. Then again, there may be another reason good customer service makes sense. “Jeff used to say that if you did something good for one customer, they would tell 100 customers”.

Cheers to Mr. Bezos, Amazon & the spirit of customer centricity!!!

Customers make it to 2008 trends list

Courtesy: http://www.amgmedia.com/freephotos/

BusinessWeek's 2008 Innovation Prediction lists customers as more powerful than competitors. The reason - disruptive innovation is coming more from places other than the competitive environment.

== Consumer collaboration for innovation
== Listen to the voice of your customers even better ..so that you understand them better
== Customer strategy is the only strategy
== Focus on customer experience

Check the slideshow (http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/12/1214_innovations08/index_01.htm) for the complete list of predictions.