Author: Shep Hyken

Have you ever noticed that as an organization gets larger, there is a tendency for it to focus more and more on overhead and profit, and less and less on customer acquisition, and even less on customer retention?  Steve Digioia, my friend and customer service colleague, asked me the natural follow-up question to this one, “What are the causes othis change and how can you keep this from happening?”

My first response was that yes, this indeed sometimes happens. But that company will eventually realize that it needs to get back to focusing on its customers. Before that can even happen, however, it will discover that it will first need to play catch up, to replace the customers who have defected and to make up for lost sales. This is the exact opposite of what the company had initially intended to achieve.

But sometimes a reversal in policy is made on purpose. Leadership may deliberately decide to change their mindset – and even their company culture – from being customer-focused to bottom line-focused. Sure, this may result in putting up some good numbers on paper in the short run and put some money in the form of quarterly bonuses in the pockets of the managers, but in the long run, it will be a huge mistake.

So how does a company prevent this all-to-typical shift from occurring? First and foremost, if the company leaders have a customer-focused vision in place, before every move they undertake, they should ask themselves this question, “Will this action be in keeping with our vision?” Assuming the answer is yes, then the focus needs to be placed on the employees.

Keep focusing on your people. Constant reinforcement of the importance of servicing the customer is the key to sustaining the culture.

For those who are interested in staying focused on the customer, it is more important than ever to start by hiring the right people, those who fit into your customer-focused culture. On-going training of these people is also key. And, as the company grows, it is important for leadership to constantly stay aware to see if any part of the company (departments within the company, people within the company, etc.) is becoming culturally misaligned.

Amazon.com presents a great positive example of growth while avoiding misalignment. As the company expanded and added different areas to their business, they always put the customer first. The first question company leaders always asked before rolling out a new program was, “Is this right for the customer?” The second question they asked was, “Will it be right for Amazon?

Remember what Dr. Ted Levitt of the Harvard Business School said: “The function of a business is to get and keep customers.” The goal of a business is to make money. But if you don’t focus on the function, you might not reach your goal.

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, keynote speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact or www.hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go towww.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

I could start this article with a list of the “Top Ten Ways to Deliver Great Customer Service.” Many of my articles begin in a similar way. But I am going to make this one much simpler. I’m not going to present ten ideas here, but simply one word.

And, that word is… alignment.

Perhaps the most important way to improve the service you deliver to your customers is to make sure that everyone in your organization is in alignment with the customer service and/or the customer experience vision. While the concept is just one word, there are several steps necessary to take to achieve that alignment.

The first step is to define your vision in simple and memorable terms.

In a previous article, I discuss the concept of creating your customer service mantra, which is my fancy way of describing a customer service vision statement. Before you can achieve alignment, you must give everyone in the organization something to align with. I prefer a vision statement or mantra that is short and to the point. So, if you don’t already have a vision for everyone to align with, get one!

After you craft a customer service vision statement – or mantra, as I like to call it – the next step is to show everyone in the organization how they are impacted by that vision. And, I mean everyone!  Begin with a basic customer journey map that shows all of the typical interactions – or touchpoints – that your customers have when they come into contact with your business. You may find that you will need more than one map to adequately describe this journey, since many different journeys may exist.  For instance, a customer’s sales journey may be different from a customer service or support journey. Further, the interactions a customer has on your company’s website will be different than interactions over the phone or in person.

A second part of the journey map exercise may be needed to show underneath each touchpoint how different departments and roles within those departments impact those touchpoints. If the journey maps are done correctly, you will eventually be able to show how each and every department – in other words, ultimately every employee – impacts the customer’s experience.

I’m surprised by the number of organizations who haven’t even yet created a single customer journey map, let alone multiple ones. However, this is an essential step before you can even think about getting your employees into alignment.

By getting everyone in the organization to know and understand your customer service vision, and showing them on journey maps how everyone, even as individuals, impacts the customer’s experience, you can begin to train the entire organization to your vision. Like many things in life, this process may be simple in concept, but is not always easy to do.

For this process to work, you must have an effective communication strategy for the vision. It can begin with an announcement. The mantra should be positioned as not only a vision, but also as an expectation that everyone must keep in the forefronts of their minds, regardless of their roles and responsibilities in the organization.

