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var v8a7c9fef20f3f9fd012111e03f3d3430_details = {"v8a7c9fef2a66eb9c012ad4dd4ce16f5d":{"hiddenOpening":"<div id='zw_details_8a7c9fef2a66eb9c012ad4dd4ce16f5d' style='display:none'>","hiddenClosing":"<\/div>","visibleOpening":"<div id='zw_details_8a7c9fef2a66eb9c012ad4dd4ce16f5d'>","visibleClosing":"<\/div>","contents":"<div style='padding-top:3px;' align='left' id='full_0'><table id='zwNextPrev' width='100%'><tr><td style='text-align: left;' align='left'>&lt;&lt; Previous Article&nbsp;|&nbsp;Next Article &gt;&gt;<\/td><td style='text-align: right;' align='right'><a style='cursor:pointer' onclick='zwShowTitles(\"8a7c9fef20f3f9fd012111e03f3d3430\");zift_pc--;return false;'>Return to List<\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/table><div id='zwInlineTitle' style='text-align:left;height:auto'><a href='http://docs.google.com/a/ziftsolutions.com/viewer?a=v&amp;pid=gmail&amp;attid=0.1&amp;thid=12ad478a8244c60f&amp;mt=application/msword&amp;url=http://mail.google.com/a/ziftsolutions.com/?ui%3D2&amp;ik%3De130d5e6ec&amp;view%3Datt&amp;th%3D12ad478a8244c60f&amp;attid%3D0.1&amp;disp%3Dattd&amp;zw&amp;sig=AHIEtbRqtbI1kUMqeVG9MgeZF3lMePsMYg' onclick='zTrkClick(this, &#039;8a7c9fef20f3f9fd012111e03f3d3430&#039;,&#039;8a7c9fef2a66eb9c012ad4dd4ce16f5d&#039;,&#039;402881e71da6b5e8011da6b634a70028&#039;,&#039;http&#037;3A&#037;2F&#037;2Fdocs.google.com&#037;2Fa&#037;2Fziftsolutions.com&#037;2Fviewer&#037;3Fa&#037;3Dv&#037;26pid&#037;3Dgmail&#037;26attid&#037;3D0.1&#037;26thid&#037;3D12ad478a8244c60f&#037;26mt&#037;3Dapplication&#037;2Fmsword&#037;26url&#037;3Dhttp&#037;3A&#037;2F&#037;2Fmail.google.com&#037;2Fa&#037;2Fziftsolutions.com&#037;2F&#037;3Fui&#037;253D2&#037;2526ik&#037;253De130d5e6ec&#037;2526view&#037;253Datt&#037;2526th&#037;253D12ad478a8244c60f&#037;2526attid&#037;253D0.1&#037;2526disp&#037;253Dattd&#037;2526zw&#037;26sig&#037;3DAHIEtbRqtbI1kUMqeVG9MgeZF3lMePsMYg&#039;);' target='_blank' >Staying in Touch with Your Customers<\/a><span class='zwClear'><\/span><\/div><div class='zwContentExtra' id='extra_0'><\/div><div class='zwContentText'><span class='zwInline'><p>&quot;We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It&#039;s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better,&quot; said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO for Amazon.com, a company known for its customer-centric philosophies.<\/p> <p>Are your leaders in touch with your customers? Most companies claim to be customer-centric. In truth, most businesses are not as customer-centric as they think.<\/p> <p>True customer engagement starts with leadership. Yet, senior executives often get distracted by the grinds of running the business - operations, financials, strategy and other day-to-day activities.<\/p> <p>To remain competitive, business leaders must keep their fingers on the pulse of the entire customer experience, from beginning to end. Executives can unintentionally (and quickly) find themselves out of touch with the realities of the customer experience being created by their company on a daily basis.<\/p> <p><span style=\"color: rgb(204, 51, 51);\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><strong>No Substitute for Direct Engagement<\/strong><\/span><\/span><br/> Leaders often depend on customer surveys, market research and anecdotal evidence of how customers perceive their company. While this information is valuable, nothing takes the place of real, live, regular and direct engagement with a cross sampling of your customer base.<\/p> <p>This level of engagement will not only help you gain valuable insights into the issues and challenges faced by your customers each day, but it will also help you begin to understand your customers&#039; perceptions of your company as a whole.<\/p> <p>Customer feelings and emotions are difficult to extract from surveys and research, but they can easily be learned from sincere one-on-one dialogue. Ask yourself how often you talk and meet with customers in venues that generate honest and open discussion about how customers feel about your product, service, value proposition, employees and company overall.<\/p> <p><span style=\"color: rgb(204, 51, 51);\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><strong>Customers at the Forefront<\/strong><\/span><\/span><br/> It is not necessary to create a complex program or process. You might simply require that all key leaders meet regularly with randomly selected customers, and report back on what they learned. The goal of such a program is not to create a litany of action items. Rather, leaders should be exposed to your customers&#039; real issues, as well as sensitized to how the decisions they make will impact customers.<\/p> <p>Be careful that executives do not try to extrapolate trends from just a few customer interactions; that&#039;s what quantitative research is for. Simply let your leaders build customer relationships one-on-one, knowing that each customer could have a unique point of view or concern.<\/p> <p>To be a truly customer-centric company, you must put customers first in all decision making. As your business leaders make a habit of regular customer visits, they can more effectively keep the customers&#039; interests, passions and concerns at the forefront.<\/p> <p>It is important to remember, however, that customer-centricity is not just for senior leaders. Keeping customers top-of-mind in all decision-making should be ingrained into your company culture.<\/p> <p><span style=\"color: rgb(204, 51, 51);\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><strong>The Good, Bad and Ugly<\/strong><\/span><\/span><br/> Putting yourself and your leadership team in the shoes of your customers is really a simple concept. Just keep asking one basic question: As a customer, how would I like to be treated?<\/p> <p>Put yourself out there, and be prepared to hear the good, the bad and the ugly. The bad and the ugly often contain the &quot;golden nuggets&quot; needed to improve a company&#039;s competitiveness in the marketplace.<\/p> <p>Leon Leonwood Bean, founder of L.L. Bean, another company known for its dedication to customer service and satisfaction, said, &quot;A customer is not an interruption of our work&hellip;he is the purpose of it.&quot;<\/p> <p>I urge you to get closer to your customers. You will be glad you did.<\/p><\/span><\/div><table id='zwNextPrev' width='100%'><tr><td style='text-align: left;' align='left'>&lt;&lt; Previous Article&nbsp;|&nbsp;Next Article &gt;&gt;<\/td><td style='text-align: right;' align='right'><a style='cursor:pointer' onclick='zwShowTitles(\"8a7c9fef20f3f9fd012111e03f3d3430\");zift_pc--;return false;'>Return to List<\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/table><\/div>"}};
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