Rapid market changes are being witnessed in many industries, forcing many companies to adopt a brand new company vision. Just see how Netflix, Amazon, Google, Facebook and Tesla have reinvented themselves in the past few years.
And we’ve all seen a freshly hired CEO decide on a new or expanded direction for their organisation, in order to make his/her mark quickly.
Of course, some (many?) fail this delicate task, as recently witnessed with Elon Musk for Twitter, but it can be done effectively and painlessly with a bit of thought.
To illustrate how it can be achieved, I will use the example of adopting a customer-first strategy (what else?!) and a 7-step roadmap for the executive team to follow, which will encourage all employees to embrace the new company mission.
1. Communicate importance of customer focus
Let’s start with by far the most important point, communication.
The executive leadership team should clearly communicate the importance of putting the customer first and how this approach aligns with the organization’s mission and goals. This should be accomplished through various channels such as company-wide meetings, memos, and emails.
Effective communication is key in getting the entire organization to embrace a customer-first strategy. The executive team should share the reasons why the organization is making this change and how it will benefit both the customers and the company as a whole.
This could include communicating the importance of customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention, as well as the long-term impact on the business’s reputation and bottom line.
Here are some suggested steps to do this:
- Schedule a company-wide meeting to announce the adoption of a customer-first strategy.
- Prepare a clear and concise message explaining why the change is being made and how it aligns with the organization’s mission and goals.
- Encourage open discussion and answer any questions or concerns employees may have.
- Follow up with an email or memo that summarizes the main points of the meeting and provides additional information on the customer-first strategy.
- Continuously measure and communicate the progress and success of the customer-first approach, to keep employees engaged and motivated.
2. Lead by example
The C-suite should lead by example and demonstrate the desired behaviors and attitudes towards customers that they want to see in all their employees.
This means actively listening to customer feedback, being responsive to their needs, and treating them with respect and empathy. It also includes responding to customer feedback and addressing their needs.
It’s important for the executive team to be accessible and approachable at all times, and to actively seek out customer feedback and respond to it in a timely manner. This is by far the best way to understand what is going on in the business.
The summary steps are:
- Train senior management on the principles of a customer-first approach and how they can demonstrate their commitment to this strategy.
- Make sure leaders are accessible and approachable, and actively seek out customer feedback and respond to it in a timely manner.
- Encourage everyone
Let’s start at the very beginning – with the customer of course!
They certainly have several needs, but you should aim to address only one of them.
As I mentioned in 
This is another evergreen post that has been popular amongst our readers for several years. It has moved from second position, to take the top spot in 2021. The article shows you how to connect with your customers and gather their information.
This post remains the third most popular one on C3Centricity. Ever wondered why you struggle to develop actionable insights? This post shares some of the main reasons why even large companies fail at this essential art.
