Shifting from Customer Satisfaction to Customer Focus: A Strategic Move for Sustainable Growth.
In the dynamic landscape of business, the philosophy of customer focus emerges as a pivotal force, positioning the customer at the epicentre of all business development and management decisions. Amid the challenges of retaining existing customers and fostering sustainable growth, organisations are urged to transition from a customer satisfaction approach to one that prioritises comprehensive customer focus.
Navigating the Evolution: From Satisfaction to Focus
Reflecting on the evolution of Quality Management Systems (QMS), the famous early '90s quote, "Say what you do and do what you say," marked an era where demonstrating adherence to systems took precedence. However, as organisations entered the 2000s, a paradigm shift occurred. Influenced by a buyers' market, technological advancements, stringent legislation, and Industry 4.0, the emphasis moved from customer satisfaction to a broader concept – customer focus.
Understanding the Customer Landscape
In the realm of customer focus, defining customers becomes a critical first step. Customers, whether internal or external, play roles as both suppliers and consumers in the process approach. Internal customers within the organisation collaborate to meet external customers' requirements, forming a crucial network. To enhance supplier performance, customers must treat their suppliers as business partners, fostering collaboration and mutual improvement.
Measuring and Enhancing Customer Focus
Adopting a Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) approach, organisations embark on a journey to determine and fulfil customer expectations. This involves establishing controls, documenting procedures, and implementing methods for measurement and monitoring. Objective measurement of quality, cost, and delivery performances replaces subjective customer satisfaction evaluations. Customer focus, a philosophy embracing present and future needs, aligns organisations towards sustainable growth.
Building a Comprehensive Measurement System
To enhance customer focus, organisations identify needs and expectations collaboratively with customers and suppliers. Objectives derived from these needs are translated into Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and evaluation criteria are established. A robust measurement system monitors individual KPIs, facilitating the identification of even minor deviations in the supply process. Examples of KPIs include rejections, process rework, complaints, on-time delivery, and more.
Benefits of Customer Focus
Placing customer focus at the core of operations yields numerous benefits, including increased customer value, loyalty, repeat business, revenue, and market share. ISO9001:2015 provides a framework for actions to improve customer focus, including identifying customers, prioritising needs, aligning goals, establishing internal communication, defining roles, and measuring customer satisfaction.
Conclusion: Sustaining Success through Customer-Centric Strategies
In the ever-evolving business landscape, organisations must respond swiftly to customer feedback and expectations. The deployment of the PDCA approach, coupled with relationship management, ensures sustainability. Periodic revisions of management systems based on customer needs and expectations contribute to the enduring success of organisations committed to customer focus.
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