by: Sigurd Rinde
A business organisation exists to fulfil a specific need of an individual, the customer.
But where is the customer on the organisational chart? Why does he not matter in the process of fulfilling his need? A perpetual state of hit and run?
Of course, hierarchies are command-and-control structures. No place there for a customer, unless he is willing to be bullied around.
A dilemma solved by an structural appendix: The marketing department.
An appendix using every trick in the book to push, entice, lure and seduce individuals to become customers. Hit and run.
From Hughtrain:
"It’s not enough for the customer to love your product. They have to love your process as well."
"A brand is a place, not a thing."
In other words, include the customer – in the process, in the structure. Both places!
It starts with the customer, it ends with the customer, the customers shall be involved between those points.
Customer-centric is not enough, the customer has to be truly included.
Conversations is not enough, the customer must be involved.
Real world examples:
English Cut: The Customer interacts directly with Thomas, chooses the cloth, the number of pockets and the style when the process starts. He’s involved directly mid-process in the fittings, and he’s happy when Thomas delivers the suit that he’s been so involved in. A collaboration. Ownership to the process and thus the product.
And he’ll tell his friends. That Thomas knows already.
WebFootballClub: The Customer is directly involved in the evolution of the product (setting games strategy, choosing players, analysing games and training setup).
They have 13.000 member-customers from all over the world. An amateur club in Caen, France!
No banner ad could have done that for them.
Open Source Movement: The Customer is the producer is the organisation. Completely the non-command-and-control structure.
Three businesses, three organised processes that delivers value – organised around and with the customer.
Including the customer, letting him be active in the process. Giving him/her ownership to the product, service and process making him a loyal recruiter of more customers.
Advertising and marketing? Huh, where?
Two realities:
Command structures and customer inclusive structures are mutually exclusive. A command and control structure cannot include a customer.
Any process that is neither complete and holistic nor include the customer is counter to the raison d’être of an organisation.
Suggestion:
- Rid your mind of the command-and-control hierarchy model and all that it conveys. Free yourself from the thought of marketing and management being required.
- Rebuild, tweak, cajole your organisation into being a single process flow which starts with your customer’s need and ends with her need being fulfilled using the resources you have at hand.
- Include and use the customer in that process as often as possible, see the customer as a natural resource for your organisation.
- See loyalty become complete. See customers finding many new customers. See product and service become better every day.
- See competition crumble.
