Knowledge in Action
To better understand what a Customer-Driven organization is, it’s necessary to be familiar with the different elements that are part of it; which can be represented in a hierarchy model:
1. Customers
2. Front-line employees
3. Middle Management
4. Top Management
The proper place of the customer in the organization’s hierarchy is at the top. Note that this perspective is precisely the opposite of the traditional view of the organizations. The difficulties involved in making such a radical change should not be underestimated. Just think about how the organigram or organizational structure in your organization looks like?
What is a customer-and-market-driven organization?
It’s that organization committed to providing excellence quality and competitive products and services to satisfy the needs and wants of a well-defined market segment. This approach contrasts with that of the traditional organization.
The journey from a traditional to a customer-driven organization has been made by enough organizations that now, we’re able to identify several distinct milestones that mark the path to success. Generally, the journey begins with recognition that a crisis is either upon the organization, or imminent. This wrenches the organization’s leadership out of denial and forces them to abandon the status quo.
When the familiar and traditional ways of the past are no longer acceptable, the result is a feeling of confusion among the leaders. At this stage the leadership must answer some basic questions:
· What’s the organization’s purpose?
· What are our values?
· What does an organization with these values look like?
· How does the organization create value for its customers?
· Is our organization practicing what it preaches?
A “value” is that which one acts to gain and/or keep. It presupposes an entity capable of acting to achieve a goal in the face of an alternative. Values are not simply nice-sounding platitudes, they represent goals. They must be lived, and the behavior of everyone within the company should be a representation of them. Pursuing the organization’s values implies building an organization which embodies these values.
This is the leadership’s vision, to create a reality where their values have been achieved.
After the vision has been clearly developed, the next step is to develop a strategy for building the new organization. The process of implementing the strategic plan is the turnaround stage.
Why is this so important right now?
The first generation of true digital natives (Gen Z) is expanding. They are becoming the new buyers, the new acquisition power and the new decision makers. This generation searches for the truth. They value individual expression and avoids labels. They mobilize themselves for a variety of causes. They believe profoundly in the efficacy of dialogue to solve conflicts and improve the world. They view consumption as access rather than possession, as an expression of individual identity, and as a matter of ethical concern. They want to save the planet and support the initiatives that contribute to it.
Couple with technological advances, this generational shift is transforming the consumer landscape in a way that cuts across all socioeconomic brackets and extends beyond Gen Z, permeating the whole demographic pyramid. The possibilities now emerging for companies are as transformational as they are challenging. Business must rethink how they deliver value to the consumer, rebalance scale and mass production against personalization, and more than ever; practice what they preach when they address customers, marketing issues and work ethics.
In our next article, learn about the characteristics of a traditional organization and one that is customer driven.
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