It’s no revelation when one hears many an industry leaders pronounce they will be putting their money in innovation. The real revelation probably could be why such investments are not delivering returns. Conventional ethos of most organizations has a nursery that not only provides a below par environment for customer-centric innovation, but also totally dampen innovative thinking. One thing we often come across at super markets, shopping malls, conferences and seminars is how customers are not concerned about the company but are more concerned about the product they wish to buy. Customers don’t go about their daily lives with labels on their minds, irrespective of how great the company is. Customers interact and engage with a particular brand only when it is suitable for them, based on capabilities the product allows them to do and the emotional satisfaction they get from engaging.
But countless companies confuse themselves over the idea of innovation with the product in spotlight. What could be the USP when all are selling identical products?
Amazon delivers same books that are available in our neighborhood bookstore. For Amazon their products are commodities, but they have innovated to create unforgettable impression on customer mind. Amazon with their innovation for delivering cheerful experiences has turned the market to its advantage and today the pure online portal with fiscal revenue of over $75 billion is all set to be among the top 10 global retailers. Amazon’s success stems from the way it caters to customers’ ever evolving needs and expectations.
Also Read: The Seven Essentials of Successful Business Innovation
The success of Amazon made the top boss of Wal-Mart instruct his top executives to examine minutely as to what is that makes Amazon the top online retailer and Wal-Mart’s online division the distant No.2 with just over $10 billion revenue. Wal-Mart market intelligence team came out with an eye opener report detailing the short comings. Innovations built around customers will not succeed if one department is not precisely briefed about what another department is doing to serve the customers. In fact, it could prove detrimental because staff working in brick and mortar store will feel threatened that success of online portal will hurt them as customers would avoid visiting physical stores and thereby affect their turnover based incentives. Encouraging transparency and open communication needs to be part of a customer-centric innovation strategy in order for it to be unbeatable. If everyone of the employee doesn’t feel engaged with the customer, that’s a problem in waiting.
Human beings tend to pull together with other humans who are most like them. Leaders of large diverse organizations tend to enfold themselves with like-minded people, that buttress conventional approaches but then the downside is that the sparks that ignite innovation simply will not detonate, rather it will become an albatross for the company that is striving for innovation.
We are aware that real life is always changing to suit current needs and adapt to the environment, so why must the customer experience be stagnant and comatose? The customer experience should be dynamic. We often see and read executives advice youngsters don’t try to be smart with untested ideas, even seniors got fired for espousing bad ideas. It is pearls of wisdom like these set the stage for an environment where no new ideas would ever be brought forward. Innovation gets killed swiftly at that very moment. The problem is when decision-makers are unwilling to take risks and have tolerance for a few mistakes in the process. Innovation at times can be messy and entail some risk. If everyone in the organization feels like their job may be on the line of fire for these types of errors, innovation will be sluggish.
Any avid observer of consumer centric news in social media routinely would have come across about someone’s grievance as a customer at a bank and most of the time, it would be due to a branch employee or group of employees. Inaccurate billing of POS transactions, confusing customer service number for ATM related issues, are among a few other things which are frequent causes for customer complaints.
Organizations need to receive feedback in a constructive way to make course correction so as to enhance better offerings to the customer. Not receiving honest feedback from line staff can put company at the mercy of a bunch of sycophants who only tell their bosses what they believe will please the boss not the real feedback that will benefit company or customers. Employees at times lack in confidence about reaction of the top management maintain silence and therefore, disengaged. When organizations provide anonymous ways for employees to offer suggestions and ask questions it is seen to receive frank and constructive feedback. Organizations need to keep the employees informed about the goals and achievements shared. This has to be done frequently and repeatedly. Attributing an individual employee’s tiny role even to the smallest improvement, will give employees more and more confidence about the course the company is heading for. Employee engagement will play a crucial role in creating customer experience.
Finally, connect with customers. Engaging with customers will help employees truly understand what is desired in market. Costco, Kroger, Home Depot, Target and Wal-Mart all have similar offerings, but Wal-Mart continues to innovate in both what they have to offer and how they serve it to their customers. Customers notice the difference. Today customers make their choices based on what suits their needs and lifestyles.
Time and time again, companies suddenly decide to start focusing on innovation when they realize they have fallen behind, and by then it’s often way too late. It’s time to look at the world around you objectively and with confidence. Be your own Customer Experience Investigator and face the facts. Everyone has too much on their plates these days. Nobody loves your brand enough to stay with you when someone else is offering an experience that makes more sense.
Have you destroyed your most vital customer-centric innovation before it even had a chance to be considered? Make it your mission to think about ways to keep employees engaged. Employee retention is directly related to customer retention and everyone wins! With plethora of alternatives available to the customer, innovation becomes an all-important arsenal for company in facing competition. Employee engagement could be the vital customer centric innovation.