And just announcing and communicating the vision is not enough. Each and every employee must be properly trained. The vision must also constantly be reinforced by the leaders of the organization. The vision must be obvious and almost overt. For employees to be in alignment, they must know it, understand it, and be able to execute it.

Delivering great customer service isn’t just for the customer service department or the front line. It’s everyone’s job. So, if there is one thing that will make a difference in the way you service your customers, it is to get everyone in the organization in alignment with your customer service mantra.

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, keynote speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact or www.hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

Leaders can be found everywhere when it comes to providing outstanding customer service; everyone can be a leader. What do we mean by ‘leader’? As the leader, you simply do the right thing. Why? Because you know it’s the right thing to do! Others will then notice and admire you, and you’ll find that they may even want to emulate you. With that in mind, the two stories I’m about to share aren’t really as much about customer service (although they could be) as they are about demonstrating the characteristics and traits that can make you a leader. Both examples come from the sporting world, one involves a famous athlete, the other a not-so-famous non-athlete.

Consider the first example. I was recently a guest at a customer appreciation event for long-time season ticket holders of the St. Louis Blues hockey organization. The event was held at a beautiful venue graced with granite floors and amazing artwork. And, of course, there was plenty for us guests to eat and drink. As I entered the venue, I noticed my former salesperson, Kevin Parker, who was recently promoted to a management position. Now, Kevin has always impressed me, because he consistently demonstrates the qualities of a leader. After a quick hello and conversation with Kevin, lured by the delicious aromas, I sauntered over to check out the food line. But, just before I was able to get to the line, whoops, I slipped on a wet spot on the floor!  I found out in a hurry that water and fancy granite floors just don’t seem to mix. I didn’t fall; I lost my balance just for a moment.

Two servers from the venue were standing near where I slipped. The servers nodded and smiled at me. I smiled back, to reassure them that I was indeed okay. What did they do next? Nothing! I thought one of the servers might dash over, grab one of the many napkins on the buffet table and make that wet spot on the floor instantly vanish, but neither of them did. So I began to walk over to the buffet table to grab a bunch of napkins to simply do it myself. However, I noticed that someone else had already beat me to it. Who? None other than Kevin, my former salesperson.  Before I could take a solid step, he had already grabbed a napkin off another table and was bent over, soaking up the water from the floor so that somebody else might be spared a fate even worse than mine.

As you can imagine, wiping up the floor wasn’t a big deal, but neither was it part of Kevin’s job description, it was simply the right thing to do. So he did it. That’s why he’s making moves in the organization. Kevin is a leader because he inherently knows what is right, and even more importantly, he acts on it.

The second example involves Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys. You may know Dak as the rookie quarterback who recently led his team to the NFL playoffs. In an earlier, regular season game, he missed a throw that caught the attention of millions. He won the game anyway, but this particular throw wasn’t even on the field. This throw was on the sidelines. Dak tossed an empty cup toward a trash can . . . and he missed. What did he do next? Like Kevin Parker, Dak Prescott took action. He went over and picked up the trash and put it in the can.

You may ask, so what’s the big deal? Well, if you watch many of the other big-time players, after drinking from paper cups, rather than throw them in a trash can, they simply thoughtlessly toss them on the ground. Someone else who may be making millions of dollars less than they are, one of the trainers, is then required to pick up after them. But not Dak Prescott. Dak does the right thing. This has led some both inside and outside of the Cowboys organization to conclude that this guy is not only a great athlete on the field, but also is a great person off the field, who also possesses the characteristics and traits of a leader.

ESPN.com senior writer, Arash Markazi, caught Dak’s errant throw to the trash can and posted the video on Twitter with the message:

Hundreds of tweets about Dak’s trash include comments like this:

Yes, wiping up a spill or picking up trash may seem like such little things, but they can be metaphors for qualities much bigger than either act. Leaders know that the little things matter. They don’t even think before taking care of them. And they don’t even care if anyone is watching what they do. They just do what’s right. That’s what Kevin Parker and Dak Prescott did. That’s what you’ll find true leaders do. And, that’s what you’ll find true customer service leaders do, too!

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, keynote speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact or www.hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken