Here’s more fuel for the customer-centric sales and marketing fire: The mere sight of a customer can help you do your job better.
Researchers at Harvard Business School set out to see what impact, if any, the sight of customers might have on product and service delivery. In a controlled experiment using a cafeteria setting, Ryan Buell, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School, proved that when the cooks could see their patrons, the food quality got higher ratings.
From the November 2014 Issue of the Harvard Business Review:
The results were pretty compelling: Customer satisfaction with the food shot up 10% when the cooks could see the customers, even though the customers couldn’t see the cooks. In the opposite situation, there was no improvement in satisfaction from the baseline condition in which neither group could see the other. But even more striking, when customers and cooks both could see one another, satisfaction went up 17.3%, and service was 13.2% faster. Transparency between customers and providers seems to really improve service.
The findings – and probable motivators – are great food for thought. It appears that by seeing the customers, the cooks felt more appreciated and more satisfied, and were more willing to exert extra effort. The craftsmanship on the food went up in terms of conscientiousness, taste and timeliness.
Seeing the customers seemed to make the work more meaningful for the cooks. They felt like they were making a difference when they could see the beneficiaries of the food, and see it enjoyed.
So how can those of us in knowledge work, stuck at the home office with little customer interaction, gain from these findings?
Set up a wall dedicated to customers. Put up pictures, put up quotes, put up customer stories. Talk about them and share them. Highlight them in staff meetings.
Your customer stories aren’t just perfect for your external sales and marketing efforts, they can help your whole company improve as well. Make sure your entire team can “see” your customers so they can be inspired and empowered to deliver their best at all times for the real boss – the customer. Keep your customers in sight to serve them better.
Have a great week.
Sign up for The Sunday Snippet!
Good ideas to help you prosper delivered fresh each Sunday morning.