Is the customer always right?

Robert Lang, CEO, Socialbakers:

No matter what industry you are in, keeping customers at the forefront is key to business success. However, that does not automatically mean that the customer is always right. Taken to the extreme, customers sometimes think their rights supersede the importance of employees’ well-being, but no customer has the right to do this. The satisfaction of employees is an evergreen pillar of any good business practice and losing top talent can be a costly blow.

Simply put, happy employees make for happy customers. Engaged employees who feel empowered in their role will be more inclined to provide better customer service. This, in turn, translates to satisfied customers, which is the key to a successful business. It is the role of great companies to lead the way, defining and shaping the future of customer success, starting with their own employees in mind.

Julia Lee, General Manager, SEA, Sitecore:

When the founder of Selfridges coined this phrase back in 1909, it was meant to spur service staff to provide the highest level of customer satisfaction. Fast-forward to today’s increasingly digital world and I would like to say that this is still relevant — but in a different sphere. With the reliance on smartphones and tablets for online shopping, browsing, learning, connecting on social-media channels, the consumer today is a digital one.

To deliver personalised experiences to the digital customer, brands should be looking at making their marketing and customer service more relevant through context marketing.

By understanding the consumer’s past behaviours and current needs, brands can then tailor content to the consumer and ensure that each interaction is meaningful. This is crucial for brands to understand in this new era of marketing, where we must strive to deliver delightful experiences.

Kumar Chander, MD, SEA, Wipro Unza:

Customers are not always right but their feedback is extremely valuable to a business. Businesses should encourage customers to share their preferred outcomes of a product or service, instead of asking them for direct solutions or recommendations. This way, organisations can focus on driving business innovation based on the customer’s expectations and desired outcomes.

Additionally, businesses should strive to develop groundbreaking solutions that empower customers to live better. For example, products such as the Walkman and the iPhone were not designed based on customer feedback, but have gained huge popularity as the devices have successfully enabled convenient, better living. As customers are undeniably the lifelines of any business, organisations should invest in a robust customer-service policy with strong feedback mechanisms, so that they can be always right for the customer.

Ed Eger, President and CEO, OANDA:

When confronted with a question about a client issue, I always start by looking at things not from the perspective of the business, but rather taking the perspective of a customer, by asking myself what would I want and expect?

Once I understand that, I can ask the question of how, as a company, do we structure the business to provide products and services that can address that customer issue in a differentiated way? Once the customer’s needs are met, then you can figure out how best to make money.

If you are not solving a customer need in an innovative or differentiated way, you have not earned the right to be a business.

So, the customer is always right and it is up to businesses to meet their needs in a way that is profitable for the company.

Filippo Fanin, CEO & CFO, Brotzeit:

In any consumer industry, customers collectively are always right. Customers determine the current and future winners in the marketplace. Collectively, they set the trends and vote with their own wallets on which company will survive profitably in the market. This does not mean chasing the latest trends or customers’ whims. Every brand can only be successful if it maintains its identity and respect its values. The trick is being able to address, profitably, customers’ shifting preferences while remaining authentic to your brand’s core values. There are of course some outliers: Customers with unrealistic expectations that are not necessarily representative of the typical customer. Having said that, these customers are also very important. Managing the requests and meeting the expectations of the most demanding customers are some ways to push the boundaries of customer service and improve the experience of the brand.