I had to call the bank yesterday. I am sure you have been through the drill. The auto attendant asks you to input you account number, last four digits of your social security number and some other bits and pieces of identity info and then you get the menu. Of course that menu rarely tells you how to get a live person on the phone so you have to try a few things like saying “representative”, pushing zero or hash. Finally you get the right combo and someone comes to the phone. What’s the first thing they ask? What’s your account number! Isn’t that were we started this circus?
This is a classic example of a non-customer centric process. It is not built for the customer but rather for the vendor, in this case the bank. Had that process been customer centric when I finally got to a representative the first thing out of their mouth should have been hello Mr. Walker how can I help you today. I have already told them who I am and verified that for them…THEY SHOULD KNOW.
Problem is that same scenario is repeated time and again in all sorts of companies. Marketing develops a lead and shoots it to sales without the proper details and the sales person calls the customer and starts at the beginning. Sales closes a deal and the implementation process starts by hashing over a lot of the same information that was discovered in the buying process. A call is escalated and the new technician starts right over at the beginning. You get the idea and it is happening in most companies right now.
A customer centric process is built around the way the customer buys or interacts. Information is shared seamlessly across all areas of an organization and common language and metrics are used. In this sort of process a company aligns the processes with the buyer. As the buyer interacts with various parts of an organization they encounter consistency which in turn builds and reinforces credibility.
The end result is the buyers like the relationship with your brand, trust your brand and buy more. Isn’t that what we all want?