Human beings and businesses have a lot in common. They are both subject to encounter change and they have to adapt and evolve to thrive and prosper. But an aging business can stick around a long time after the original people are gone as long as they are staffed with new people and they change with the times.
Where is all the change coming from in business?
These are businesses that didn’t change – remember?
Remember these?
Why are these companies gone? They didn’t change what they were doing when they had the chance and now they are out of business!
The rewards for changing with the times are huge. Businesses that best understand the needs, wants, and desires (expressed and latent) of their customers and deliver experiences that go beyond mere satisfaction are leading their industries in revenues and market share. In 2014, J.D. Power evaluated 600 brands and identified 50 customer service champions, a list that included industry leaders such as Apple, Southwest Airlines, and USAA. These companies have made the customer experience a core part of their business strategy and are constantly raising the bar. As Steve Cannon, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA, says, “Satisfaction is vanilla. We need to delight . . . we need to provide extraordinary.” In a 2014 Gartner survey, 89% of respondents indicated that by 2016 their companies will compete primarily on the customer experiences they deliver.
All of this has increased the demand for strong, customer-centric leadership. Whether the title is customer experience leader, customer experience officer (CXO), chief customer officer, or a variety of other similar labels, the demand for talent to solve the customer experience challenge is at a premium. In industries ranging from retailing to insurance to technology to healthcare, the mix of skills and approaches continue to evolve, and relatively few companies are getting it right. According to Gartner, 65% of large enterprises now have a CXO-type role. Yet a 2014 report from the Temkin Group found that just 7% of companies earned an “excellent” rating from their customers for customer experience. Why? Because change is not being adopted at the top of the organization. Going through the motions of bringing on the right roles in an organization is not enough. Actions are what count! Spend some money and invest in the future.
Some analogies and illustrations as to why business adaptation for change is so important!
Hmmm….sound familiar?
Here’s another for you…..
Have you tried to feed a millennial lately? What happened to the family meal?
CHANGE
It has to be vegan or non-GMO, fish or chicken, free range or it has to be a certain brand or even a different time of the day. This is such a personal, painful and frustrating change to absorb and adapt to as a parent…….but it directly corresponds to change in people and how and what they expect in their lives and as customers in business. Back in the day when grandparents were still around you ate what was served or you didn’t eat. But that kind of behavior today would result in a visit from your local Department of Child Services! But Grandma always slipped you some chocolate cake later so there was plenty of love!
As a person it is okay to get away with being old fashioned….people are people. BUT in business if you don’t change and your old fashioned you will be out of business.
Change is painful and all people…..even people in leadership positions will be resistant to change in some form or fashion.
But it can be managed so get beyond your emotions and don’t give up!
No matter where you fall in this Generation chart it is critical to adopt change as you move forward in business.
Like it or not the future in business is moving on and at some point boomers will slow down on spending. If you have not already started changing your business it could be too late.
Invest in the future of your business
NOW
because the future is here! Remember that business is all about people and it has always been about people but time is moving forward and you have to evolve your business to stay in business!
Invest in the ability to intelligently engage with your customers (consumer and business) the way they want with a cloud based Customer Experience Platform.
Read some of my most popular blogs on LinkedIn:
Are your Agents Worried about Engaging with Customers?
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Remember that making the right decision is critical to your career and your business. Don’t believe everything you read and see without doing thorough due diligence.
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LinkedIn or Twitter if you have any questions. I have been around for awhile and could have some relevant truthful advice.
Thank you for reading my blog!
BillCookCX
