Who Is Most Important?
Are you a customer-centric business?
Do you put customers first?
Are your team more important than your customers?
In an increasingly competitive world, every business seems to be looking for “the edge”: the elusive ‘silver bullet’ and ‘magic elixir’ that will catapult them forward and attract customers. The demand for such an elusive solution has spawned a plethora of businesses that are reminiscent of the medicine men of wild western days in outback America. Two messages dominate.
“Be customer centric. Make the customer the most important person in the business. Build everything around the customer and do all you can to satisfy their every need and you will succeed!”
“Be employee centric. Treat them the way you want them to treat the customer. Equip, enable and empower them to give the customer the experience they want and you will succeed!”
It is easy to argue these are semantics and you have to do both. The reality is very different in my experience. They both work and both have their success stories.
Jeff Bezos of Amazon is renowned for his “customer-first obsession”. All systems and structures are designed to delight the customer. Richard Branson is oft quoted as saying “Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.” Both are successful and it is easy to see why two ‘camps’ of outlook and approach have formed over the years. Across businesses and industries, I have found that, over the long haul, it is businesses that put employees first who are both happier day to day as well as successful.
In good times, as businesses grow and look for people to aid the growth, the difference is hard to see. It is in the hard times that the difference really shows. ‘Employee first’ businesses tend to have a higher degree of loyalty, better internal communication, and people who want to make a solution work rather than just do what they need to to keep their job. Covid has tested many teams and those who look out for each other, support and encourage each other, grow stronger and hold and attract quality employees.
Does the culture you have created show your team how valuable they are to your organisation? Take some time this week and look at how you and your team leaders treat each other and team members. If that was a direct reflection of how clients are treated, would you be delighted? If not, what action do you need to take?
Here’s to your success!
