The 5 elements of customer orientation
The 5 elements of customer orientation
A pronounced customer orientation is a central success factor for every company. It is not for nothing that it has always been said that the customer is king. In order for a company to achieve its overriding goal of successfully bringing its own products or services to the customer for as long as possible or as often as possible and to increase sales, the needs and wishes of the customer must be understood and continuously fulfilled. To achieve customer satisfaction, a company must put the customer at the centre. Customer orientation is therefore of great importance. But what is customer orientation and how is it successfully implemented in a company? In this blog article, we address these questions and present the 5 elements of customer orientation.
Everything to do with customer orientation
Customer orientation: The customer at the centre of entire processes
Customer orientation means that a company always focuses on the customer in all processes and decisions. Thus, customer wishes and needs are continuously recorded, analysed and evaluated in order to be able to make deductions for the company's own offer, sales, service and many other customer touch points. The goal is to generate satisfaction, which leads to long-term customer relationships and consequently to more turnover for the company. Customer orientation is divided into two levels. The information level includes all collected data and information that a company has about its customers. It thus describes the wishes of the customers from the company's point of view based on collected data. The customer level, on the other hand, looks at the needs from the customer's point of view. Here it is primarily about the quality of the offer and the service as well as the perception and opinion about the company. For more customer orientation in the company, both levels should therefore be taken into account for improvements.
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Establishing and maintaining customer contact with the 5 elements of customer orientation
1. personal & personalised customer contact
The first element of the 5 elements of customer orientation is personal contact with the customer. Nowadays, customers expect personalised offers that meet their individual needs and preferences. In order for customers to feel that they are in good hands with a company and are happy to consume there, customer service is still of great importance in addition to satisfying customers through the quality of the company's own products or services. Personal and personalised customer service is essential to strengthen customer loyalty and increase customer satisfaction. When companies provide their customers with a personal contact person and take individual needs and customer wishes into account, customers feel well looked after and taken seriously. A personalised customer approach can be achieved through customised offers and recommendations that are tailored to the customer's individual requirements and preferences. This gives the customer the feeling that the company understands and values their needs. Personal and personalised customer service is therefore an important success factor for companies when it comes to building strong customer loyalty and maintaining long-term customer relationships. In the age of digitalisation, this can ideally take place via as many channels as possible.
2. customer-friendly employees
Employees are the face of a company and therefore have a major influence on customer satisfaction. Friendly employees who respond to the needs and wishes of customers and offer solutions to problems help to build a positive relationship with customers. Appropriate training of service staff is therefore of great importance. They must be able to put themselves in the customer's shoes, gain insight into the customer through dialogue and learn to respond to requests and express appreciation. In order not only to fulfil customer requirements, but also to exceed customer expectations, it is the task of every company to inspire its own staff with enthusiasm for the company and its offering. This is the only way to ensure that all employees act honestly and authentically towards customers and transform new customers into regular customers with fun and enjoyment. The enthusiasm and training of employees is therefore one of the 5 elements of customer orientation.
3. customer-orientated corporate structures
Customer-orientation is not the sole responsibility of service and sales staff. On the contrary, customer orientation must be deeply rooted in the organisational structures, corporate culture and corporate philosophy in order to enable fast and efficient processing of customer concerns. Customer-orientated structures can be achieved, for example, by setting up customer hotlines or by assigning dedicated customer advisors. At the same time, however, a company has a duty to exemplify customer-orientation in its corporate culture and to take values and standards into account both in communication and in the execution of all processes. In particular, companies that list customer orientation as a quality feature in their corporate philosophy must not only communicate this to the outside world, but also actually live it through and through. Structure, culture and philosophy are therefore among the 5 elements of customer orientation.
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4. customer information: Knowing customers & customer needs
In order to fulfil customer needs, companies must have a detailed understanding of their customers' needs. In addition to carrying out market analyses, this can be achieved by conducting customer surveys or analysing customer feedback. The insights gained enable companies to develop new products and services in a targeted manner. This knowledge makes it possible not only to fulfil customer expectations, but possibly even to exceed them. This is a good tool for customer loyalty and can also bring competitive advantages. Knowing your customers down to the last detail is therefore an important element of the 5 elements of customer orientation.
5. check & maintain customer satisfaction
Customer loyalty depends entirely on customer satisfaction with the company and its products and services. A company can only expect loyalty from its customers if the customer benefit is always fulfilled. To ensure that customer needs are satisfied at all times and that customers do not migrate to competitors, it is the task of every customer-orientated company to continuously monitor satisfaction. With regular surveys, a company can check the extent to which customers are satisfied with the performance, service or service quality and how the customer experience can be improved. In this context, effective complaint management is essential in order to be able to respond quickly and professionally to dissatisfied customers. Offering a satisfactory solution to a problem is just as important as taking suggestions for improvements in the innovation process and customer service into account. Customer satisfaction is therefore an important aspect of the 5 elements of customer orientation.
Conclusion: The 5 elements of customer orientation
Customer orientation is the starting point for the success of any company. Companies that focus on their customers have fewer difficulties in creating a bond between their customers and the company than companies that act in a purely economic and competitive manner. With the 5 elements of customer orientation, from personal customer contact, to customer integration in all processes, to viewing all services from the customer's side, companies can create satisfaction, build a relationship and increase sales. In reality, however, the application of the 5 elements of customer orientation is often challenging. In our customer service seminar, we show specialists and managers from customer-oriented companies how they can implement customer orientation in customer service.
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