{"73220":{"#nid":"73220","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Strong Customer Focus Boosts Company Success","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECompanies may think they\u0027ve tuned into customers when, in reality, they\u0027re self-absorbed.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Although most companies start out with a strong focus on customers, as the organization grows beyond a dozen members, people may stop looking outward and become preoccupied with internal processes,\u0022 says Craig Cochran, a regional manager at Georgia Tech\u0027s Office of Economic Development and Technology Ventures, where he assists companies with quality improvement and lean techniques.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn his new book, \u0022Becoming a Customer-Focused Organization\u0022 (Paton Press, 2006), Cochran explains that this corporate myopia is a natural phenomenon sparked by self-preservation. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Once someone becomes part of an organization, it\u0027s only natural to want to remain part of it - at least, until something better comes along,\u0022 he explains. \u0022The irony is that this inward orientation doesn\u0027t ensure survival. In fact, it guarantees the opposite-irrelevance, obsolescence and death.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn contrast to other books on the topic, Cochran takes a global approach to being customer-focused, covering everything from management systems to complaint resolution. A customer-centric philosophy isn\u0027t just for Fortune 500 companies, he stresses: \u0022All organizations have customers, including government agencies and nonprofit groups.\u0022 \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIn search of feedback\u003C\/strong\u003E: A good example of the inward orientation at work is how many companies approach customer feedback as an annual event - an Olympic survey of sorts - instead of treating it as an ongoing process. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Companies shouldn\u0027t try to invent new ways for collecting customer feedback,\u0022 Cochran says. \u0022They already have countless customer interactions available to them, ranging from salespeople to technical reps. What\u0027s important is to provide some structure to these interactions and share them with everyone in the organization.\u0022 Weaving customer feedback into daily processes makes it easier to digest and easier to take action on, he adds.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEmbrace complaints\u003C\/strong\u003E: Another measure of an organization\u0027s true focus is how it handles customer complaints. Most companies treat complaints not as red alerts but as something they\u0027ll get around to eventually. Managers even argue about how to categorize complaints, whether it was a bona fide beef or merely a comment.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESmart companies cherish customer complaints. \u0022Customers who complain are not nitpickers or looking for discounts, they\u0027re committed to your organization,\u0022 Cochran says, noting that complaining requires time, effort and emotion. \u0022Someone who isn\u0027t committed to your company wouldn\u0027t bother complaining.\u0022 \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECustomer-centric organizations make it easy to complain. They use toll-free numbers and complaint desks staffed by knowledgeable people who don\u0027t give scripted answers. They apologize for any inconvenience suffered by customers and thank them for bringing the problem to the company\u0027s attention. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPerhaps most important, customer-focused organizations make sure they get back to customers. \u0022Unless you let someone know what action has been taken, the customer is never going to perceive a difference,\u0022 Cochran says. \u0022You\u0027ve got to close the loop. If the customer isn\u0027t aware of the fix, then the remedy doesn\u0027t exist.\u0022 \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELeading indicators\u003C\/strong\u003E: A customer-centric company tracks customer satisfaction and loyalty metrics at the highest levels of management instead of relegating them to the customer-service department. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn most companies, however, senior management fixates on financial measures like sales and profits. \u0022But these are historical metrics of what happened in the past,\u0022 Cochran points out. \u0022In contrast, customer-satisfaction and loyalty are leading measures that indicate what will happen in the future, so they\u0027re more valuable to the organization.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBottom line, if a company isn\u0027t concentrating on its customers, the blame belongs to the boss. \u0022The leadership of an organization has no job more important than making sure everyone knows the importance of the customer,\u0022 Cochran says. \u0022CEOs who want real job security should try to please customers, not shareholders.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 100\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAtlanta, Georgia  30308  USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contact\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETechnical Contact\u003C\/strong\u003E: Craig Cochran (678-699-1690); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:craig.cochran@edi.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ecraig.cochran@edi.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E). \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: T.J. Becker\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Georgia Tech business expert authors book, \u0022Becoming a Customer-Focused Organization\u0022"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"A new book published by a Georgia Tech business expert describes how companies can maintain a strong focus on customers -- and shows how many firms lose that key advantage.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Companies must maintain a strong customer focus"}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2006-02-17 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:10:42","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2006-02-17T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2006-02-17T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"73221":{"id":"73221","type":"image","title":"Craig Cochran","body":null,"created":"1449177990","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:26:30","changed":"1475894673","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:33"}},"media_ids":["73221"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.edtv.gatech.edu\/","title":"Office of Economic Development and Technology Ventures"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=jt7\u0022\u003EContact John Toon\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-6986\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}