Customers Are People: The Human Touch PDF
Preview Customers Are People: The Human Touch
. . . Customers Are People the Human Touch John has tapped into the importance of treating customers with respect and attention. He clearly shows how every customer trans- actionisachancetobuildtrust.Johnhasdemonstratedanuncanny knack for communicating what is obvious, yet difficult, for many companies to attain. Keeping promises and building trust must become the centerpiece of all financial services organizations in the future. Michael Coomer, Group Executive Business & Technology Solutions & Services John McKean clearly articulates the logical evolution of customers as consumers to customers as people. However, few companies know how to do this, or have the capabilities within their organiza- tionstoculturallymakethishappen.Thisinsightfulbookgivesreal worldexamplesastowhythisiscriticalforabusiness’ssurvivaland how to actually implement these powerful but critical approaches. Rob Strange, Change Director Legal & General John McKean’s inspiring book dispels the myth that CRM is the retailers’ panacea by providing us with a timely reminder that sus- tained profitability results from every employee being focused on servingthecustomer,notjustwithproducts,butwithintegrityand respect for the customer as an individual. This was a common occurrence for our grandparents but a rare event in today’s shop- ping experience. Trevor Dukes, Project and Systems W.H. Smith Customers Are . . . People The Human Touch John McKean Executive Director, Center for Information Based Competition ‘‘70% of our decision to buy is based on how ... we are treated as people ’’ Copyright© 2002JohnMcKean www.informationmasters.com [email protected] Published2003 JohnWiley&SonsLtd,TheAtrium,SouthernGate,Chichester, WestSussexPO198SQ,England Telephone(+ 44)1243779777 Email(forordersandcustomerserviceenquiries):[email protected] VisitourHomePageonwww.wileyeurope.comorwww.wiley.com AllRightsReserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrieval systemortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording, scanningorotherwise,exceptunderthetermsoftheCopyright,Designsand PatentsAct1988orunderthetermsofalicenceissuedbytheCopyrightLicensingAgency Ltd,90TottenhamCourtRoad,LondonW1T4LP,UK,withoutthepermissioninwritingof thePublisher.RequeststothePublishershouldbeaddressedtothePermissionsDepartment, JohnWiley&SonsLtd,TheAtrium,SouthernGate,Chichester,WestSussexPO198SQ, England,[email protected],orfaxedto(+ 44)1243770571. 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OtherWileyEditorialOffices JohnWiley&SonsInc.,111RiverStreet,Hoboken,NJ07030,USA Jossey-Bass,989MarketStreet,SanFrancisco,CA94103-1741,USA Wiley-VCHVerlagGmbH,Boschstr.12,D-69469Weinheim,Germany JohnWiley&SonsAustraliaLtd,33ParkRoad,Milton,Queensland4064,Australia JohnWiley&Sons(Asia)PteLtd,2ClementiLoop#02-01,JinXingDistripark,Singapore129809 JohnWiley&SonsCanadaLtd,22WorcesterRoad,Etobicoke,Ontario,CanadaM9W1L1 BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary ISBN0-470-84889-8 ProjectmanagementbyOriginator,GtYarmouth,Norfolk (typesetin11/13ptPlantin) PrintedandboundinGreatBritainbyTJInternational,Padstow,Cornwall Thisbookisprintedonacid-freepaperresponsiblymanufacturedfromsustainableforestry inwhichatleasttwotreesareplantedforeachoneusedforpaperproduction. For my young daughter Jessica, who is growing into a beautiful human being Contents Preface vii Acknowledgements ix 1 Customers as People 1 2 Leading the Human Firm 9 3 Acknowledging Customers 55 4 Treating Customers with Respect 91 5 Building Trust with Customers 121 6 Communicating Humanly with Customers 143 7 Human Touch as a Series of Interactions 179 8 Human Touch as a Process 229 9 Implementing Technology to Humanize (Not Dehumanize) 275 10 Conclusion – Releasing Your Business’s Humanity 299 Index 301 Preface Thisbookwaswrittentohelpbusinessenterthenextcom- petitive era of customer fulfillment – customers as people. Its approach builds a human touch competency that creates the more profitablereactioninthepersoninsideeverycustomer–afeelingof acknowledgement, respect, and trust. Thisbookwaswrittensothatanybusiness,largeorsmall,canstart applying basic human touch principles across its entire business easily and quickly at the scale and sophistication of its choosing. Thepowerofthesehumantouchprinciplesisthatanybusinesscan start implementing each principle in its simplest form immediately with noticeable impact on customers. As a business desires more consistency, depth, unanimity, and scale to its human touch, more rigor will need to be applied. The simplicity of the principles does not change with the size of the business, only the scale of imple- mentation. These principles are drawn from learnings of the world’s most successful early practitioners of the human touch. The insights focus on the human touch behaviors that have the biggest impact on a customer’s decision to buy, and keep buying. Acknowledgements I am honored by and appreciative of the following friends, colleagues, and advisors whose time and insight shaped the ideas contained in this book. ThankstoBrianSchwady,MarilynLindsay,NormanMayne,Ryan Disher, John Higgins, Kim Yedlowski, Julie Gregory, Steve Albright, Raj Grandhi, Pat Mene, Dave Talbot, Jackie Ashburn, Jane Manfrie, Julia Trusty, Dave Schardt, Tim White, John Pelligrino, Peter Ferras, Joe Mrochek, Jonathon Cole, Alex McHaikhi, Jerry Clarkson, John Voss, Rick Viszantz, Dr Stephen Levitt,CorneliusMartin,DickLange,DennisGruber,KenMiller, Norm Kern, David Briggs, Jo Ann Brumit, Roger Quayle, Don Evans, Adrian Horwood, Steve Jones, Shawne Howells, Paul Telford, Mike Dace, Vince Morgillo, Arcona Devan, Richard Jung, Jeff Deneen, Steve Wells, John Goodman, Rick Hinger, Frank Scmermancic, Joni Newkirk, Joe Ruszkiewicz, Glen Kaiser, Bob Barker, David Overton, Jaimie Pickles, Bruce Clark, Jim Bauer, John Peterson, John Parolisi, Simon Wood, Stephen Ciombrone, and David Curby. Severalpeoplelistedabovehelpedshapemythinking,butcorporate sensitivities required their firm names and specific references be withheld. Special thanks to Ray Kordupleski for his groundbreaking work. He was and continues to be an inspiration to me. Also, a special thanks to Ilmar Taimre under the visionary leadership of Steve Jones for sharing the leading edge innovations at Suncorp. Ray’s current work can be found in his book Mastering Customer Value
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