Putting Your Customers' Needs First

Thus, when you “throw-in” the customer impact factor…you now are forced to rank or at least consider how the proposed project will benefit the customer (directly or indirectly). That is not to suggest that every project will ALWAYS benefit the customer (nor that it should), but that before management accepts the project, they, at least, have the benefit of knowing that they are turning down other projects in the “pipeline” that conceivable offer greater or more direct benefits to the customer. Some people may believe that this is a very subjective methodology that could become easily abused…and they are right…if you allow it. However, there are many good business propositions with sound customer paybacks that go begging for support due to other internal priorities. When companies become “internally focused”, they have a bad tendency to spend excessive time, effort and money on developing internal solutions to issues that do little or nothing to better serve their customers’ needs. The Customer Impact Statement forces the company to take a “gut check” to make sure that what they are preparing to approve is in the best interests of the company as well as in the best interests of their customers. Yes…a customer impact statement needs to undergo the same post-audit analysis as its financial counterpart. Did the project finish “on-time” within the prescribed budget and did it achieve the intended end-result and customer benefit(s) (if applicable) as stated. The Evolution of My Customer Focused Background It might be beneficial to explore some of the ways that you can establish a more customer focused business or organization. For this purpose, I am going to take you on a trip down memory lane of how my experiences in serving customers’ needs evolved over the years. My goal here is not to provide you with a roadmap of what to do, or to try to tell you which activities or events that you should attempt to duplicate or replicate, but to provide you with some examples of things that you need to look for in your own organization or business that might lead you to providing better service for your customers. Think “outside of the box” and evaluate the KEY things you do every day in your business and then see how you might “enhance these activities or services to make your customers’ jobs easier and make your employees more productive in serving their needs. Ultimately, if you are successful in this endeavor, your shareholders and investors will benefit as well.

My College Years…

This historical road trip begins with my college days at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. While I was pursuing a B.S. degree in Engineering Physics, I was also exploring many extracurricular activities. I elected not to join a fraternity but being a very independent- minded person, I did join the Independent Students Association (ISA) where I would one day