Page 63 - Delivering Authentic Customer Experiences

Principle 4 Delivering Authentic Customer Experiences

Resistance is futile

Successful service providers put customers at the heart of their
business. You may deliver the best service in the world, but if it’s
not what your customers want, you don’t have a business.
Constant changes in the political climate, economy, legislation,
technology, social and cultural environment can have a significant
impact on how you do business.

Unfortunately, you’ll have little, if any, control over these aspects.
However, you still have to be aware of what’s going on out there
and its potential effect on how you do business. Whether you
deliver B2B (business to business) or B2C (business to consumer)
services, your clients’ needs and wants evolve, and you must
change with them if you want to maintain your relationship and
retain your customer base.

Take this example of the way customer service has evolved in the
past twenty years. The provision of B2B training and development
would have been delivered to groups face to face on the client’s
premises or at the local hotel, with a screen, flipchart and a set of
resources. Today, it’s a completely different dynamic, as you’re
just as likely to be delivering that workshop as a webinar using an
online platform. Clients are now looking for bespoke solutions,
involving a host of learning interventions, which fit into their
whole training programme. An industry expert or specialist is
likely to be more desirable than a generalist, which means they’ll
be happy to outsource to a number of service providers, rather
than seeking a one-stop shop. Organisations are investing in
technology to make learning available to more people at a time
that suits them, at a fraction of the cost. As a consequence,
training providers have had to invest and adapt to continue to be
considered a preferred supplier.

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