Category: When Customers Rule!

Creating Customer Value

Chanced upon this article on 1000Ventures. Some take aways –

  • “Being good enough, is not good enough – give customers a reason to be faithful.” – Graham Roberts-Phelps
  • The Tao of customer value creation — YIN (passive, accepting side) ETDBW (easy to do business with) ..looking at your business from the customers’ point of view, understanding customer perceptions and making it easy for your customers to do business with you. YANG (active, aggressive side) MVA (more value-added) …giving your customer more than you ever have before and more than they expect from you.
  • “The man who will use his skill and constructive imagination to see how much he can give for a dollar, instead of how little he can give for a dollar, is bound to succeed.” – Henry Ford

Source: http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/customer_value_creation.html

Example of a customer champion

A perfect example of the saying – anyone can make a difference!

The story of an individual who went out of his way to create memorable customer experinces. A walking talking marketing machine for United Airlines. Imagine the effect if even 5% of United’s personnel adopt such an attitude – god save the competition.

Lessons from this story –

  • What Capt. Flanagan is doing is not a result of any corporate customer centricity initiative. This is in fact a result of his own initiative. Similary, anyone – just about anyone anywhere in the hierarchy / value chain can make a difference. Recruit individuals with the right mental make up …that has the potential to generate such initiatives.

  • Capt. Flanagan did things that were valued by the customers …examples like what he does for unaccompanied childeren, confirming of baggage on connecting flights, etc. Value is customer defined.

  • Its good to see United backing up this individual’s modus operandi. Every small initiative / gesture / acts should be glorified by the organization if it has see more of this. Spot such positive actions & glorify them to the hilt.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118826634834410559.html?mod=The+Middle+Seat