“There is only one boss – the customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down simply by spending his money somewhere else.”
— Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart

Every organisation on earth exists – and hopefully thrives – because of its customers.

Your customers can make your reputation, garner goodwill in your industry and community, stay ahead of your competition and help you grow.

But, they can also destroy your reputation and push you into oblivion.

Put simply, customer is indeed king!

This is why it is so critical to have a customer-centric culture in every organisation. If your firm is not customer-centric enough (for whatever reasons), you risk your business’ stability and even its existence.

So how can you build a customer-centric culture in your organisation from the inside out?

Here are 5 powerful tips!

1: Understand that customer-centricity always starts with your employees

If your employees are not happy, they will not be able to deliver memorable customer experiences that set your company apart. In other words, engaged employees and customer centricity are closely related.

In fact, surveys have shown that companies with engaged employees enjoy 233% more customer loyalty and 26% greater annual increases in revenue.

When your employees are engaged, they are more likely to be loyal. They even become ‘evangelists’ who are happy to promote their company, swap stories with the customers they interact with and work extra hard to keep them satisfied and happy.

2: Don’t just lecture them; inspire them

Lecturing your employees about SOPs, policies and best practices may help them improve their outcomes, but it won’t necessarily make them more customer-centric.

Instead of lecturing them, why not try to inspire them? Share stories about the company, talk about its successes and failures, and ask for their inputs. Ask them for their opinion about the company’s mission and vision. Keep them updated on the latest news and events that affect your company and industry.

When you inform your people about what’s happening with the business, they feel more invested in its results. They will assume greater responsibilities and take on more accountability. Ultimately, when you distribute the right stories through the right platform, you will see an uptick in your employees’ customer-centricity.

3: Give them a voice

Does your company culture follow the ‘employees must be seen and not heard’ philosophy? You are working at cross-purposes with customer-centricity!

Most people don’t like to feel like ‘corporate stooges’ without voices of their own. Give them a voice and a platform to use it, and they will automatically adjust their mindset and actions that promote greater customer-centricity.

There are many ways to give them a voice. Change your policies to encourage honest discussions and debates. Ask them about their experiences and suggestions. Survey them to get their feedback.

Employees who feel heard at work are 4.6 times more likely to feel empowered. This leads to greater loyalty, trust, better performance and ultimately a firm-wide customer-centric culture.

4: Don’t make it all about work

Some of the world’s most successful companies know that providing opportunities for fun at work can lead to more engaged and productive employees. These people enjoy their work and put in a greater effort to please customers.

Gamification of processes, raffles, prizes, picnics, offsite events are all great ways to achieve this. You can always start with something small if you are a small company with a small budget. The point is to engage with employees and show them that you care about them.

5: Be genuine and don’t spam

Sharing information and staying connected with your people is great. Making an effort to engage with them is even better. But don’t overwhelm them!

Figure out what kind of information is necessary and appropriate to share, through which platforms and how often. Make this information accessible whenever your employees choose to opt-in. Don’t make employee engagement activities yet another task on their to-do list. It defeats the entire purpose!

And do set employer-employee boundaries and stick to them!

When employees feel valued and respected, they will automatically work better and impress more customers.

A final word…

The modern workplace is complex and dynamic. The workplace of the future will be even more fast-paced. If you cannot keep up with your customers, you will fall behind in the race. If you want to build a customer-centric organisation, you must start at the grass roots, i.e. with your employees. When you focus on employee engagement, customer-centricity is sure to follow! Cynergi provides marketing and media services to help businesses gain knowledge and skills for growth and progress. Our services include Content Marketing, Social Media Marketing, video creation and corporate gifting. To know more, contact us today.