CUSTOMERCENTRICTIMES
eZines: September 2005 > November 2005 > December 2005
In this issue of CustomerCentricTimes;
- The Evolution of SRD Group
- Don't Depend on Technology to Fill the Sales-Marketing Chasm
- The fallacy of “under-promise and over-deliver”
- The Two Bucket Approach to Customer Satisfaction.
Wow, Christmas is nearly upon us – time flies! Here's hoping that you manage to get through the many end of year functions that are already starting to happen.
As the end of the year is approaching and we are busy planning for next year we thought it appropriate to let you know what we are planning for 2006 in ‘The Evolution of SRD Group’. There are some exciting times ahead…
SRD Group Soapbox
The Evolution of SRD Group - Focused on organisational development and performance improvement in Customer Experience and Customer Relationship Management.
SRD Group was born out of the need for change management and consulting surrounding the introduction or maximization of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) into organisations –merging team, technology and customers. We have evolved this customer centric focus into a company that, in conjunction with some highly experienced senior consulting associates, is also helping companies review, improve, develop and measure the Customer Experience.
We are a company focused on organisational development and performance improvement in Customer Experience and Customer Relationship Management.
Why are we different?
Simply put, the customer and how organisations interact with the customer is at the centre of everything we do.
The ‘Customer Experience’ is viewed by many as the next battleground for differentiation and most senior executives agree that their most important source of organic growth is their base of customers. Yet, surprisingly, the strategy of most organizations does not adequately address this opportunity in a way that is understandable and actionable for their employees. And, given that one of the highest indicators for growth is the number of ‘protractors’ you have (people who will recommend the company to friends and colleagues), it pays to keep the customer experience very high on the agenda.
To grow the number of protractors requires an unswerving customer focus, strong leadership and organisational development programmes that are geared towards understanding and delivering on the customer experience. Organisational development is often viewed as an internal need to achieve organisational goals rather than an external necessity to achieve customer goals. Some may say that this is semantics, but orgnisations that develop their internal resources based on an approach that is ‘outward looking in’ – based around the customer needs and experience - are more likely to achieve the holy grail of high customer retention, increased growth and higher profitability.
Also, Customer Experience and Customer Relationship Management are closely linked; understanding and reviewing the Customer Experience helps improve CRM because it provides an ‘outside in’ rather than an ‘inside out’ approach to CRM.
Our Customer Experience Reviews often uncover the need for more customer centric training programmes in the areas of sales and customer service. As such we are working with a highly skilled organisational development company in North America to bring you the latest leading-edge tools and programmes in these and other areas in 2006.
Help us help you?
In the next couple of months we will be conducting both face to face interviews and an Organisational Development and Training survey to help ensure that we develop the right training programmes. We would greatly appreciate your feedback.
In the meantime, stay tuned for our continued evolvement around the pivotal factor for success – the customer!
CRM Corner
“Sales and marketing can't make use of the collaborative features available in CRM solutions unless they have already made human collaboration a part of their process.”
Too Right!!! Our battle over the years has been to get sales and marketing working closer together… as one, rather than in separate towers where never the twain shall meet.
Read more on what Janet White of Info-Tech Research Group thinks in her article ‘
Don't Depend on Technology to Fill the Sales-Marketing Chasm.’
In the near future we hope to bring you an article from Roche New Zealand on how Sales and Marketing are very successfully collaborating on their approach to CRM.
Growing GREAT Customer Experiences Forum
“
Under-promise and over-deliver” is a catchy and well accepted management maxim these days. It’s frequently found hand-in-hand with that other popular wisdom about the need to “constantly exceed customer expectations”. In fact many managers would argue that in order to constantly exceed customer expectations, you need to under-promise and over-deliver. Read more about what Reg Price, a close associate of ours, thinks of
UPOD…
The Voice of the Customer
This month our Research Partner, Duncan Stuart, has written a very brief, but very pertinent thought article on customer satisfaction.
SRD Group Consulting Services
SRD Group focus on organisational development and performance improvement in Customer Experience and Customer Relationship Management. If you are interested in finding out more about how SRD Group can help your organisation, please drop me an email
neil.s@srd-grp.com or contact me on +64 9 4144 555.
The Last Word
"Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor." - Ben Franklin (1706-1790).
Neil Stewart and the team at SRD Group.
SRD Group Limited
CRM and Customer Experience Consultants
Merging TEAMS, TECHNOLOGY AND CUSTOMERS
