Institutionalize A Customer Focus

Introduction:

Because the new management model is customer driven, there's no time like the present to put the customer behind the wheel. Unfortunately, it is not as easy as slipping the customer into the driver's seat and handing over the keys.

INSTITUTIONALIZING:

Institutionalizing a customer focus requires getting close to customers, then acting on what they tell you. Many of the steps that make this possible will be taken again and again throughout all phases of the transition.

Action plan for institutionalizing a customer focus:

Goal                   Establish listening posts

Participants     All employees, primarily those in marketing, sales, and customer service.

Steps                  •   Identify all possible sources of information about present and

potential customers.

• Formalize processes for gathering information from these sources.
• Assess the tools used to determine customer satisfaction and to improve the quality of information gathered, timeliness, usefulness, and so on.

Goal                   Aggregate and analyze customer information

Participants     Senior managers, planning process participants, members of marketing, sales, and customer service.

Steps                 •   Formalize a process for aggregating customer information from

various listening posts.

•   Formalize processes for communicating to appropriate

'"   units/individuals information that needs immediate attention.

• Formalize processes for analyzing the aggregated information.
• Formalize processes for communicating this information to appropriate units/individuals.

Goal                   Use customer requirements to drive internal processes

Participants     All employees.

Steps                 •   Determine links between customer satisfiers and internal processes

and measures.

•   Focus on these key processes and measures in Phase 4.