Greg Kihlström advises on CX and Digital Transformation at GK5A, hosts The Agile Brand Podcast, and is a best-selling author.
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Business leaders today struggle with many competing priorities. The needs of customers who demand more personalized experiences must be balanced with the needs of employees who are demanding a better work experience.
While this dynamic presents some clear challenges, there is also an opportunity to tie the two together to create a win-win situation for both customers and employees. This situation creates a third “win” for leaders and the business itself when happier, more engaged employees help to create happier and more loyal customers.
Let’s explore how this can work and how you can apply this in your leadership approach.
What Do We Mean By Customer-First?
Let’s start by defining what exactly a customer-first approach is and how to approach creating one. As you might guess, it is an approach in which the needs of the customer are taken into primary consideration with the belief that what is right for the customer will translate into what is best for the company in the long term.
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At first glance, you would be hard-pressed to find a brand or executive that says they do not agree with this philosophy. However, when it comes time to make the necessary decisions, investments and prioritizations, some organizations clearly practice what they preach, and others stay beholden to short-term, reactionary decisions.
Brands that are truly customer-first put their resources into building customer relationships, sometimes at the expense of short-term gains, but always with the understanding that investment in improving the customer experience is a strategic one. Coincidentally enough, in almost all cases, the category leaders in most areas are defined by a distinct customer experience and by having loyal consumer relationships.
Customer-first then means that when decisions need to be made, resources need to be allocated to initiatives, or strategies need to be weighed, it is the relationship with customers and their primary considerations that must be a primary consideration for the business. While it is certainly not the only consideration, it is also not an afterthought that only follows considerations of profits, shareholder value or other important factors.
What Is Employee-Driven?
Now let’s explore what we mean by “employee-driven” and how to achieve it. While we are giving customers our first consideration in this scenario, we are empowering our employees to drive the change and make meaningful contributions toward that customer-first approach. This means that our team members aren’t just told by leaders and managers that customers are important. Instead, those leaders and managers rely on employees for ideas, insights and actions that drive a customer-first approach.
What defines an employee-driven organization? First, there is transparency where employees are keyed into goals and objectives instead of being treated as order-takers. Second, the employees are made a key part of solving challenges and achieving those goals and objectives that are shared with them. Finally, because of the trust, transparency and autonomy given to employees, they are motivated in their work and innovative in their approaches, pushing beyond the status quo for both better customer results as well as results for the business itself.
Employees who are given the freedom and autonomy to solve customer problems or suggest better ways of achieving greater results are going to be happier and more productive and feel more purpose in their work. This is critical when so many companies are suffering low motivation and high turnover.
How They Work Together
When you are able to achieve both customer-first and employee-driven approaches and tie them together, the real magic starts to happen. As I’ve said before to my consulting clients, when customer experience is done well, it is both the motivation for employees to do great work, and customer satisfaction and loyalty is the reward for a job well done. Sure enough, the customer benefits from this greatly, as do other stakeholders.
A customer-first, employee-driven organization benefits from several important factors. First, happier employees create happier customers who buy more, buy more often and refer others. Second, motivated employees are more likely to innovate in their approaches and anticipate customers’ needs. Finally, the discretionary effort, or that “above and beyond” mentality that a great employee is willing to give, translates into customers that become loyal to a brand and can ultimately be brand ambassadors themselves.
Taking this customer-first, employee-driven approach ensures that these two important factors are integrated into your business.
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Author: Greg Kihlstrom, Forbes Councils Member
