Author: JoAnna Brandi

There seemed to be some bright spots last week and we heard a few sounds on optimism in the news. That's always a good thing. Optimism always lifts the spirit. By now, many companies have settled into a "new normal." Spending has been curtailed for a while, smart leaders are doing everything they can to foster a little creativity and innovation and smart employees are looking to come up with new ways to attract and keep customers. Building customer loyalty should be important to everyone.
 
While I am sure the resounding question in most companies has been "How can we cut costs?" It's a great time to continue to ask the ever important question, "How can we create more value?"

 

And  a great way to look at creating value is to go all the way back to sociology 101 and take a brief look at Maslow's "hierarchy" of human needs to give us some clues of what basic needs are important and when.  Maslow believed that when a person's most important needs are met, they can then stop focusing so intently on them and move up to their next level of needs.

If these needs were stacked in a triangle (kind of like the food pyramid), at the base we'd find what humans need biologically and physiologically just to survive - air, water, food and sleep etc. When those needs are met, we move up the hierarchy to the next set of needs: safety and security. And so it is on up to social needs like acceptance, belonging and love. (As you can see, our need for relationships is pretty basic.) 

Up a level we find esteem needs - the need for self-esteem, the need to be competent and gain approval and recognition. Finally, the fifth state Maslow identified and placed at the top of the pyramid he called self-actualization - where a person finds self-fulfillment and realizes his or her potential. 

Through the years other social scientists have added to Maslow's theories but his simple "Hierarchy of Needs" gives us an excellent framework for identifying customer value needs. I think of them as the 7 "R's" the 7 Root Customer Needs. Perhaps they can help you further understand how customers decide to buy from you and when and where you might add value to their experience. It's a great time to be identifying how your customer is thinking, what they need and want, now, and when they can afford to buy again.

Remember, every customer has an "inner score card." It's the place where they continuously consciously, (and unconsciously) calibrate their experiences with your company. I think of it like a little "checklist" in their head. At every moment of truth they are rating the quality of experience they are having. So let's take a quick look at the categories they could be checking.

In order, beginning with the most basic root customer need and working your way up, customers need for your product or service must be/have:

Right. The most fundamental requirement is that your basic product or service matches your customers' most basic needs, solves their problems and/or fits their application. How well does your product or service fit your customers' requirements? How do you know? Can you customize your product or service to make it more personalized, more customized, more useful? Can you help customers figure out what they really need - thereby helping yourself as well? What else can you to make it "right"?
 
Readiness. Your product or service must be available when customers need it. Time is money in today's world, so readiness to provide services and availability of products are key. Customers want what they want, when and where they want and need it. It's all about how fast can you deliver it, and how fast can you fix it. How many different ways can you offer what you offer? Can you reduce your cycle time to market? How accurately is your inventory tracked, how quickly can your team access that info? Customers like to know if their product is discontinued or out of stock before they place their orders. How ready can you be?

A Relationship between cost and benefits that yields good value. How much is it costing the customer to do biz with you - time, energy, convenience and, yes, aggravation? Do customers perceive that they receive good value? What are they saying about it? Do you have a system for keeping track of what they're saying?

How much of the value you deliver comes from intangibles? A whole lot of value is emotional and you can't mandate your staff to exhibit caring, consideration and kindness. Does leadership realize that this part of value is voluntary? Each individual ultimately decides how much discretionary effort he or she is willing to give. Do you  recognize and reward team members who exhibit consistent discretionary effort? Do you keep them inspired and educated? 
 
Reliable Quality

Quite simply and very naturally, people don't like things or services that don't work right, and they want things done right the first time and every time. What's your guarantee or return policy? Do you have a "Just say NO" policy or a "Just say YES" policy? Do you embrace complaints? In our view, a complaint is a gift, are yours welcomed that way? Are you competing against your own quality standards to improve? How can you be more reliable, dependable, consistent?

Responsive when it comes to service and support

Does everyone have the opportunity to get to know customers? The more "real" a customer becomes, the better you are likely to care for them. How quickly do you respond to customers requests and how willing is everyone to go out of their way for them? Do you monitor service levels? How do you determine how well your team is doing? What kind of regular training goes on in the company as a whole? Studies prove there is a powerful relationship between dollars spent on training and the bottom line return on that investment.

Relevant value-added extras

Today most customers actually expect to get a little something extra - some bells and whistles - especially from companies to which they are loyal. Have you identified the areas in which customers would most appreciate value-adds? Consider increasing information, enthusiasm, creativity, consulting, speed, multiple access, ease, tracking, collaboration, connection, free products or services, prestige.

Recovery systems and processes to correct errors

Recovery is high-level skill at the top of the pyramid that may be used at any time in the hierarchy to bring customers back in the fold of your company.

What is your strategy for recovery when there's a customer problem or crisis? Are people trained in a methodology for responding? Do you plan ahead of time for possible customer obstacles? Do people take ownership and responsibility and solve problems in the moment whenever possible? Are you measuring and tracking problems and solutions and compiling an action file to fix where the process is not working?

Well there you have it - the customer's 7 "Root" needs. We cover it in more depth in our Customer Care Coach weekly leadership training program, but this is a good start to get you thinking this week about the things you can do to create more value for your customers.

Have a great week generating value. Cost cutting is important but it's not the only way to fatten the bottom line.

JoAnna

 

Copyright 2009 by JoAnna Brandi. Used with permission.