Business organizations were previously designed based on the Managing Director or CEO and then, like a pyramid, the company was showing up to its last level, which often corresponded to the salesperson or the employee who faced the customer. This navel-gazing approach ended when Peter Drucker in the 70s of the 20th century began to insist that the customer is the true business center and its only reason for being.
Today, more than 50 years after his revolutionary phrase: the objective and nature of a business is create clients, there are many organizations that continue to set their schedules, delivery processes, logistics and even their new product designs. without asking the client.
The worst thing about this is that, in addition to being turning away from what the client really wants and demands, communicates a message within the organization with terrible consequences for its survival: Here the last person asked is the client. Which explains without a doubt how there is still so much abuse in the service, at a time when customers have the power with a simple video recorded from their mobile phone that suddenly breaks all records on YouTube.
A customer-centric business structure
Focus “client-centric” Drucker's view should invert the organization in such a way that, instead of being presented as a pyramid, it shows a company where the most important thing is what is outside of it: the customer; Then, there should be all those collaborators who face the client and, at the bottom, the staff, support and advisory areas should appear and, finally, the CEO who, like an Atlas, should be supporting his advisors and managers a customer-oriented structure.
This is one of the most important concepts that every master's student, executive and those who at some point intend to be managers or advisors must internalize from the beginning of their professional career; Unfortunately, this does not always happen, giving rise to forgetfulness or relegation of the client in the most important decisions of companies.
But what can an executive do about it?
Well, a lot, also knowing that everything you do will increase your employability and ensure respect before the shareholders or owners of the business. Here some recommendations:
- be sure that Always talk to the people who face customers; Information from the front-desk, sales and complaints areas (if they exist) are very valuable sources of information.
- Encourage your subordinates to tell you about mistakes that they have had with clients; That will tell you where there are processes to improve. People should not be afraid to make mistakes and share complaints. The terrible thing would be not to know.
- Plant a culture of permanent probing towards the client. Promote surveys, conversations, calls, focus, zoom interactions and above all forget the suggestion boxes that are always full of cobwebs. Get closer to the client.
- Promote that everyone in the organization has a customer and treats them as such; It cannot be that the accounting, financial, and human resources areas believe that they exist per se. NO, all these areas have internal clients to attend to, who should permanently evaluate them as if they were external clients and in a demanding manner.
- Finally, always walk around areas where customers are, ask friends who are, or make friends with repeat customers, this will ensure you have information before it becomes a complaint. Remember the restaurant owner who talks to his diners, the chef who asks how his food came out, and the tycoon who was always behind the counter.
Only an organization dedicated entirely to the customer, where the financier walks through the delivery area, the marketing manager sometimes attends to an order or the systems manager is behind a window from time to time, is the one that can survive in a world of so much competition and where, fortunately, as Drucker said, the customer They can always say NO and leave because of your terrible service.
