Written by Andrea Belk Olsen, MSC and CEO of Pragmadik.
The coronavirus has transformed our world virtually overnight. Companies have had to change on a dime how they operate and communicate. While this is an incredibly serious situation, it's an opportunity for businesses to re-evaluate their approach to managing change going forward.
Written by Andrea Belk Olsen, MSC and CEO of Pragmadik
https://www.linkedin.com/in/olsonandrea1/
We use abbreviations all the time. CRM, SOW, CPA, etc. While this shorthand often makes it easier to communicate internally between co-workers, it often is confusing for customers. Companies inadvertently start to create their own language with these acronyms and even put them within their marketing materials, proposals, and other communications. Yet the problem is that this frequently minimizes communication effectiveness, creates confusion, and even worse, causes customer frustration.
Written by Andrea Belk Olsen, MSC and CEO of Pragmadik
https://www.linkedin.com/in/olsonandrea1/
Most "predictive rundown" articles that kick off at the beginning of the year focus on big technologies, major disruptions, or massive breakthroughs that will upend your market. While these possibilities may manifest at some point, there's something to be said for going back to the basics. They say, "what got you here, might not get you there", that doesn't mean as an organization you toss out the good with the bad. More importantly, you don't lose sight of the practical essentials that make a business successful - customers.
Written by Andrea Belk Olsen, MSC and CEO of Pragmadik
https://www.linkedin.com/in/olsonandrea1/
We often over simplify what we believe a customer’s need is, often due to the fact that many organizations view customer needs through an internal lens.
“Because we sell widgets, our customer must need widgets. Our customers must want them to perform reliably, have them delivered on time, and at least meet a minimum quality standard.”
Written by Andrea Belk Olsen, MSC and CEO of Pragmadik
https://www.linkedin.com/in/olsonandrea1/
It's not about you. Truly, no matter what business you are in, it's not about you.
Too many organizations unintentionally support internal cultures that focus on the company, not the customer.
For example, have you ever heard your team being negative about customers, saying that they "don't get it"? Or about a competitor, stating they are "less than" your organization? What both of these things have in common is that they aren't focused on understanding and serving the customer. If your customer "doesn't get it", that's on you. If your competition is "less than", is that your perspective or your customers?
Written by Andrea Belk Olsen, MSC and CEO of Pragmadik
https://www.linkedin.com/in/olsonandrea1/
While many companies have a set of established “organizational values”, they often fall short of effectively shaping a set of behaviors that drive customer-centricity.
Traditional organizational values are usually broad, covering general principles including things like:
Written by Andrea Belk Olson, MSC and CEO of Pragmadik
https://www.linkedin.com/in/olsonandrea1/
As successful business leaders, we feel we have a handle on what our customers want. Leveraging anecdotal feedback from the sales force, formal studies by the marketing team, data capture from customer service, and overall competitive research, there's a strong level of confidence of what customers are needing and how we can serve them.
Or are we secretly in the dark?
Written by Andrea Olson, MSC and CEO of Prag’madik
We all know change is inevitable. There's also been a lot of talk, especially in the manufacturing sector, about impending disruptions, or creating disruption to transform the industry. No one wants to be disrupted, or caught off guard when something new comes along and upends your business. You can't predict the future, but you can protect your organization from disruption through change.
What do we mean by change? Change doesn't have to be massive. Change can be small. Incremental. Change is the basis for which every successful business operates. Finding new ways to do things simpler, faster, and easier. Identifying and acting upon new customer and market needs. Modernizing the way you do business. Staying open to new ideas.
