The Number One Business Mistake – by Chris Bell

I am often asked what the one thing is that’s holding business back from developing and capitalising on a consistently delivered quality customer experience.

My answer is that there is rarely one thing but if I was pushed to think of just one it would be our lack of understanding regarding this – “Your people support what they create.”

The number one reason you and I are not having more great customer experiences is the lack of support for strategies aimed at improving customer service by the people within an organisation. The number one reason for that lack of buy- in is the fact that there has been little or no involvement by the people responsible for delivering the experience.

Every year significant amounts of resource are wasted on customer service training workshops and other initiatives in an effort to improve the service experience within an organisation with very little long-term return.

The result is business is becoming frustrated with the lack of pay- back on their investment and customer loyalty continues to decline along with the reluctance to recommend a business to others.

The fact is that front-line people know what they need to deliver by way of service and experience; they are listening to customer feedback but have little input into processes and systems and the development of the culture that is required to deliver quality service experiences, the key is involvement and involvement leads to engagement and greater commitment.

There are two significant actions business can take to grow in 2012. One is to gain the knowledge and expertise to develop a unique customer experience for their business and two- ensure they involve their people in the process.

When business understands that everyone within the organisation has a role in the eventual experience customers receive, not just those with the responsibility of delivery, a number of key things happen that create a more customer focused culture including increased productivity and a flow of creative ideas that add value and keep the experience fresh.

This approach of total involvement plays a major part in breaking down siloed cultures commonly found within many businesses, especially larger organisations and local and central government departments.





Developing a customer experience strategy that focuses on “enriching the experience of those delivering the experience” will play a major role in increasing employee engagement and productivity, two areas holding business growth and profitability back in this country.


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Chris Bell is the Managing Director of Customer Experiences a business committed to building successful businesses through the development of high quality customer experiences and co-founder of cemNZ www.customerexperiences.co.nz chris@customerexperiences.co.nz www.customerexperiences.co.nz 027 2792360